person bowing: dark skin tone
Unicode: 1F647 1F3FF
Description
A person bowing deeply with dark skin tone, typically indicating apology, respect, or gratitude. The person's face is usually hidden or obscured by the bow.
Group:
People & Body > person-gesture
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Commonly expresses humility, reverence, deep apology, sincere gratitude, or respect. Can also imply embarrassment or 'facepalm' if used ironically.
Backstory
This emoji was introduced as part of Unicode 6.0 in 2010 and added to Emoji 1.0 in 2015. It represents a common gesture of respect, apology, or gratitude across various cultures, particularly prominent in East Asia. The skin tone modifier (1F3FF) was added to allow for more inclusive representation.
Usage Examples
- Expressing deep apology: 'I am so sorry for the mistake. 🙇🏿'
- Showing profound gratitude: 'Thank you for everything! 🙇🏿'
- Acknowledging a superior or impressive achievement: 'You nailed it! 🙇🏿'
- In a formal context: 'Respectfully submitted. 🙇🏿'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Often used for a very deep apology, a mock 'bowing down' to someone superior, or acknowledging something impressive with extreme respect.
East Asian culture:
In cultures like Japan and Korea, bowing is a fundamental form of greeting, apology, thanks, and respect. The depth of the bow conveys different levels of formality and emotion. This emoji specifically represents a deep bow (dogeza in Japanese context).