A classic ‘yay!’ face with both hands in the air. The katakana ヽ and ﾉ on each side serve as raised arms with mitten-like hands — one of the most recognizable shapes in Japanese kaomoji. The face inside has ⌒ wavy closed eyes (a ‘crinkled with joy’ look), a wide open ∇ mouth, and asterisks for cheek dimples. The combination is enthusiastic but still squarely cute.
If you only learn a handful of celebration kaomoji, this is one of the foundational ones. It is older than many of the more decorated modern variants and reads as clean, friendly happiness across audiences. There is no fancy decoration — no sparkles, no hearts — just the gesture and the face.
Use it on Discord when an event starts, on TikTok comments to celebrate a creator’s win, in Twitter/X replies to congratulate a friend, or in group chats for a shared accomplishment. Because it is widely understood, it is safe to use with people who are not deep into kaomoji culture.
In Japanese this ‘both arms up’ pose is often associated with やったー！ (‘yatta!’ — ‘we did it!’) or わーい！ (‘wai!’ — a cheering shout). It is the kind of kaomoji you would write at the end of a message announcing good news.