The crying emoji, also known as the "teary face emoji," is a Unicode character that is used to represent tears or sadness in electronic communication. It is typically represented by a face with one or more tears streaming down the cheeks, and is often used to convey a sense of emotional distress or sadness. In text-based communication, the crying emoji can be inserted by using the proper Unicode character, or by selecting the emoji from a list of available options on the device or platform being used.