🦛 hippopotamus Emoji — Meaning, Copy & Paste

What Does the hippopotamus Emoji 🦛 Mean?

Big, round, river-loving — the hippo emoji arrived in Unicode 11.0 and brought serious cuteness to the safari lineup. The design is usually purple-gray and shows the whole animal, often with that round body and small ears. People use it for zoo posts, African river content, kids' birthday parties (hippos are huge in children's media — Fiona the Hippo, anyone?), and 'I want a hippopotamus for Christmas' references that come back every holiday season.

It's also a low-key meme animal thanks to how chunky and lovable the design tends to be. Despite their cute look, real hippos are extremely dangerous — but the emoji is pure joy. Pair with water or other safari animals.

The 'Hungry Hungry Hippos' game keeps it in family-game-night content. Some users also deploy it humorously when describing themselves as 'sweating like a hippo' since hippos secrete a reddish 'sweat' that acts as natural sunscreen. Pablo Escobar's escaped hippos in Colombia (an actual invasive species crisis) have made the emoji unexpectedly relevant in environmental news posts.