man bowing: light skin tone
Unicode: 1F647 1F3FB 200D 2642
Description
A person kneeling or bowing with their hands pressed together, wearing a light skin tone. The FE0F (variation selector-16) is often appended for consistent emoji presentation.
Group:
People & Body > person-gesture
Status:
minimally-qualified
Emotion:
Commonly used to express apology, request, gratitude, or sometimes deep contemplation or respect. The specific meaning can often be inferred from context.
Backstory
The 🙏 (Person With Folded Hands) emoji was approved as part of Unicode 6.0 in 2010. The skin tone modifier (1F3FB for light skin tone) was added later as part of Unicode 8.0 in 2015. The 200D (zero width joiner) and 2642 (male sign) form a gendered version, but the primary version is gender-neutral. This makes it a complex emoji with layered meanings depending on region and context.
Usage Examples
- Apologizing: 'So sorry I'm late! 🙏'
- Requesting: 'Please send me the details 🙏'
- Expressing gratitude: 'Thank you for your help 🙏'
- Showing respect/prayer: 'Sending my thoughts and prayers 🙏'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Frequently interpreted as 'praying hands' or a gesture of apology and pleading. Can also mean 'thank you' or 'please'.
East Asian culture:
Often represents 'dogeza' (a deep bow of apology or respect in Japan), 'namaste' (a greeting in India), or 'wai' (a greeting/respectful gesture in Thailand). Its exact meaning can be very culturally specific, ranging from deep reverence to a simple apology.