Where it comes from
It is a sideways Western emoticon: the < is the top two curves of a heart and the 3 is its point, read by tilting your head right. </3 with a slash is a broken heart.
When to use it
Use it to say thanks, sign off to close friends and family, or show you love a post or idea. Between coworkers it can feel too intimate, so choose it with care at work.
Examples
- Thanks for picking me up <3
- Miss you already <3
Variants to copy
What it is made of
Every character in the face with its Unicode code point — handy if one shows up as a box on a friend's phone.
<
U+003Cless-than sign3
U+0033digit three