🧍‍♂

man standing

Unicode: 1F9CD 200D 2642

Description

A man kneeling, typically depicted with hands together in front of him, as if praying, meditating, or pleading. The man wears an unbuttoned shirt and pants.

Group:

People & Body > person-activity

Status:

minimally-qualified

Emotion:

Often conveys concepts of respect, humility, prayer, begging, or surrender. It can also be used to express admiration, gratitude, or a feeling of being overwhelmed.

Backstory

The 'Man Kneeling' emoji is a gendered variation of the 'Person Kneeling' emoji (1F9CD), added in Unicode 12.0 (2019) and Emoji 12.0. It aims to provide more gender diversity for actions and poses, reflecting a long history of kneeling in various human cultures for purposes ranging from religious devotion to chivalric gestures.

Usage Examples

  • Praying: 'Praying for good health 🙏🏽👨‍🧎🏻‍♂️'
  • Begging/Pleading: 'Please, just one more chance! 👨‍🧎🏻‍♂️'
  • Showing respect/admiration: 'Bowing down to your genius 👨‍🧎🏻‍♂️'
  • Feeling overwhelmed/surrendered: 'I can't believe this happened, I'm just 👨‍🧎🏻‍♂️'

Cultural Differences

Western culture:

Commonly used for prayer, begging, showing respect, or indicating being 'on bended knee' in a metaphorical sense for proposals or desperate pleas.

East Asian culture:

Can represent bowing in reverence, gratitude, or sometimes a deferential apology, in addition to prayer or meditation.