😨
fearful face
Unicode: 1F628
Description
A yellow circular face with wide, open eyes, raised eyebrows, and a small, often slightly downturned mouth, conveying surprise or shock.
Group:
Smileys & Emotion > face-concerned
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically represents fear, shock, surprise, or apprehension. It can also indicate feeling overwhelmed or startled.
Backstory
This emoji was introduced in Unicode 6.0 (2010). It is one of several 'face with X' emojis designed to convey a range of human emotions, providing a direct visual representation of surprise or mild fright.
Usage Examples
- Reacting to surprising news: 'No way! Did that really happen? 😱'
- Expressing mild fear: 'The thunder just made me jump! 😱'
- Conveying shock: 'You won the lottery?! 😱'
- Feeling overwhelmed: 'So much work to do today, I'm just 😱'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Commonly used to express genuine surprise, mild fear, or being startled by an unexpected event.
East Asian culture:
Similar usage, often appears in reaction to sudden news, unexpected turns of events in conversation, or a surprising revelation.