Microbe

🦠 is the microbe emoji, part of Unicode's Animals & Nature group, added in Emoji 11.0 (2018). Unicode's keyword list links it with “amoeba”, “bacteria”, “science”, and “virus”.

Create a new emoji with 🦠

Where animal-bug emoji usually appear

DBEmoji editorial interpretation

Applies to every emoji in this Unicode subgroup, not only this one.

Nature, gardening, and insect-related posts

Technical details

Source: Unicode Consortium

Unicode name: MICROBE
CLDR short name: microbe
Codepoint: U+1F9A0
Hex: 1F9A0
Emoji version: 11.0
Unicode version: 11.0
First released: 2018
Unicode group: Animals & Nature
Unicode subgroup: animal-bug
Status: Recommended for General Interchange (RGI)

Data verified 2026-10-21 · Unicode Emoji 16.0 · How this data is built

GitHub shortcode

From GitHub's own emoji list (gemoji). Slack, Discord and other apps keep separate lists, so a code may differ there.

:microbe:

Keywords

Source: Unicode CLDR

amoeba · bacteria · microbe · science · virus

How it looks

Your device

Rendered from open-licensed emoji sets. Your device shows its own design. Microsoft Fluent Emoji (MIT)

Download as image

Renders 🦠 with your system emoji font into PNG, WebP, or SVG. Pick a pixel size, then download.

Note: PNG and WebP use the emoji font installed on your device (Apple Color Emoji on macOS/iOS, Segoe UI Emoji on Windows, Noto Color Emoji on Android/Linux), so the look matches your platform. SVG embeds the character as text — rendering depends on the viewer.

Microsoft Fluent UI Emoji — original artwork

Download Microsoft's official Fluent rendering of 🦠. SVG files are vector (scales to any size); the 3D PNG is 256×256.

Questions people ask

What does the 🦠 microbe emoji mean?: 🦠 is the microbe emoji, part of Unicode's Animals & Nature group, added in Emoji 11.0 (2018). Unicode's keyword list links it with “amoeba”, “bacteria”, “science”, and “virus”.
What is the Unicode codepoint for 🦠?: U+1F9A0, named MICROBE in the Unicode Standard.
When was the 🦠 microbe emoji released?: It was added in Emoji 11.0, published in 2018, alongside Unicode 11.0. Phones and computers show it once their system software supports that version; older devices may show an empty box instead.
How do I type 🦠 on my phone or computer?: On iPhone or Android, open the emoji keyboard and search for “microbe”. On Windows, press Windows key + . (full stop); on a Mac, press Control + Command + Space, then search for the same word. You can also copy 🦠 from this page with one click.
What is the shortcode for 🦠?: On GitHub, type :microbe: and it turns into 🦠 — that code comes from GitHub's own emoji list. Slack, Discord and other apps keep their own shortcode lists; many codes match GitHub's, but check the app's emoji picker to be sure.