folded hands: medium skin tone
Unicode: 1F64F 1F3FD
Description
A person with folded hands, representing a gesture of prayer, thanks, or greeting. The skin tone is medium-dark.
Group:
People & Body > hands
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically represents gratitude, prayer, respect, apology, or a hopeful wish. The folded hands are a universal gesture with varied cultural meanings.
Backstory
This emoji was introduced in Unicode 6.0 (2010), representing the universal gesture of folded hands. The various skin tone modifiers (like 1F3FD for medium-dark) were added in Unicode 8.0 (2015) to enhance diversity and inclusivity, allowing users to express themselves more accurately.
Usage Examples
- Expressing thanks: 'Thank you so much! 🙏🏾'
- Praying or hoping: 'Fingers crossed for good news 🙏🏾'
- Apologizing: 'So sorry for the misunderstanding 🙏🏾'
- Greeting respectfully: 'Namaste 🙏🏾'
- Asking earnestly: 'Can you please help me with this? 🙏🏾'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Often interpreted as praying, giving thanks, or asking for something earnestly ('please'). Sometimes misinterpreted as a high-five gesture.
East Asian culture:
Widely used as a gesture for 'thank you' (especially in Japan), 'please', or 'sorry'. It can also represent a respectful greeting or a bow.
South Asian culture:
Commonly used for 'Namaste' or 'Namaskar', a respectful greeting in Hinduism and other Dharmic religions, signifying reverence.