Emojion👺 kobold
Betekenis
Depicting a tengu from Japanese mythology, this emoji covers anger, mischief, and evil. In Japan it also doubles as a jab at conceit (tengu ni naru = to get a big head), while in the West it's often paired with the viral 'goblin mode' slang for unapologetic laziness.
Trefwoorden: fabel, fantasie, gezicht, japans, masker, monster, mythologie, smiley, sprookje, tengu, wezen
Zo wordt hij wereldwijd gebruikt
JapanBecause 'tengu ni naru' (becoming a tengu) means getting conceited in Japanese, the emoji is often used to tease someone for being full of themselves — a nuance rooted in Noh and Kabuki theater mask imagery.
United StatesPrimarily used for trolling and mischief, and since 2022 commonly paired with 'goblin mode' — Oxford's Word of the Year for unapologetically lazy, self-indulgent behavior.
💡 Wist je dat?
Buiten Japan geldt 👺 als schurk of monster, maar eigenlijk stelt het de Japanse tengu voor. Naar de uitdrukking "een tengu worden" (naast je schoenen gaan lopen) gebruiken Japanners het in chats voor iemand die arrogant of bazig doet.
💡 Wist je dat?
The tengu is said to appear in Japan's Nihon Shoki (720 CE), giving it over 1,300 years of recorded history. Its signature long nose and red face are thought to have developed through association with mountain ascetics called yamabushi.
💡 Wist je dat?
For Japanese speakers, attaching 👺 to a boast signals self-aware cockiness — 'I know I'm being a tengu right now.' Western readers miss the joke entirely, seeing only a generic monster face, because the 'tengu = conceit' idiom doesn't cross cultural lines.