Lightbulb Emoji

Press Copy for the lightbulb emoji, or take an idea combo, a typed bulb or a lamp.

Lightbulb Emoji

๐Ÿ’กLight bulbU+1F4A1Ready to copy

59 items. Tap one to copy it.

Light bulb emoji 19

Light symbols 10

Lightbulb emoticons 4

Bulb drawings 2

Idea sayings 7

Idea lines 5

Bulb combos 12

Next step Next: the face that is still thinkingNext: every object emoji

How it works

The lightbulb emoji is ๐Ÿ’ก, from Emoji 0.6. It is the only emoji CLDR, Unicodeโ€™s list of search words, files under bulb, and one of two it files under idea; the other is Thought balloon.

Read the full guide

A bulb that means an idea

Unicodeโ€™s own note on the character is one word, idea, and CLDR also files it under comic. So it serves as the bright idea emoji and the light bulb moment emoji alike. For an I have an idea emoji, the combo Idea, hand up puts Person raising hand before the bulb.

A bulb made of keys

No key types a bulb and U+1F4A1 has no text style, so a light bulb keyboard symbol, or a lightbulb text symbol to copy and paste, has to be built. The typed bulbs here lie on their side, glass first and screw base last.

Questions and answers

What does the ๐Ÿ’ก emoji mean?

An idea arriving. Wiktionary gives light bulb a figurative sense, used for a realization, inspiration or idea that arrives suddenly. Taken literally it is light: CLDR files it under electric and light too, beside Flashlight.

What is the lightbulb Unicode code?

U+1F4A1, in Unicode since version 6.0. Unicode names the character Electric light bulb and CLDRโ€™s short name is light bulb, two words; Wiktionary lists lightbulb as another form of the same word.

What is the light bulb Alt code?

There is none among the old ones: code page 437 has no bulb, and its closest is Alt+15, โ˜ผ, a sun with rays. By Wikipedia, some apps turn 1F4A1 into ๐Ÿ’ก when Alt+X follows it.

Is there a light bulb emoticon?

The light bulb emoji has no standard emoticon, so this page types its own with plain keys: ( )= is a bulb switched off, (*)= one switched on, and two drawings stand a bigger bulb upright.

All 59 items

Light bulb emoji 19

  • Battery U+1F50B. Filed under battery. Emoji 0.6.
  • Brain U+1F9E0. Filed under smart. Emoji 5.0.
  • Bright button U+1F506. Filed under bright and light. Emoji 1.0.
  • Candle U+1F56F U+FE0F. The emoji before Light bulb in Unicodeโ€™s list. Filed under light. Emoji 0.7.
  • Couch and lamp U+1F6CB U+FE0F. Filed under lamp. Emoji 0.7.
  • Dim button U+1F505. Filed under dim. Emoji 1.0.
  • Electric plug U+1F50C. Filed under electric and plug. Emoji 0.6.
  • Exploding head U+1F92F. Filed under mind and mindblown. Emoji 5.0.
  • Flashlight U+1F526. The emoji after Light bulb in Unicodeโ€™s list. Filed under electric and light. Emoji 0.6.
  • Glowing star U+1F31F. Filed under glow and shining. Emoji 0.6.
  • High voltage U+26A1. Filed under electric and electricity. Emoji 0.6.
  • Light bulb U+1F4A1. The only emoji CLDR files under bulb. Also filed under idea, electric, light and comic. Emoji 0.6.
  • Low battery U+1FAAB. Filed under low and power. Emoji 14.0.
  • Memo U+1F4DD. Filed under notes. Emoji 0.6.
  • Red paper lantern U+1F3EE. Filed under light and lantern. Emoji 0.6.
  • Sparkles U+2728. Filed under sparkle. Emoji 0.6.
  • Sun U+2600 U+FE0F. Filed under bright. Emoji 0.6.
  • Thinking face U+1F914. Filed under thinking and hmm. Emoji 1.0.
  • Thought balloon U+1F4AD. The other emoji CLDR files under idea. Emoji 1.0.
Show all 59 items (40 more)

Light symbols 10

  • Earth ground U+23DA. Unicode names it Earth ground.
  • Electric arrow U+2301. Unicode names it Electric arrow.
  • High voltage, text style U+26A1. The same character with the text selector, U+FE0E, which asks for a plain symbol.
  • Lamp, Han character U+706F. A Han character. Unihan defines it as lantern, lamp.
  • Light, Han character U+5149. A Han character. Unihan defines it as light, brilliant, shine; only.
  • Ohm sign U+2126. Unicode notes it as the SI unit of resistance.
  • Power off symbol U+2B58. Unicode names it Heavy circle and notes it as power off symbol.
  • Power on symbol U+23FD. Unicode names it Power on symbol.
  • Power symbol U+23FB. Unicode names it Power symbol.
  • Sun with rays U+263C. Unicode names it White sun with rays. Alt+15 in code page 437.

Lightbulb emoticons 4

  • ( )= A bulb on its side, switched off: glass first, then the screw base. Plain ASCII
  • ( )= ( )= (*)= ( )= One bulb lit in a row of four. Plain ASCII
  • (*)= The same bulb, switched on. Plain ASCII
  • (o_o) (*)= A face and a lit bulb: an idea has arrived. Plain ASCII

Bulb drawings 2

  • Lit bulb, drawn Five lines of ASCII
  • Unlit bulb, drawn Seven lines of ASCII

Idea sayings 7

  • Aha moment By Wiktionary: the moment when a problem's solution becomes clear. Red exclamation mark, then light bulb.
  • Brainstorm By Wiktionary, in the United States: a sudden thought, especially one solving a long-standing problem. Brain, then high voltage.
  • Bright spark By Wiktionary: an intelligent, clever or quick-witted person; often said with irony. Sparkles, then brain.
  • Eureka By Wiktionary: an exclamation at a sudden discovery. Light bulb, then raising hands, then sparkles.
  • Light bulb moment By Wiktionary, light bulb is used figuratively for a realization, inspiration or idea that arrives suddenly. Thought balloon, then light bulb.
  • See the light By Wiktionary: to come to understand something not understood before. Eyes, then light bulb.
  • Shed light on it By Wiktionary, to shed light on is to illuminate, to make clear. Flashlight, then page facing up.

Idea lines 5

  • Hear me out ๐Ÿ’ก For the idea that needs a minute
  • I have an idea ๐Ÿ’ก For the group chat, before the plan
  • Lights off when you leave ๐Ÿ’ก A note for the door
  • Wait, what if ๐Ÿ’ก For the thought that just landed
  • Who left the lights on ๐Ÿ’ก For the hallway

Bulb combos 12

  • Business idea Light bulb, then briefcase.
  • Changing the bulb Ladder, then light bulb.
  • Group brainstorm Busts in silhouette, then light bulb.
  • Idea takes off Light bulb, then rocket.
  • Idea, hand up Person raising hand, then light bulb.
  • Idea, written down Light bulb, then memo.
  • Lights off, good night Light bulb, then crescent moon.
  • Lights on Electric plug, then light bulb.
  • Low on ideas Low battery, then light bulb.
  • Power cut Light bulb, then cross mark, then candle.
  • Row of bulbs Light bulb, four times.
  • Shiny new idea Light bulb, then sparkles.

How this list was compiled: Built on 2026-10-09 from sources read that day. The emoji, their names, code points and Emoji version numbers are from the Unicode emoji list, version 18.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/emoji/emoji-test.txt); names are the CLDR short names printed in that file. Search words are from the CLDR English annotations (https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/blob/main/common/annotations/en.xml and https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/blob/main/common/annotationsDerived/en.xml). Light bulb is U+1F4A1, Emoji 0.6, in the group Objects, subgroup light & video: Candle is printed before it and Flashlight after it. CLDR gives it five search words (bulb, comic, electric, idea, light); it is the only emoji filed under bulb and one of two under idea, with Thought balloon. No emoji name and no search word is lightbulb as one word. Character names are from UnicodeData.txt, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/UnicodeData.txt): U+1F4A1 is Electric light bulb, the only character named for a bulb. Unicodeโ€™s notes (Electric light bulb: idea; Heavy circle: power off symbol; Ohm sign: SI unit of resistance) are from NamesList.txt (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/NamesList.txt); U+1F4A1 dates from Unicode 6.0 by DerivedAge.txt (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/DerivedAge.txt) and has no text style row in https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/emoji/emoji-variation-sequences.txt, while High voltage has one. The two Han characters are defined as in the Unihan database, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/Unihan.zip). Code page 437, which the old Alt codes follow, has no bulb; its Alt+15 is White sun with rays (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_page_437, CC BY-SA 4.0). That Alt+X turns the hexadecimal number before the cursor into its character in some apps is from Wikipedia, Unicode input (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode_input). The figurative sense of light bulb and the sayings are as Wiktionary defines them (CC BY-SA 4.0): light bulb (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/light_bulb), lightbulb (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lightbulb), aha moment (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aha_moment), eureka (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/eureka), see the light (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/see_the_light), shed light on (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shed_light_on), brainstorm (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brainstorm) and bright spark (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bright_spark). The four typed bulbs, the two drawings, the five lines and the twelve combos are this siteโ€™s own work. Licence: own work: the selection, the combo names, the text drawings and the notes are this site's own. Emoji names, code points and search words are Unicode and CLDR data, with definitions from the Unihan database, used under the Unicode License v3 (https://www.unicode.org/license.txt). Facts from Wikipedia and Wiktionary are restated in this site's own words and credited in the source line.

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