This little red square flashes the kanji 申, which in Japanese reads like “to apply/submit” (think 申請 shinsei or 申し込み mōshikomi). It comes from the classic set of Japanese carrier-style buttons used on phones and signage, so it feels very “real world” — like a form counter at City Hall shrunk into your keyboard. Online, it doubles as a punchy way to say “apply here,” “sign me up,” or “I’m officially entering this chaos.”
People drop it in replies for giveaways, casting calls, beta tests, or—more chaotically—when they’re volunteering themselves for a crush’s DMs. It’s also prime sarcasm: someone starts drama and you hit them with 申 as if to say, “please submit your complaint in triplicate.” A fun side quest: 申 is also the Chinese Earthly Branch for the Monkey zodiac, so you’ll sometimes see it used with monkey memes or New Year posts for that year’s zodiac.
On Apple devices, it’s a vivid red rounded square with a crisp white 申 centered neatly, flat yet slightly glossy depending on version, like a clean decal on a vending machine. The high-contrast, signage-like vibe makes it instantly recognizable and perfect for bold, “official notice” energy in your post aesthetic.
Definition
Ideograph Saying: Application Needed, Apply Here.
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Emoji History The emoji code/ image log of changes.
This emoji was part of the proprietary / non-standardized emoji set first introduced by Japanese carriers like Softbank. These emojis became part of the Apple iPhone starting in iOS 2.2 as an unlockable feature on handsets sold in English speaking countries.
In iOS 5 / OSX 10.7, the underlying code that the Apple OS generates for this emoji was changed.
Emoji General Information
Twitter Emoji Popularity (Rank)
988 of 2393
Apple/iOS Picture
Google Android Picture
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LG Emoji Picture
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Phantom Open Emoji Picture
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ASCII Conversion
"Short Code" Name
:u7533:
Keywords
Previous Names:
Squared CJK Unified Ideograph-7533 Japanese "Application" Button
Application Sign
