What does ✏️ Pencil mean?
A wooden pencil with an eraser on the end. It stands for writing, drawing, sketching, school and editing. People use it to say they are taking notes, drafting something or making a small correction, and the phrase “pencil it in” makes it perfect for tentative plans. Artists use it for sketches and works in progress. Compared with 🖊️, it suggests something rough or changeable rather than final.
✏️ Pencil is an emoji from the Objects category (writing tools), added in Emoji 0.6 in 2010.
Example messages
✏️ Pencil on Apple, Google, Microsoft & more
The code is the same everywhere, but every company draws its own artwork. This is how Pencil looks on each platform.
More writing tools emojis
See all 8 →Collections with ✏️
Pencil emoji: questions & answers
How do I copy and paste the Pencil emoji?
Press the Copy button at the top of this page and ✏️ is copied to your clipboard. Then paste it anywhere with Ctrl+V, Cmd+V or a long press on your phone. In Slack, Discord and GitHub you can also type the shortcode :pencil2:.
When was the Pencil emoji added?
✏️ Pencil was added in Emoji 0.6, released in 2010. It is supported on all current versions of iOS, Android, Windows and macOS.
Why does ✏️ look different on my phone?
Every platform draws its own artwork for Pencil. The underlying code (U+270F U+FE0F) is the same everywhere, so the person you send it to always gets the same emoji, just in their device’s style. Compare the designs in the platform section above.