person kneeling: light skin tone
Unicode: 1F9CE 1F3FB
Description
A person kneeling on the ground, leaning forward with palms together, typically in a gesture of prayer, worship, or deep respect. This version has light skin tone.
Group:
People & Body > person-activity
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Often conveys reverence, humility, supplication, gratitude, despair, or pleading. Can also represent a state of being overwhelmed or in awe.
Backstory
This emoji was introduced as 'Person Kneeling' in Unicode 12.0 (2019) and added to Emoji 12.0. It aims to represent various cultural and religious practices, as well as general gestures of supplication or humility. The skin tone modifier (1F3FB) allows for diverse representation.
Usage Examples
- Praying or seeking spiritual guidance: 'On my knees praying for strength 🙏🏻'
- Expressing deep gratitude or apology: 'Thank you so much, I'm truly grateful 🙏🏻'
- Showing reverence: 'Bowing down to the master 🙏🏻'
- Pleading or begging: 'Please, just one more chance 🙏🏻'
- Feeling overwhelmed or defeated: 'I just can't deal with this right now 🙏🏻'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Commonly associated with prayer, worship, or showing extreme deference. Can also be used to express begging or intense pleading.
East Asian culture:
May be seen as a gesture of deep respect, apology, or profound gratitude (e.g., 'dogeza' in Japan). Also used in religious contexts like Buddhism.
South Asian culture:
Strongly associated with prayer and devotion in Hinduism and other religions, often a gesture of respect towards elders or deities.