heart hands: medium-light skin tone
Unicode: 1FAF6 1F3FC
Description
A person with hand over mouth, combining the 'face with hand over mouth' emoji (1FAF6) with medium-light skin tone (1F3FC). The expression suggests surprise, shock, or realization.
Group:
People & Body > hands
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Can represent surprise, shock, awe, embarrassment, or speechless realization. The hand over the mouth often implies stifling a gasp or a laugh, or covering a reaction.
Backstory
The base emoji 'face with hand over mouth' (1FAF6) was added in Unicode 14.0 (2021). Its design reflects a common non-verbal cue for surprise or trying to suppress an immediate verbal reaction. The skin tone modifier (1F3FC) allows for greater representation, a feature introduced with earlier emoji versions.
Usage Examples
- Expressing surprise: 'Wait, you did what?! 🫣'
- Reacting to a joke or gossip: 'Oh my gosh, no way! 🫣'
- When caught off guard: 'Didn't expect that! 🫣'
- Showing embarrassment: 'Oops, I didn't mean to say that 🫣'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Frequently used to convey shock, 'oops' moments, or a sudden realization. Can also be used to indicate 'spilling the tea' or being caught off guard.
East Asian culture:
Similar usage, often seen with a slightly more playful or even embarrassed nuance. Could also imply being shy or trying to hide a smile/giggle.