smiling face with open hands
Unicode: 1F917
Description
A yellow face emoji with one hand covering its mouth, as if surprised, embarrassed, or in awe. The eyes are wide, and the eyebrows are raised. The other hand may or may not be visible, often implies a sense of shock or a gasp.
Group:
Smileys & Emotion > face-hand
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically represents surprise, shock, awe, embarrassment, or a sudden realization. It can also convey an 'oops' moment or a speechless reaction.
Backstory
This emoji was introduced in Unicode 8.0 (2015) as part of a set of new expressions including the 'thinking face' and 'zipper-mouth face'. It quickly became popular for conveying a wide range of surprised or taken-aback emotions, reflecting common human reactions in digital form.
Usage Examples
- Expressing surprise: 'Did you see that? 😮'
- Conveying embarrassment: 'I just realized I had spinach in my teeth the whole time! 😮'
- Reacting to good news: 'She got the job! 😮'
- Showing awe: 'That view is incredible! 😮'
- A 'gasp' moment: 'Wait, what?! 😮'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Commonly used to express genuine surprise, mild embarrassment, or a sense of being speechless in a positive or negative context. Sometimes used humorously.
East Asian culture:
Similar usage to Western culture, but can also be used to convey shy agreement or polite astonishment, reflecting a more reserved expression of surprise.