The Bear Kaomoji ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ—often called “The Teddy Bear” or “Koala”—is one of the most recognizable animal text faces on the internet. Unlike standard faces that use parentheses (), the Bear uses special curved brackets that look exactly like fluffy animal ears.
It is the king of the “Animals” category in our Kaomoji Picker, beloved for its wholesome vibe and unique typography. It turns any text message into a comforting hug.
Quick Kaomoji Facts
| Attribute | Detail |
| Kaomoji | ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ |
| Name | Bear / Teddy Bear |
| Vibe | Cuddly, Wholesome, Protective |
| Key Character | Uses the Latin Letter Ain ᴥ for the nose |
| Ears | Uses the IPA symbol ʕ |
| Category | Animals / Cute |
What does ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ mean?
The Bear is universally positive. It represents:
- Comfort/Hugs: It is most frequently used to send a digital hug (especially the variation with arms ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ).
- Innocence: Like the Flower Girl, it conveys a soft, non-threatening tone.
- “Listening”: The large ears imply that the sender is listening intently to what you are saying.
How to Type the Bear?
The Bear is actually a linguistic masterpiece. It doesn’t use standard keyboard characters. It uses symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) meant to represent specific sounds in spoken language.
- The Ears: ʕ and ʔ. These are actually “Glottal Stops” and “Pharyngeal Fricatives” used in linguistics to describe sounds made in the throat. To the internet, however, they are just perfect bear ears.
- The Nose: ᴥ. This is the Latin Letter “Ain.”
Option 1: The Instant Copy
Because these characters are obscure linguistic symbols, you cannot type them on a standard keyboard. The easiest way is to use the Copy Button on this page (or the sidebar).
Option 2: The “Hug” Shortcut
If you are a frequent hugger on Discord or Telegram, set up a text replacement:
- Trigger: &bear or &hug
- Replacement: ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ
Popular Variations
The Bear is highly versatile. By changing the arms or eyes, you can change the entire mood. You can find all of these in the “Animals” section of our Kaomoji Picker tool:
- The Hugging Bear: ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ (The most popular variation)
- The Angry Bear: ʕ Ò ᴥ Ó ʔ (Don’t poke the bear)
- The Crying Bear: ʕ ︣ ᴥ ︣ ʔ (Sad teddy)
- The Cool Bear: ʕ ▀ ڡ ▀ ʔ (Wearing sunglasses)
- The Koala: ʕ •̀ ω •́ ʔ (Often confused with the bear, but uses a different nose)
Conclusion
The Bear ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ proves that you don’t need fancy graphics to be adorable. With just a few characters from the International Phonetic Alphabet, you can create a character that everyone wants to hug.
If you love animal text faces, we have plenty more—including Cats (=^･ω･^=), Dogs, and Rabbits—waiting for you in the main Kaomoji Picker.