Play or Pause Button

⏯️ is the play or pause button emoji, part of Unicode's Symbols group, added in Emoji 1.0 (2015). Unicode's keyword list links it with “arrow”, “right”, and “triangle”.

Where av-symbol emoji usually appear

DBEmoji editorial interpretation

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

Playback, media, and streaming contexts

Technical details

Source: Unicode Consortium

Unicode name: BLACK RIGHT-POINTING TRIANGLE WITH DOUBLE VERTICAL BAR
CLDR short name: play or pause button
Codepoint: U+23EF U+FE0F
Hex: 23EF FE0F
Emoji version: 1.0
Unicode version: 8.0
First released: 2015
Unicode group: Symbols
Unicode subgroup: av-symbol
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.

:play_or_pause_button:

Keywords

Source: Unicode CLDR

arrow · button · pause · play · right · triangle

How it looks

Play or Pause Button — Fluent 3D — Fluent 3D

Fluent Color

Fluent Flat

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 ⏯️ play or pause button emoji mean?: ⏯️ is the play or pause button emoji, part of Unicode's Symbols group, added in Emoji 1.0 (2015). Unicode's keyword list links it with “arrow”, “right”, and “triangle”.
What is the Unicode codepoint for ⏯️?: U+23EF U+FE0F: the character U+23EF (BLACK RIGHT-POINTING TRIANGLE WITH DOUBLE VERTICAL BAR) followed by U+FE0F, variation selector-16, which asks for the colour emoji form. Without U+FE0F many systems draw U+23EF as a plain text symbol.
When was the ⏯️ play or pause button emoji released?: It was added in Emoji 1.0, published in 2015, alongside Unicode 8.0. 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 “play or pause button”. 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 :play_or_pause_button: 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.