Bell Pepper

The 🫑 Bell Pepper emoji was added in Unicode 13 (2020) and is drawn as a single red or green bell pepper with a visible stem on top, shown from the side. The visual cue reads instantly as bell-pepper-coded reference, vegetable default, or the visible 'capsicum' tag. By 2026 🫑 has become the go-to emoji for the bell-pepper reaction, the visible capsicum default, and the vegetable-coded reaction in close-friends and family chats.

In modern chat 🫑 does very specific work. People send it as a literal bell pepper reference, as the visible 'capsicum' tag, or as the vegetable-coded default. The red or green bell pepper with a visible stem is the visual cue that the read is bell-pepper-coded. Writers should pick 🫑 when the read is bell pepper or visible vegetable energy, and avoid it when the read is hot pepper — 🌶️ fits better there.

🫑 lands on a friend's stuffed-pepper recipe, in a work channel where someone is signaling vegetable-coded energy, and in a family group where the sender is referencing a healthy meal. The red or green bell pepper with a visible stem anchors the read.

In close-friends chats 🫑 reads as the universal bell pepper default and the visible 'capsicum' tag. On X the emoji punctuates food-coded and vegetable-coded tweets. The emoji pairs with 🌶️ for the layered bell-and-hot-pepper pair stack and with 🥗 for the layered pepper-and-salad stack.

Skip 🫑 in any context where the read is hot chili pepper. The bell shape implies mild, not spicy. Avoid 🫑 in formal contexts where the vegetable-coded read lands as out-of-place.

If a friend sends 🫑 on a food-coded message, mirror with another 🫑 or 🥗 to match the energy. The pepper chain reads as solidarity.

If 🫑 lands as the vegetable-coded default, reply with another 🫑 or 🥘. And if you want to send 🫑 yourself, pair it with the moment so the bell-pepper-coded read is clear.