Clove Emoji: What It Is and How to Use It (2024 Guide)

The clove emoji doesn't exist as a standalone symbol. Instead, people use the garlic emoji (🧄) to represent garlic cloves in digital communication. This single emoji serves for both whole garlic heads and individual cloves, as no specific clove-only emoji was ever created in the Unicode standard.

Many people searching for a clove emoji are surprised to discover there's no dedicated symbol for an individual garlic clove. The confusion stems from the fact that while garlic grows in segments called cloves, the Unicode Consortium only approved one garlic-related emoji: the garlic head emoji (🧄).

Understanding the Garlic Emoji (🧄)

Officially named "garlic" in the Unicode Standard (version 13.0, released in 2020), this emoji depicts a whole garlic bulb with its characteristic papery skin. Despite representing a complete garlic head, it's become the universal symbol for garlic in all forms—including individual cloves—in digital communication.

Emoji	Unicode Name	Code Point	Release Year
🧄	Garlic	U+1F9C4	2020

Why There's No Specific Clove Emoji

The Unicode Consortium, which governs emoji standards, prioritizes symbols with broad global relevance. While garlic as a whole plant has significant cultural importance worldwide, an individual clove didn't meet the threshold for inclusion as a separate emoji. The approval process considers factors like:

• Global usage frequency across cultures
• Distinctiveness from existing symbols
• Potential for misinterpretation
• Technical implementation challenges

Food-related emojis often represent complete items rather than components. For example, we have a lemon emoji but not a "lemon slice" emoji, and an avocado emoji but not a "pit" emoji.

How to Use the Garlic Emoji for Cloves

When discussing individual garlic cloves, digital communicators have developed conventions using the available garlic emoji:

• Use a single 🧄 to represent one clove in recipes ("Add 1 🧄 minced")
• Repeat the emoji for multiple cloves ("3 🧄 finely chopped")
• Combine with other symbols ("🧄+🔪 = minced garlic")

This contextual usage has become widely understood in cooking communities, recipe sharing platforms, and food-related social media.

Technical Details: Accessing the Garlic Emoji

You can use the garlic emoji across all major platforms. Here's how to access it:

• iOS: Update to iOS 13.2 or later, then find it in the food section of your emoji keyboard
• Android: Available on devices with Android 10 or later through the Google Keyboard
• Windows: Press Windows key + . (period) to open emoji picker, then search "garlic"
• Mac: Press Control + Command + Space, then search for "garlic"

Common Misconceptions About the Clove Emoji

Several misunderstandings persist about garlic representation in emojis:

• Myth: Some platforms have a hidden clove-specific emoji
  Fact: No major platform has created a proprietary clove emoji beyond the standard garlic symbol
• Myth: The garlic emoji only represents whole garlic heads
  Fact: Context determines whether it represents a whole head or individual cloves
• Myth: A clove emoji will be added in future updates
  Fact: No such proposal exists in the current Unicode roadmap

Practical Usage Examples

The garlic emoji serves multiple purposes in digital communication:

• Cooking instructions: "Sauté 2 🧄 and 1 onion until golden"
• Health discussions: "Eating raw 🧄 may help boost immunity"
• Cultural references: "🧄 hung by doors in some cultures for protection"
• Gardening tips: "Plant 🧄 cloves pointy-end up in fall for spring harvest"

Future Possibilities for Garlic Representation

While no clove-specific emoji currently exists, the Unicode Consortium occasionally approves related symbols. Possible future developments include:

• A "minced garlic" emoji as part of food preparation symbols
• Additional food component emojis in the "cooking" category
• Regional garlic varieties represented through emoji modifiers

However, any new emoji would need to demonstrate significant global usage need and pass through the rigorous Unicode approval process, which typically takes 18-24 months from proposal to implementation.

Is there a specific clove emoji separate from the garlic emoji?

No, there is no separate clove emoji. The garlic emoji (🧄) serves for both whole garlic heads and individual cloves. The Unicode Standard only includes one garlic-related symbol, which represents the entire bulb but is commonly used to indicate single cloves in context.

How can I properly indicate multiple garlic cloves using emojis?

To represent multiple cloves, repeat the garlic emoji (🧄) the appropriate number of times. For example, "3 🧄 minced" clearly indicates three individual garlic cloves in recipe instructions. This convention has become widely accepted in digital cooking communities.

Why doesn't Unicode have a separate emoji for garlic cloves?

The Unicode Consortium prioritizes symbols with the broadest global relevance. While garlic as a whole has significant cultural importance worldwide, an individual clove didn't meet the threshold for inclusion as a separate emoji. Food-related emojis typically represent complete items rather than components, following patterns seen with other food symbols.

Can I use the garlic emoji to represent other similar foods?

While primarily used for garlic, some people creatively use the garlic emoji (🧄) to represent similar alliums like shallots or even ginger in informal contexts. However, for clarity in recipes, it's best to use it specifically for garlic and rely on text for other ingredients to avoid confusion.

Will a dedicated clove emoji be added in future Unicode updates?

There are no current proposals for a dedicated clove emoji in the Unicode roadmap. Any new emoji would need to demonstrate significant global usage need and pass through the rigorous approval process, which typically takes 18-24 months. For now, the existing garlic emoji (🧄) remains the standard symbol for all garlic forms.