folded hands: dark skin tone
Unicode: 1F64F 1F3FF
Description
A person with hands clasped in prayer, with varying skin tones, typically depicted from the chest up. The hands are pressed together with fingers pointing upwards, signifying prayer, gratitude, or a respectful greeting.
Group:
People & Body > hands
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Commonly expresses gratitude, hope, respect, prayer, thanks, or a plea. It can also signify high-fives or an apology, depending on context.
Backstory
This emoji was introduced in Unicode 6.0 (2010) as 'Person With Folded Hands.' The initial intention was likely inspired by the universal gesture of prayer or respect found in various cultures. The addition of skin tone modifiers (like 1F3FF for dark skin tone) in Unicode 8.0 (2015) allowed for greater representation.
Usage Examples
- Expressing gratitude: 'Thank you so much! 🙏🏿'
- Praying for someone: 'Praying for you 🙏🏿'
- Making a plea: 'Please help me 🙏🏿'
- Showing respect or 'Namaste': 'Namaste 🙏🏿'
- Informal high-five: 'Good job! 🙏🏿'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Often interpreted as a gesture of prayer, thanks, or an apology. Can also be humorously used as a 'high-five' or 'please' gesture.
East Asian culture:
Widely recognized as 'gassho' or 'wai,' a gesture of greeting, respect, gratitude, or apology, rooted in Buddhist and Hindu traditions. It can also represent prayer.
South Asian culture:
Used as 'Namaste' or 'Namaskar,' a respectful greeting, showing honor to the person being addressed.