cat with wry smile
Unicode: 1F63C
Description
A yellow cartoon-styled face with wide, round eyes, a furrowed brow, and an open mouth making an 'o' shape, depicting surprise, shock, or alarm.
Group:
Smileys & Emotion > cat-face
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Commonly expresses feelings of surprise, shock, alarm, fear, or a sense of awe. It can also signify being speechless or taken aback.
Backstory
This emoji was introduced in Unicode 6.0 (2010) and is part of a larger set of 'cat face' emojis, though its application has broadened beyond just representing cats to cover general human emotions of shock and surprise.
Usage Examples
- Expressing sudden shock: 'Did you hear what happened?! 🙀'
- Reacting to something unexpected: 'I can't believe it's snowing! 🙀'
- Showing mild alarm: 'Oops, I almost forgot! 🙀'
- Conveying being speechless: 'That plot twist! 🙀'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Frequently used for unexpected events, jumpscares, or being pleasantly surprised/astonished. Can also denote comedic shock.
East Asian culture:
Often used similarly, but can also convey a cute or innocent form of surprise, sometimes in self-deprecating humor.