About

Twitch Emotes are emoticons displayed in Twitch chat which typically feature faces of notable streamers, Twitch employees or fictional characters used to express a variety of emotions.

Origin

In June 2011, public beta for the video-streaming site Twitch was launched. In June 2012, the site TwitchEmotes.com^[4] was launched as a database for emoticons used in Twitch chat.

Spread

On July 14th, 2015, YouTuber Huwarf uploaded a satirical video titled "Twitch Emotes Explained," featuring a text-to-speech program highlighting several situations to use various Twitch emotes (shown below).

On October 21st, 2015, the poll analysis blog FiveThirtyEight^[3] published an article about Twitch emotes, noting that Kappa dominated as the most popular global emotes on the service.

Extensions

The BetterTTV^[6] and FrankerFacez^[5] browser extensions provide users with additional emotes not available in Twitch global chat by default.

Various Examples

Kappa

Kappa is an emote based on a grey-scale photograph of former Justin.tv developer Josh DeSeno, which is often used in Twitch chat as a symbol of sarcasm, mockery or light trolling (shown below).

4head

4head is an emote based off a photograph of League of Legends streamer Cadburry widely grinning, which is typically used as an earnest or sarcastic reaction to humor.

PogChamp

PogChamp is an emote made from a screen capture of Ryan "Gootecks" Gutierrez making an odd face during an episode of the video game web series Cross Counter (shown below, left). The name "PogChamp" is taken from another Cross Counter video, in which Gutierrez beats opponent Mike Ross in a pog battle (shown below, right).

The emoticon is typically used to indicate shock or celebrate a stunning victory.

FrankerZ

FrankerZ is a dog face emoticon used to convey sarcasm or playfulness in Twitch chat rooms, which is based on a photograph of Twitch streamer Ernest Le's dog.

Kreygasm

Kreygasm is an emoticon featuring a portrait of Twitch streamer Kreyg,^[8] which is often used in chats on the video streaming service to indicate an intense feeling of elation or pleasure.

Jebaited

Jebaited is an emoticon featuring a photograph of CEO Gaming founder Alex Jebailey, which is often used to describe “baiting” video game tactics in Twitch chat.

BibleThump

BibleThump is a graphic emoticon featuring the face of the character Isaac from the video game The Binding of Isaac, which is commonly used on Twitch to convey a feeling of sadness.

MonkaS

MonkaS is a BetterTTV emote featuring an illustration of Pepe the Frog appearing frightened while sweating, which is typically used in Twitch chat during moments of high tension in video game matches to express anxiety.

Kkona

Kkona is a BetterTTV emote featuring a picture of the streamer KONA wearing a newsboy cap. According to Redditor azathothcult, the Kkona emote is typically used in reference to the song "Brotherman Bill", to something "extremely white or redneck-like" or to hats.

Wutface

Wutface is an emote based off a photograph of Twitch employee Alex Mendez making an open-mouthed facial expression, which is often used to express incredulity or bewilderment.

ResidentSleeper

ResidentSleeper is an emote based on a screen captured image of streamer Oddler dosing off while trying to stream himself playing Resident Evil games for 72 hours straight. The emote is often used to indicate boredom or unrest.

Trihard

Trihard is an emote using the face of speed runner Trihex.

Poggers

Poggers is a BetterTTV emote featuring an illustration of Pepe the Frog staring wide-eyed with his mouth agape (shown below).

Search Interest

External References