palm up hand: light skin tone
Unicode: 1FAF4 1F3FB
Description
A hand with its thumb and index finger extended, forming a small gap, indicating 'a little bit' or 'tiny'. This variation includes a Fitzpatrick skin tone modifier for a light skin color.
Group:
People & Body > hand-fingers-open
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically expresses a sensation of 'just a little', 'a tiny amount', or can be interpreted as 'a pinch'. It's a gesture of measurement or understatement.
Backstory
This emoji was introduced in Unicode 14.0 (2021) as part of a broader effort to include more gesturing hands and non-verbal communication. The skin tone modifier (1F3FB) allows for personalized representation.
Usage Examples
- When you ask how much sugar I want in my coffee: 'Just a little bit🤏🏻.'
- Feeling slightly tired: 'I'm🤏🏻tired today.'
- Describing a small object: 'The new phone is🤏🏻smaller.'
- Talking about a small victory: 'We made🤏🏻progress, but it's a start.'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Commonly used to convey 'a little bit' of something, or a small quantity. Can also imply a small degree of difficulty or effort.
East Asian culture:
Similar meaning of 'a little' or 'small'. In some contexts, particularly in Japan, it can be part of a gesture to ask for a small amount of money or discount.