😬 Grimacing Face Emoji — Meaning, Copy & Paste, Codes

01 — Meaning

What does the 😬 Grimacing Face emoji mean?

In plain english

Basically, it means something feels a little awkward or cringe-worthy. It’s a visual way to show you’re reacting to something uncomfortable. 😬 sits in neutral emojis, where it is listed next to everything used the same way. It also turns up in smiley emojis.

Where it comes from

The 😬 emoji is a grimacing face. It shows a slightly open-mouthed expression, often with teeth visible, that looks a little awkward or uncomfortable. People use it when something is cringeworthy, embarrassing, or just plain weird. It's a good way to show you’re reacting to something slightly negative without being overly dramatic. You might see it after a bad joke, a clumsy moment, or when something just feels a little off.

Also known as

People search for it under a lot of different names. All of these point at the same character.

awk emojiawkward emojidentist emojiface emojigrimace emojigrimacing emojigrinning emojismile emojismiling emoji

People also look for it as grimace emoji.

02 — Platforms

Grimacing Face emoji on iPhone, Android, WhatsApp and X

Same code on both ends, different drawing on each screen — here is the grimacing face as 9 vendors ship it.

AppleiPhone, iPad, macOS

GoogleAndroid, Gmail, Chrome

Twitter / XX, Discord, Twemoji apps

FacebookFacebook, Messenger

OpenMojiOpen-source, design systems

SamsungGalaxy, One UI

MicrosoftWindows, Teams, Fluent

WhatsAppWhatsApp on Android

JoyPixelsSlack, Discord themes

See the whole set the way each system draws it — iPhone emojis, Android emojis, WhatsApp emojis and Discord emojis.

03 — Copy & codes

Grimacing Face emoji copy and paste

Everything here is the same character in different notation — including the shortcode chat apps know it by, :grimacing:.

All emoji copy and paste →

In your code

Escapes for the languages people actually paste this into. Every one of them produces the same character, and that character is U+1F62C.

04 — How to type

How to type the 😬 Grimacing Face emoji

Every system hides the emoji key somewhere else. Here is where, plus the raw codes for U+1F62C when there is no key at all.

iPhone & iPad

Tap the smiley or globe key at the bottom-left of the keyboard, then search “grimacing face”. No emoji key? Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Emoji.

Android

On Gboard tap the smiley key, or long-press the Enter or comma key. On Samsung Keyboard the emoji button sits behind the gear icon.

Windows & Mac

Windows: press Win + . for the emoji panel. Mac: Control + Command + Space. Then type “grimacing face”.

Slack & Discord

Type the shortcode :grimacing: and it converts to 😬 as you send. The full set is on the Discord emoji page.

Websites & code

In HTML use 😬, in CSS \1F62C, in JavaScript \u{1F62C}.

No picker to hand? The online emoji keyboard works in any browser, and every character on the site is listed on emoji copy and paste.

05 — Download

Grimacing Face emoji PNG and SVG

Transparent PNG and SVG for thumbnails, decks and design files — one file per vendor, which makes 9. Artwork belongs to whoever drew it, so check the licence before commercial use.

Emoji PNG library →

Apple PNG · 160px

Google PNG · 160px

Twitter / X SVG vector

Facebook PNG · 64px

OpenMoji SVG vector

Samsung PNG · 64px

Microsoft PNG · 64px

WhatsApp PNG · 64px

JoyPixels PNG · 64px

06 — Combinations

Grimacing Face emoji combinations

Ready-made combos built around grimacing face for bios, captions and comments. Tap to copy.

All combinations →

Cool grimacing face combos

Cute grimacing face combos

Mood grimacing face combos

Aesthetic grimacing face combos

Dark grimacing face combos

Party grimacing face combos

Love grimacing face combos

Flex grimacing face combos

Unhinged grimacing face combos

Soft grimacing face combos

Late night grimacing face combos

Summer grimacing face combos

Gaming grimacing face combos

Y2K grimacing face combos

Want two emojis fused into one sticker instead of set side by side? Emoji Kitchen does that with 😬, and there are more ready-made pairs in emoji combinations and aesthetic emoji combos.

07 — Emoji Kitchen

Grimacing Face Emoji Kitchen stickers

Google's sticker mixer has drawn 619 mixes with this one. Here are 12 of them. Tap any to open it full size.

Mix it yourself →

Grimacing Face mixed with Face with Tears of Joy — Emoji Kitchen sticker

😬 + 😂

Grimacing Face mixed with Red Heart — Emoji Kitchen sticker

😬 + ❤️

Grimacing Face mixed with Rolling on the Floor Laughing — Emoji Kitchen sticker

😬 + 🤣

Grimacing Face mixed with Thumbs Up — Emoji Kitchen sticker

😬 + 👍

Grimacing Face mixed with Loudly Crying Face — Emoji Kitchen sticker

😬 + 😭

Grimacing Face mixed with Folded Hands — Emoji Kitchen sticker

😬 + 🙏

Grimacing Face mixed with Face Blowing a Kiss — Emoji Kitchen sticker

😬 + 😘

Grimacing Face mixed with Smiling Face with Hearts — Emoji Kitchen sticker

😬 + 🥰

Grimacing Face mixed with Smiling Face with Heart-eyes — Emoji Kitchen sticker

😬 + 😍

Grimacing Face mixed with Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes — Emoji Kitchen sticker

😬 + 😊

Grimacing Face mixed with Beaming Face with Smiling Eyes — Emoji Kitchen sticker

😬 + 😁

Grimacing Face mixed with Two Hearts — Emoji Kitchen sticker

😬 + 💕

08 — In conversation

What 😬 means from a girl or a guy

The same character carries a different intent depending on the sender and the message before it.

From a girl

Generally, when a girl sends you 😬, she’s probably reacting to something you said or did that she found a little embarrassing or awkward. It’s often a playful way to acknowledge a minor faux pas or just to express a shared feeling of cringe. Don’t overthink it!

From a guy

Similar to a girl, a guy sending 😬 usually means he's reacting to something awkward or slightly embarrassing. It can be a self-deprecating reaction to something he did, or a response to something you said that wasn’t the best.

How to reply

If someone sends you 😬, you could reply with: “Haha, you’re killing me 😬”, “Totally 😬”, “That was rough 😬”, or “😬 Oops!”

Used in a sentence

09 — Apps

What 😬 means on TikTok, WhatsApp and Discord

The character is the same everywhere, but the artwork and the reading of it change from app to app.

TikTok & Instagram

Basically, it means something feels a little awkward or cringe-worthy. It’s a visual way to show you’re reacting to something uncomfortable. In comments and captions it is read the same way — the tone comes from what it sits next to.

WhatsApp draws 😬 with Apple-style artwork on every phone, so it looks identical for both sides. A message with only 😬 in it is shown enlarged.

Discord & Slack

Both accept the shortcode :grimacing:. Discord renders Twemoji, so 😬 looks different there than on your phone.

Outlook & email

Outlook has no emoji picker on desktop — press Win + . or Control + Command + Space inside the message body, or paste 😬 from the copy button above.

10 — Related

Emojis similar to the Grimacing Face emoji

Same family (face-neutral-skeptical) — often confused with grimacing face or used alongside it.

Smileys & Emotion →

🤨Face with Raised Eyebrow 😏Smirking Face 😒Unamused Face 🤥Lying Face 😶Face Without Mouth 😐Neutral Face 😑Expressionless Face 🙄Face with Rolling Eyes 🤐Zipper-mouth Face 🫥Dotted Line Face 😶‍🌫️Face In Clouds 😮‍💨Face Exhaling

Collections 😬 belongs to — every one of them is a different way people go looking for it:

neutral emojis smiley emojis

11 — History

Where the 😬 Grimacing Face emoji came from

It arrived with the 1.0 release of the standard, which dates the grimacing face to 2015.

AppleiOS

Grimacing Face emoji, Apple, iOS 18.4 — iOS 18.4

Grimacing Face emoji, Apple, iOS 26 — iOS 26

GoogleAndroid

Grimacing Face emoji, Google, Blob, 2017 — Blob, 2017

Grimacing Face emoji, Google, Redesign, 2017 — Redesign, 2017

Grimacing Face emoji, Google, Android 2018 — Android 2018

Grimacing Face emoji, Google, Android 2020 — Android 2020

Twitter / XTwemoji

Grimacing Face emoji, Twitter / X, Twemoji 16 — Twemoji 16

Grimacing Face emoji, Twitter / X, Twemoji 17 — Twemoji 17

Same character every time — U+1F62C never changed. Only the drawing did, and only because each vendor redraws its own set. Someone on an older phone still sees the older picture.

2015

Added to the standard

Grimacing Face was approved as U+1F62C and shipped in Emoji 1.0 (2015). Phones usually get new artwork about a year after approval, in a system update.

Today

Drawn 9 different ways

Every vendor keeps its own artwork, so 😬 is redrawn by Apple, Google, Twitter / X, Facebook, OpenMoji, Samsung, Microsoft, WhatsApp, JoyPixels. The character you send never changes — only the picture does.

12 — FAQ

Grimacing Face emoji — questions people actually ask

What does the 😬 Grimacing Face emoji mean?

Basically, it means something feels a little awkward or cringe-worthy. It’s a visual way to show you’re reacting to something uncomfortable.

What does 😬 mean from a girl?

Generally, when a girl sends you 😬, she’s probably reacting to something you said or did that she found a little embarrassing or awkward. It’s often a playful way to acknowledge a minor faux pas or just to express a shared feeling of cringe. Don’t overthink it!

What does 😬 mean from a guy?

Similar to a girl, a guy sending 😬 usually means he's reacting to something awkward or slightly embarrassing. It can be a self-deprecating reaction to something he did, or a response to something you said that wasn’t the best.

How do you reply to the 😬 emoji?

If someone sends you 😬, you could reply with: “Haha, you’re killing me 😬”, “Totally 😬”, “That was rough 😬”, or “😬 Oops!”

What else is the 😬 emoji called?

Grimacing Face is the official Unicode name, but people search for it as “awk emoji”, “awkward emoji”, “dentist emoji”, “face emoji”, “grimace emoji”, “grimacing emoji” and more. They all refer to the same character, U+1F62C.

What is the Unicode code for 😬?

The Grimacing Face emoji is U+1F62C, added in Emoji 1.0 (2015). In HTML you can write it as 😬, and in CSS as \1F62C.

How do I copy and paste the 😬 emoji?

Tap the copy button at the top of this page — 😬 goes straight to your clipboard and pastes into Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, Discord or any text field. You can also copy its shortcode :grimacing: for Slack and Discord.

Does 😬 look the same on every phone?

No. Grimacing Face is drawn separately by each vendor — Apple, Google, Twitter / X, Facebook, OpenMoji, Samsung, Microsoft, WhatsApp and JoyPixels all ship their own artwork for U+1F62C. The character you send is identical; only the picture changes.

😬Grimacing Face Emoji

In your code