hear-no-evil monkey
Unicode: 1F649
Description
A person with both hands raised and palms facing up, indicating a shrug or gesture of helplessness. The person appears to be generic and gender-neutral.
Group:
Smileys & Emotion > monkey-face
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically represents uncertainty, indifference, confusion, resignation, or a lack of knowledge or responsibility. It conveys 'I don't know' or 'What can I do?'.
Backstory
The 'person shrugging' emoji was approved as part of Unicode 9.0 in 2016 and added to Emoji 3.0. It is a digital representation of the common physical gesture of shrugging one's shoulders to indicate uncertainty or indifference. It quickly became popular for its versatility in conveying a 'can't be bothered' or 'no idea' sentiment.
Usage Examples
- Responding to an unanswered question: 'Where did my keys go? 🤷♀️'
- Expressing indifference: 'Should we go out or stay in? 🤷♀️'
- Showing helplessness: 'The Wi-Fi isn't working, and I've tried everything 🤷♀️'
- Admitting lack of knowledge: 'Why is the sky blue? 🤷♀️'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Widely understood and used to express confusion, apathy, or resignation when one has no answer or solution.
East Asian culture:
Similar meaning, but sometimes used with a slightly more playful or 'Sigh, what to do?' nuance than just a straightforward 'I don't know'.