backhand index pointing right
Unicode: 1F449
Description
A hand pointing to the right, with the index finger extended and the other fingers curled. Often used to indicate direction or to draw attention to something to the right.
Group:
People & Body > hand-single-finger
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically used as a directional indicator, not directly conveying emotion, but rather a command, suggestion, or pointer. Can imply 'look here,' 'next,' or 'this way'.
Backstory
This emoji was introduced in Unicode 6.0 (2010). Hand gestures are fundamental to human communication, and simplified pointing gestures were among the earliest emojis developed to convey simple, universally understood actions.
Usage Examples
- Indicating direction: "Click here for more details 👉"
- Drawing attention: "Important notice 👉 See below"
- Highlighting content: "My favorite part of the article 👉 'Always be curious'"
- In a sequence: "Step 1 👉 Step 2 👉 Step 3"
Cultural Differences
General:
Universally recognized as a directional pointer. Its meaning is fairly consistent across cultures.
Specific contexts:
Can be used in conjunction with text to literally point to a link, an image, or a section of text elsewhere on a screen or page. Less about emotion and more about navigation or emphasis.