The 🤗 (Hugging Face) Emoji: Meaning, Uses, & More (2024)

Co-authored byEric McClure

Last Updated: August 24, 2023Fact Checked

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   The 🤗 emoji is a hug. The 🤗 emoji depicts an affectionate, friendly face reaching out to you with both arms like they’re hugging you. Like an IRL hug, the meaning depends on your relationship with the other person.^[1]

   • A hug from your mom might just be a friendly gesture, while a cute guy or girl flirting with you is probably hugging you in a romantic way.
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   Unofficially, the 🤗 emoji is also jazz hands. Frankly, a lot of folks don’t think 🤗 does a very convincing job as a big hug emoji. It does do a solid impression of someone flailing their hands in the air in joy, though. As such, a lot of people use 🤗 to indicate jazz hands.

   • It’s best to avoid using the emoji this way with someone who may misinterpret you. Don’t try to do jazz hands at work, for example (lest your coworkers think you’re the hugging type).

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   Use 🤗 to communicate thankfulness or appreciation. The most popular usage of the hugging emoji is basically “aw thanks.” When used this way, the 🤗 emoji is a digital hug than serves more as a sign of sincerity than a romantic or friendly embrace. Someone might say:

   • “I really appreciated you standing up for me in class today 🤗”
   • “Thank you for your help this morning 🤗”
   • “I just wanted to let you know you’re appreciated 🤗”
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   Drop a 🤗 if you want to show excitement or celebrate. The jazzy hands version of the emoji can be used to indicate you’re…well…jazzed about something. For example, somebody might say:

   See Also

   Emoji Etiquette: When It’s OK to Use Them, and When They Should Be Avoided - FTCTop 14 Flirty Emojis to Make Your Crush BlushWhat Does the 😋😛 Tongue Out Emoji Mean?🥴 Woozy Face Emoji

   • “We got the house!!! 🤗”
   • “🤗 guess who passed the test.”
   • “I just finished my final project 🤗”
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   Flirt a bit with a 🤗 emoji and a kind message. The 🤗 emoji is up there with the 👀 (eyes) and 😏 (smirk) emojis in the category of “flirty emojis that aren’t automatically flirty.” As a note, if you want some plausible deniability, include a compliment. Then, you can always play it off like you were just doing jazz hands.^[2] Someone might say:

   • “Hey hot stuff! What’s going on? 🤗”
   • “I cannot wait for our date next week 🤗”
   • “Loved that cute outfit you were wearing today 🤗”
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   Send a 🤗 ironically to communicate a bit of sass. This emoji is super popular among the saucier folks out there. The 🤗 is so wholesome-looking that it’s almost silly, so you can use this one with a little goofy melodrama if you’d like. For example:

   • “My front tooth just cracked on a slice of cold pizza, so my day is going great 🤗”
   • “I didn’t get the job. Let’s celebrate with some whiskey tonight 🤗”
   • “Want to hang out? I’m so bored I’m going to jump off the roof 🤗”

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   Reply to the message itself if it’s an appreciative or jazz hands 🤗 emoji. If someone sends you a 🤗 to let you know that they’re thankful, excited, or appreciate, you don’t actually need to reply in a specific way. Just respond to the body of their message. You can also say nothing if you were sent a 🤗 alone and it’s the natural end of the conversation.

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   Try flirting back if you’re talking to your crush. If you’re talking to someone you wouldn’t mind cuddling with and they drop a 🤗 emoji, it could be their way of testing the waters to see if you’ll flirt back. Try pushing things further by saying something playful or suggestive. Alternatively, you can try dropping some slightly more flirtatious emojis out there (like 😈 or 😉). For example:

   • Them: “I’m so happy I got to see you yesterday 🤗”
   • You: “Oh, me too. My day is always brighter when you’re around 🥰”
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   Lean into the joke if they’re being sarcastic. If someone is using the 🤗 ironically, play along with the bit. Even if they’re having a rough one, they’re doing okay enough to joke about it. Give them something to smile about. Like this:

   • Them: “I only got two hours of sleep yesterday and a double shift at work. #blessed 🤗”
   • You: *“Oh wow. Two whole hours? You must be feeling super well-rested. I’ll drop by with a bunch of friends right before you guys close 😊”

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1. The 🫂 is a sympathetic way of saying you’ve got their back. The 🫂 depicts two figures embracing one another. Unlike the 🤗 emoji, the 🫂 is very straightforward—it communicates care, love, and support. You can use this emoji to let someone know you’re there for them while they go through a hard time, or send a 🫂 to say “I love you” in a platonic way. You might say:

   • “Hey, I heard your mom isn’t doing well. Hope everything is okay 🫂”
   • “Happy New Year’s, Lou! I wish all your dreams come true this year! 🫂”
   • “I know you’re upset right now, but I do love and care for you 🫂”

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