eyes
Unicode: 1F440
Description
A pair of wide-open eyes, looking straight ahead, often depicted with a slight surprised or staring expression.
Group:
People & Body > body-parts
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically represents shock, surprise, disbelief, curiosity, or an intense focus and observation. Can also imply being watchful or cautious.
Backstory
The Eyes emoji (👀) was approved as part of Unicode 6.0 in 2010 and added to Emoji 1.0 in 2015. Its design is straightforward, depicting a pair of human eyes. It has become a popular and versatile emoji for conveying a range of emotions related to seeing, watching, and observing.
Usage Examples
- Expressing surprise: 'Did you see that? 👀'
- Indicating observation/watching: 'I'm watching you 👀' or 'Let's see what happens 👀'
- Showing disbelief: 'Seriously? 👀'
- Conveying curiosity: 'What's going on here? 👀'
- Implying an unstated reaction: 'That happened... 👀'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Frequently used to express 'I see you,' 'OMG,' 'shocked,' 'watching,' or 'creeping.' Less common for positive astonishment.
East Asian culture:
Can represent surprise, amazement, or intense interest. Might also be used for curious observation rather than purely shock.
General:
Universally understood as 'eyes watching,' but the nuance (positive vs. negative surprise, observation vs. shock) can vary.