neutral face
Unicode: 1F610
Description
A yellow circular face with a flat, neutral line for a mouth and wide, open eyes.
Group:
Smileys & Emotion > face-neutral-skeptical
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically represents neutrality, indifference, a lack of strong emotion, or being unamused. It can also convey slight annoyance, awkwardness, or 'meh' feelings.
Backstory
The neutrality of this emoji, along with others like the slightly smiling face and frowning face, was introduced early in Unicode (Unicode 6.0, 2010) to fill out the range of basic human emotional expressions in digital communication. It's a foundational emoji for conveying a non-committal or understated response.
Usage Examples
- When something is just average: 'The movie was okay neutral_face.'
- Expressing indifference: 'I don't really care neutral_face.'
- Polite but unenthusiastic agreement: 'Sure, I guess neutral_face.'
- Conveying a 'meh' feeling: 'My day was just... neutral_face.'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Commonly used to express ambivalence, mild disappointment, or a 'whatever' attitude. Also used for polite but unenthusiastic responses.
East Asian culture:
Similar usage, often to politely express a lack of excitement or to convey a sense of 'it's okay' rather than 'it's great'.