rightwards hand: medium skin tone
Unicode: 1FAF1 1F3FD
Description
A person gesturing with the palm of their hand pressed against their chin, looking thoughtful or contemplating. It's depicted with moderately dark skin.
Group:
People & Body > hand-fingers-open
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically represents deep thought, contemplation, pondering, skepticism, or being lost in thought.
Backstory
This emoji was introduced in Unicode 14.0 (2021) as part of a larger set of new emojis focused on human gestures and interactions. Its design is based on the long-standing visual trope of a person 'in thought' or meditating on an idea.
Usage Examples
- When solving a problem: 'Hmm, I need to figure this out 🤔'
- Expressing doubt: 'Are you sure about that? 🤔'
- Contemplating a decision: 'Should I order pizza or pasta tonight? 🤔'
- Showing deep thought: 'That's a really interesting point 🤔'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Widely understood as a gesture of thinking, considering, or puzzling over something. Can also imply skepticism or doubt.
East Asian culture:
Similar interpretation, often used to show a thoughtful expression or dilemma. Might also be used playfully to simulate deep thought.