It was 70,000 years ago when men began equipping bows with pointed arrowheads. This hand-held device is called the bow and arrow. All it takes is a keen eye and a strong arm to be able to shoot long distances. These are mainly used to hunt animals or kill enemies. But it wasn’t until the middle ages when target archery became a popular sporting event.
The arrows have evolved from weapons to a way of giving directions. It can be found on maps, compasses, and street signs. With just one line and a pointed end, you can point to where the person needed to be. Surprisingly enough, it’s on your phone too.
Arrows have been a part of the emoji keyboard for a long time. It has different uses too, depending on what you wanted to say. But did you know there are four types of arrow emojis? Read on to learn more!
Table of Contents
1. Directional Arrow Emojis
It’s natural to see directional arrows on locations that are a little confusing, kind of dark, and have a lot of turns. You can find it on street signs, at the subway stations, and on your map app. The purpose is to lead you where you need to be. But unfortunately, not everyone is good at following directions. Not everyone is born with an innate sense of direction.
There are 16 kinds of these basic-looking arrows. People commonly use the arrow pointing down, pointing up, pointing left, and pointing right. Some of the rarely used arrows are the up-right, up-left, down-right, down-left, up-down, and left-right. There are also the right arrow curving left, left arrow curving right, right arrow curving up, right arrow curving down, clockwise vertical arrows, and counterclockwise arrows.
To lessen the anxiety of getting lost, why not use the blue-filled squares at the end of the emoji keyboard? These are called directional arrows. You can use it for directions or when you need to emphasize a message.
There are no strict rules when using this emoji. Although as a suggestion, use these arrows when meeting up with a friend, especially if it’s your first time in that place. Some use these arrows to point up or down to repeat what they said.
2. Directional Hand Emojis
Ever had the struggle to direct a person to their destination but can’t describe the turns? Or maybe, like most people, you have a hard time distinguishing between left and right? No matter what it is, the directional hand emoji is here to help.
Don’t just let the emojis take the lead. You should, too! Lend a personal touch when giving directions by using directional hand emojis. Unlike the directional arrows with more than ten different emojis, there are only four directional hands emoji. It may be few, but it does a lot. More people are used to using these emojis because the sender adds a personal touch when pointing directions.
These directional hands emojis are backhand index pointing left, backhand index pointing right, backhand index pointing up, and backhand pointing down. Aside from the usual yellow, the emoji keyboard added a racially diverse option to avoid discrimination. They made sure that the hand emojis you use truly represent you.
3. Bow and Arrow
An arrow is the most effective way to hit the target. Archery has been around for thousands of years, but it was only in 2015 that the emoji came to fruition. To picture simply, it’s a brown bow loaded with a red-tailed arrow. This sleek and simple emoji looks ready to be shot from quite a distance. There’s not a lot of use for this emoji. However, it can be interpreted that the person is either hunting or participating in an archery contest.
What probably followed after shooting the bow and arrow emoji is the heart with an arrow emoji. The pink heart pierced with a blue arrow was included in the emoji keyboard five years earlier than the bow and arrow. People use this emoji to say that they’re in love, a reference to the Greek god of love, Cupid. Some use it as a declaration of love, saying that they are madly in love. It’s a romantic way to say that your heart has already been captured, and there’s no way out of it.
4. Keyboard Arrow Emojis
These emojis look like they are part of the keyboard, even though they’re not. It’s probably the blue background and the white arrow that give this certain impression, similar to a computer or laptop keyboard.
Aside from the word underneath the arrow, its stark difference with the directional arrow emojis is that it doesn’t always mean what it says. It can be frustrating. After all, using these emojis is still up to your interpretation and imagination.
Two arrows are pointing left. One has the words END, while the other has BACK. One good way to use either emoji is when you want to post something exciting, like the END of a project or a possible coming BACK of your favorite character. Underneath the arrow pointing right is the word SOON, which you can use to add suspense to your post. Perhaps the most confusing keyboard arrow emoji is the left-right arrow with the word ON!, a most likely reference to the light switch.
Conclusion
For years, emojis have helped convey messages better than written words. Whether it’s a text message or an email, these pictograms helped in shaping the modern language. Though each emoji has been interpreted in different ways and at different times, they make every conversation funny, engaging, and exciting.
But to Millennials and Zoomers, adding an emoji is a great way to converse with a friend. It creates an atmosphere, showing you what they feel despite the distance. How will you use these arrow emojis? Time to point yourself in the right direction and check out EmojiGuide.com to find more ways to use emojis!