man bowing
Unicode: 1F647 200D 2642 FE0F
Description
A person kneeling on the ground, bowing deeply, with a slightly frowning or serious expression. This emoji typically depicts a male figure.
Group:
People & Body > person-gesture
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Represents deep respect, apology, humility, remorse, or begging. It can also signify a person being overwhelmed, defeated, or in despair.
Backstory
The 'person bowing' emoji was introduced in Unicode 6.0 (2010). The gendered versions, such as 'man bowing' (1F647 200D 2642 FE0F), followed later with Unicode 4.0 in 2003, with the ZWJ sequence for specific gender as part of later emoji updates. The gesture of bowing deeply is ancient and culturally significant in many parts of the world, particularly in East Asia, to show submission, respect, or remorse.
Usage Examples
- Apologizing: 'I'm so sorry for what happened! πββοΈ'
- Showing deep respect: 'Respect to the true legends! πββοΈ'
- Begging for something: 'Please, just one more chance! πββοΈ'
- Expressing humility or defeat: 'I concede. You win. πββοΈ'
- Acknowledging a difficult situation: 'My hands are tied. πββοΈ'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Often used for extreme apologies, expressions of defeat, or begging. Less commonly for deep respect unless humorously exaggerating.
East Asian culture:
Strongly associated with the 'dogeza' (εδΈεΊ§) gesture in Japan, which is a deep bow to the ground, used to express the highest level of apology, respect, or to make a desperate request. Also used in South Korea for similar purposes (e.g., 'geunjeol' κ·Όμ ).
General:
The 'person' forms (without gender specifications) are more ambiguous and can represent any individual, while the gendered versions specify the gender.