pinching hand: dark skin tone
Unicode: 1F90F 1F3FF
Description
A dark skin tone hand showing the 'pinched fingers' gesture, where all fingers and thumb are brought together to form a small pouch.
Group:
People & Body > hand-fingers-partial
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically expresses various nuanced emotions depending on context, including questioning, disagreement, skepticism, or a request for clarification. Can also convey 'what do you mean?' or 'waiting for explanation'.
Backstory
This emoji was approved as part of Unicode 13.0 in 2020 and added to Emoji 13.0. It quickly gained popularity for its versatility in conveying subtle meanings, particularly its association with Italian gestures, often used globally to express exasperation or questioning.
Usage Examples
- Expressing confusion: 'So, you're saying I need to do that? 🤌🏼'
- Showing skepticism: 'Are you serious with this? 🤌🏼'
- Asking for clarification: 'What exactly do you mean by that? 🤌🏼'
- Conveying a small amount: 'I only need a little bit. 🤌🏼'
- Impatience for explanation: 'Come on, tell me! 🤌🏼'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Often interpreted as 'What are you talking about?', 'Are you serious?', 'Can you explain?' or simply 'waiting'. Less common than in other cultures.
Mediterranean/Italian culture:
Widely known as 'ma che dici?' or 'ma che vuoi?' meaning 'What are you saying?' or 'What do you want?', expressing strong disbelief, frustration, or a challenge. It can also imply 'not much' or 'a little bit of something'.
Israeli Culture:
Can be interpreted as 'boker tov' (good morning) when used playfully, or simply 'wait a minute'/'be patient'.
Arab culture:
Can signify 'be patient' or 'slow down'.
Indian culture:
Commonly refers to eating food, implying 'have you eaten?' or 'let's eat'.