diff --git a/src/components/chat/EmojiPickerDialog.tsx b/src/components/chat/EmojiPickerDialog.tsx
index 22a1d4c..72a20fd 100644
--- a/src/components/chat/EmojiPickerDialog.tsx
+++ b/src/components/chat/EmojiPickerDialog.tsx
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { Search } from "lucide-react";
 import type { EmojiSearchResult } from "@/services/emoji-search";
 import type { EmojiTag } from "@/lib/emoji-helpers";
 import { useEmojiSearch } from "@/hooks/useEmojiSearch";
+import { CustomEmoji } from "../nostr/CustomEmoji";
 
 interface EmojiPickerDialogProps {
   open: boolean;
@@ -153,7 +154,7 @@ export function EmojiPickerDialog({
     <Dialog open={open} onOpenChange={onOpenChange}>
       <DialogContent className="max-w-md">
         {/* Search input */}
-        <div className="relative">
+        <div className="relative mt-4">
           <Search className="absolute left-3 top-1/2 transform -translate-y-1/2 size-4 text-muted-foreground" />
           <Input
             type="text"
@@ -166,7 +167,7 @@ export function EmojiPickerDialog({
         </div>
 
         {/* Fixed 1-row emoji grid (8 emoji) with consistent height */}
-        <div className="grid grid-cols-8 gap-3 min-h-[3.5rem]">
+        <div className="grid grid-cols-8 items-center gap-3 h-[1.5rem]">
           {displayEmojis.length > 0 ? (
             displayEmojis.map((result) => (
               <button
@@ -178,16 +179,16 @@ export function EmojiPickerDialog({
                 {result.source === "unicode" ? (
                   <span className="text-xl leading-none">{result.url}</span>
                 ) : (
-                  <img
-                    src={result.url}
-                    alt={`:${result.shortcode}:`}
-                    className="size-5 object-contain"
+                  <CustomEmoji
+                    size="md"
+                    shortcode={result.shortcode}
+                    url={result.url}
                   />
                 )}
               </button>
             ))
           ) : (
-            <div className="col-span-8 flex items-center justify-center text-xs text-muted-foreground">
+            <div className="col-span-8 flex items-center justify-center text-sm text-muted-foreground">
               No emojis found
             </div>
           )}
diff --git a/src/components/nostr/CustomEmoji.tsx b/src/components/nostr/CustomEmoji.tsx
index 2f57523..6125466 100644
--- a/src/components/nostr/CustomEmoji.tsx
+++ b/src/components/nostr/CustomEmoji.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { useState } from "react";
 import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
+import { Tooltip, TooltipContent, TooltipTrigger } from "../ui/tooltip";
 
 export interface CustomEmojiProps {
   /** The shortcode (without colons) */
@@ -46,17 +47,22 @@ export function CustomEmoji({
   }
 
   return (
-    <img
-      src={url}
-      alt={`:${shortcode}:`}
-      title={`:${shortcode}:`}
-      className={cn(
-        "inline-block object-contain",
-        sizeClasses[size],
-        className,
-      )}
-      loading="lazy"
-      onError={() => setError(true)}
-    />
+    <Tooltip>
+      <TooltipTrigger>
+        <img
+          src={url}
+          alt={`:${shortcode}:`}
+          title={`:${shortcode}:`}
+          className={cn(
+            "inline-block object-contain",
+            sizeClasses[size],
+            className,
+          )}
+          loading="lazy"
+          onError={() => setError(true)}
+        />
+      </TooltipTrigger>
+      <TooltipContent>:{shortcode}:</TooltipContent>
+    </Tooltip>
   );
 }