U+1F981 · emoji since 2015
The lion face is courage with a mane. It's strength, leadership, and main character confidence, sent to hype someone up before a big moment.
It also roars for star signs (hello Leos), team mascots, and anyone having a fearless day. Walk in like you own the savanna.
In texting, 🦁 does not carry a widely used hidden or slang meaning, so you can usually take it at face value. People send it just as it looks, to add a little visual touch or set the mood of a message. Only a handful of emoji have a separate texting code, and 🦁 is not really one of them.
Its official Unicode name is the Lion emoji. In everyday chat most people just call it the lion emoji or describe what it shows. Copy and paste it from the button at the top of this page.
The 🦁 leads off a short phrase, and the rest of the words are written in cipher, every letter disguised as another emoji. Tap decipher to reveal the whole line.
Or make your own cipher in the translator.