Box-drawing arms
┌ ┐ └ ┘ ┏ ┓ ┗ ┛
Bent at the elbow. The heavy forms (┏ ┛) read as more emphatic than the light ones (┌ ┘).
Arms out, notes flying
Dance Kaomoji
A dancing kaomoji needs two things a static face does not: arms bent at an angle, and something to suggest sound. Box-drawing characters supply the first and music notes the second, and almost every face here is those two additions applied to an ordinary smile.
♪┌(・。・)┘♪
Quick answer
Which one should you use?
♪┌(・。・)┘♪ is the standard dance kaomoji — box-drawing arms bent at the elbow with music notes either side. Mirroring the arms to ♪(┌・。・)┌ makes the figure turn, and alternating the two in sequence is how the dance is usually shown in chat. The notes are optional but do most of the work.
Copy and paste
20 dance kaomoji
Every face is plain text. Tap one to copy it, then paste it wherever you are typing — it travels as ordinary characters, not as an image.
♪┌(・。・)┘♪
Side-stepping
The standard. Bent arms, notes either side.
♪(┌・。・)┌
Turning
The mirrored version. Post both in sequence for a two-step.
┏(＾0＾)┛
Arms one way
Heavy box-drawing arms; an open singing mouth.
┗(＾0＾)┓
And the other
The mirror of the last one — the other half of the move.
ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪
Dancing in shades
Cool and moving at the same time.
♬(ﾉ゜∇゜)ﾉ♩
Both hands up
Two different notes, so the rhythm comes out uneven.
ヾ(*´∇`)ﾉ
Waving along
No notes; the shaking hands carry it.
└(＾ω＾)┘
Boxy arms
Light box-drawing arms with a soft ω mouth.
┌(・。・)┘
Plain step
The bare version with the notes stripped out.
(ノ≧∀≦)ノ
Throwing arms up
Kana arms instead of box drawing. Looser, faster.
⌌( ˘ ヮ ˘ )⌍
Bracket arms
Corner characters as raised elbows.
♫ ヽ(´▽`)ﾉ ♫
Singing along
Notes set apart from the face, like sound in the room.
┏(-_-)┛┗(-_-)┓
Robot dance
The same face twice, arms mirrored — a full move in one line.
ヽ(⌒∇⌒)ﾉ
Swaying
Gentle, with arched eyes.
♪(´▽｀)
Humming
One note and no arms — barely dancing.
ヾ(≧∇≦)ﾉ
Big energy
Eyes shut, both hands shaking.
└|∵|┘
Boxy character
Pipes as a body; ∵ as a three-dot face.
♬(ᵔ ᴗ ᵔ)♬
Notes both sides
Swaying with the eyes closed. Content, not energetic.
ヽ(o´∇`o)ﾉ
Round and swaying
Cheeks either side of an open mouth.
♪ヽ( ⌒o⌒)人(⌒-⌒ )ﾉ♪
Dancing together
人 is two figures joined; the only pair face here.
How they are built
The parts these faces are made of
Kaomoji are assembled rather than drawn. Once you can see the components, you can adjust any face on this page instead of hunting for a different one.
Kana arms
ヽ ノ ヾ ﾉ
Looser and faster than box drawing. Better for waving and celebrating than for a deliberate step.
Music notes
♪ ♫ ♬ ♩
Placed outside the face. Two different notes make a rhythm; one is just humming.
Mirroring
┌ ┘ / └ ┐
The same face with its arms reversed. Posting both in sequence is how a dance is shown, since a single frame cannot move.
Before you paste
Getting them to arrive intact
Paste as plain text
Markdown and rich-text editors treat backslashes, underscores and asterisks as formatting. The robot dance uses underscore mouths, which is the one to check here.
Box drawing needs monospace
┌ ┘ ┏ ┛ only line up with the face when every character occupies the same width. In a proportional font the arms drift away from the body, which is the usual reason a dance face looks broken.
Post two to make it move
A single kaomoji cannot animate. Sending the mirrored pair — ♪┌(・。・)┘♪ then ♪(┌・。・)┌ — is how the dance is normally conveyed, and it reads far better than one face alone.
Read more
Faces with a full write-up
Some of these have their own page covering where the face came from and how its meaning has shifted.
ヽ(⌐■_■)ノ♪♬
Dancing Kaomoji
Sunglasses and raised arms with musical notes trailing behind.
Read the entry\(≧▽≦)/
Excited Kaomoji
Both arms up with squinting delight.
Read the entry(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ
Happy Hug Kaomoji
The classic grinning hug face with reaching arms.
Read the entryᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ
Flex Kaomoji
A determined face with both arms curled into a flex.
Read the entry
Questions
Dance Kaomoji FAQ
What is the dance kaomoji?
♪┌(・。・)┘♪ is the standard — a face with box-drawing arms bent at the elbow and a music note either side. Its mirror image ♪(┌・。・)┌ is posted alongside it to suggest movement.
How do you make a kaomoji look like it is dancing?
Add bent arms and a sound. Box-drawing characters (┌ ┘ ┏ ┛) give the elbows, and music notes (♪ ♫ ♬) supply the sound. Neither alone is quite enough: arms without notes read as posing, and notes without arms read as humming.
How do you animate a kaomoji?
You cannot, but you can imply it. Post the same face twice with the arms mirrored — ♪┌(・。・)┘♪ followed by ♪(┌・。・)┌ — and the two frames read as a step. This is the standard way a dance is shown in chat.
Why are the arms not lined up with the face?
The font. Box-drawing characters assume every character is the same width, so in a proportional font the arms sit at the wrong height or drift away from the body. In a monospace context — a code block, a terminal, most chat apps — they line up correctly.
Keep exploring