The Japanese “prohibited” button flashes the single kanji 禁 on a danger-red square, basically the universal vibe of “Nope. Off-limits.” It’s the emoji you drop when you’re shutting down bad ideas, banning spoilers in the group chat, or telling your friend their microwave ramen recipe is a crime against noodles. Internet culture uses it like a mini banhammer—swift, dramatic, and perfect for “mods say no” moments. It also works ironically: “Me @ midnight snacks: 禁.”
On Apple/iOS, it looks like a glossy, rounded red square with a subtle gradient and the bright white 禁 centered—crisp strokes, front-facing, and very “app tile” chic, like a shiny emergency stop button. In the real world, you’ll spot 禁 all over Japan on signs like 禁煙 (no smoking), labels, and rule boards, so it carries instant “not allowed” energy. People stack it with 🚫, ⛔, or 🙅 to crank up the drama, or use it playfully/teasingly as in “you’re trouble—off-limits.” Compact, punchy, and unmistakable, it reads as can’t—won’t—don’t in one tidy glyph.
Definition
n ideogram (pictogram or ideograph) is a symbol or picture used to communicate a concept or idea.
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Emoji History The emoji code/ image log of changes.
This emoji first appeared in OSX / iOS after the iOS 5 update.
Emoji General Information
Twitter Emoji Popularity (Rank)
1068 of 2393
Apple/iOS Picture
Google Android Picture
Google Hangouts Picture
Twitter.com Picture
LG Emoji Picture
Samsung Emoji Picture
Phantom Open Emoji Picture
Not created yet
ASCII Conversion
"Short Code" Name
:u7981:
Keywords
Previous Names:
Squared CJK Unified Ideograph-7981 Japanese "Prohibited" Button
