<4

What Does <4 Mean?

<4 means "I Really Love You."

The characters < and 4 (which together mean "less than four") are used as an emoticon to express intense love. <4 is a play on the <3 emoticon, which represents a heart and means "love" or "I love you."

For those who are totally besotted, <4 is a way to add emphasis to a declaration of love. For example:
  • Lee: <3.
  • Nelly: <4.
  • Lee: ???
  • Nelly: I really love you.
There are lots more ways of saying "I Love You" online.

Image for <4

When I write <4, I mean this: meaning of <4

<4 is a declaration of love.

Summary of Key Points

"I Really Love You" is the most common definition for <4 on Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
<4
Definition:I Really Love You
Type:Icon
Guessability:guessability level 4
4: Difficult to guess
Typical Users:typical user

Adults and Teenagers

An Academic Look at <4

<4 is classified as an emoticon. Emoticons are a way to show emotion in text-based communication. They consist of a small group of symbols arranged to show emotions, such as happiness, sadness, anger, and others, using the letters, numbers, and symbols usually found on a standard keyboard in a typographic approximation of the desired illustration.

Using Numbers in Texts

This video shows the different ways that numbers are used in "text speak":

Example of <4 Used in a Text

<4

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