😔

pensive face

Unicode: 1F614

Description

A yellow circular face with closed, downcast eyes, a small, sad mouth, and sometimes a single tear or droplet beneath one eye. Its brow is furrowed, indicating dejection.

Group:

Smileys & Emotion > face-sleepy

Status:

fully-qualified

Emotion:

Typically represents sadness, disappointment, dejection, or being down in the dumps. It can also convey feeling unwell, heartbroken, or simply 'meh'.

Backstory

This emoji was introduced in Unicode 6.0 (2010), designed to convey a feeling of sadness or disappointment without full-blown tears, making it versatile for expressing a more subtle form of dejection. It's one of the core emotional face emojis that gained widespread popularity early on.

Usage Examples

  • Expressing disappointment: 'Raining on my day off. 😔'
  • Feeling unwell: 'Woke up with a headache. 😔'
  • Showing empathy: 'So sorry to hear that happened. 😔'
  • Conveying a 'meh' feeling: 'Not really feeling it today. 😔'

Cultural Differences

Western culture:

Commonly used to express mild to moderate sadness, feeling let down, or empathy for someone else's misfortune. Less intense than crying face emojis.

East Asian culture:

Often used for feelings of melancholy, regret, or to show a quieter form of disappointment. Can sometimes be used humorously to express a slight inconvenience.