rat
What does rat mean?
The ๐ rat emoji depicts a light gray or brown rat shown in full profile, typically facing to the left with a long pink tail. In its most literal sense, it represents the animal itself, making it popular in discussions about pet rodents, city wildlife, pest control, or scientific research. It also frequently appears during the Chinese New Year to celebrate the Year of the Rat, the first sign in the Chinese Zodiac cycle. In digital communication, the rat emoji takes on a much more symbolic and conversational role. It is heavily used in texts and social media to represent someone who is deceitful, untrustworthy, or a "snitch." Conversely, it can also be used in a humorous, self-deprecating way to describe feeling gross, eating junk food at 3 AM, or scurrying around a city. You will often see it paired with other urban or food-related emojis to tell a story about city living.
Slang & Modern Usage
In internet slang, the ๐ emoji is the universal symbol for a "snitch" or someone who betrays a secret. When dropped in the comments of a drama or gossip thread, it accuses someone of "ratting" out their friends or leaking private information. More recently, Gen Z and millennials have reclaimed the rat emoji as a badge of honor for messy, chaotic, and unbothered lifestyles. Trends like "rat girl summer" encourage embracing a feral, goblin-mode attitude instead of striving for perfection. The emoji is also heavily tied to the "rodent boyfriend" meme on TikTok and Twitter, which affectionately describes a specific archetype of pale, unconventional, and slightly scruffy male celebrity crushes.
Emoji Combos
Platform Differences
Most platforms display a gray rat facing left with a long pink tail, though Google and Samsung's designs appear slightly rounder and more cartoonish than Apple's realistic, textured rendering.
Technical Information
| Unicode | U+1F400 |
| HTML Entity | 🐀 |
| CSS | \1F400 |
| JavaScript | \u{1F400} |
| Unicode Version | Unicode 1 |
| Status | Fully-qualified |