Hug emoji meaning: ๐ค, ๐ซ and ๐
Smiling Face with Open Hands is the original hug emoji. It was approved in Unicode 8.0 in 2015 under the name Hugging Face, and the open hands were meant as arms reaching out for a hug. On most phones the hands face the viewer with fingers spread, so many people read it as jazz hands, a โta-daโ, or a warm welcome. All three readings are common, and in a message the words decide: โsending you a hug โ is a hug, โsurprise โ is jazz hands. On its own it says warmth, affection and โcome hereโ.
People Hugging arrived in Emoji 13.0 in 2020 and is the clearest hug on the keyboard: two faceless figures in an embrace, drawn in grey or blue on most platforms. Because the figures have no faces, there are no skin tone or gender options, and that neutrality is why it became the emoji for comfort, sympathy and support. Open Hands is the โopen armsโ hug from 2010, often read as โcome hereโ or as a welcome, and Palms Up Together adds a gentle, holding feeling, a cupped pair of hands offering something.
Virtual hug emoji: which one to send and when
A virtual hug is usually one hug emoji plus a heart. is the everyday version, or suit condolences and hard news, where bright colours would feel wrong, and is a friendly hug for a friend who had a bad day. Heart Hands (Emoji 14.0, 2021) is a hug you give from a distance: โI appreciate youโ, โholding you in my heartโ. Mending Heart next to a hug says the hug is meant to help someone heal.
The face you add sets the tone. is a loving hug, a hug for someone who moved you, a calm friendly one, the relief of being hugged, and a bittersweet goodbye hug. On the other side, , and are the faces people send when they need a hug: โ I need a hugโ is one of the most common ways to ask for one.
Bear hug, cuddle and big hug emoji
There is no dedicated big hug emoji, so people build one. is the bear hug, and Teddy Bear (Emoji 11.0, 2018) stands for a soft, comforting squeeze, the emoji equivalent of handing someone a stuffed animal. Koala is the clingy, wonโt-let-go hug, and Otter is popular for cuddles because otters hold hands while they float and sleep.
For cuddle emoji, add the setting: for a sofa cuddle, for cuddles at bedtime, for the โhug in a mugโ people send on cold mornings. Repeating the hug makes it bigger: reads as โbig hugsโ, and as an excited squeeze.
Hug emoji on iPhone, WhatsApp, Android and Discord
Every hug emoji on this page is standard Unicode, so it works on iPhone, Android, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and email. On an iPhone, open the emoji keyboard and type hug in its search field to find and ; on Android and in WhatsAppโs keyboard the search works the same way. On Windows press Win . and on a Mac Ctrl Cmd Space, then type hug. In Discord the shortcode is :hugging: for , and on GitHub it is :hugs:.
is drawn a little differently on each platform, which is why its meaning drifts: Appleโs version has the hands clearly facing out, so it looks most like jazz hands, while some older designs tucked the hands lower, closer to a hug. needs a phone or system from late 2020 or newer; on an older device it shows as a blank box, so for someone with an old phone send or instead.
Hug symbol in text: XO, kaomoji and
The oldest hug symbol is a letter. In XOXO the O is the hug and the X is the kiss, so โOโ alone, or โOOโ, means hugs; many people mix the two up, and both orders are understood. For a hug you can type, Japanese kaomoji use arm characters: (ใฅ ยณ)ใฅ is the classic hug with or ใฅ as reaching arms, is a comforting hug, สใฃโขแดฅโขสใฃ is a bear hug with ส ส as the bearโs ears, and (ใ ะท )ใ throws its arms open. The single characters ใค ใฅ ใฃ ใ ใฝ ส ส are below so you can build your own.
For a text-only heart next to a hug, use or : โhugs โ and โsending hugs โ keep the colour of your font, so they work in nicknames, bios and places that do not show colour emoji. Kiss emoji and the kissing faces have their own page, as do the hearts and the friendship emoji.
Symbols
61Click a symbol to copy it and open its page.
The hug emoji
the hugging face, two people hugging, open arms and the cuddly bear hug
Reaching out and holding
hands that reach for you, arms in a circle and people holding each other
Faces that go with a hug
Hearts and comfort
the heart you add to a virtual hug, and the healing ones
How to use them
6 situationsClick to copyHug Emoji combos
15Worth knowing
- was approved in Unicode 8.0 (2015) as Hugging Face; Unicode now lists it as Smiling Face with Open Hands, which is a fair description of why so many people see jazz hands instead of a hug.
- People Hugging came out in Emoji 13.0 and reached phones in late 2020, the year hugging was restricted around the world; it has no faces, so it is one of the few people emoji with no skin tone or gender options.
- The AI company Hugging Face is named after the emoji and uses it as its logo.
- In XOXO the O is the hug and the X is the kiss; the X goes back to signing letters with a cross, which was then kissed as a pledge of sincerity.
- Teddy Bear joined the keyboard in Emoji 11.0 (2018), eight years after , and quickly became the emoji for a cuddly, comforting hug.
Questions people ask
8Is there a hug emoji?
Yes, two. Smiling Face with Open Hands (2015) is the hugging face, and People Hugging (2020) shows two people in an embrace. open hands and heart hands are used as hugs too.
What does the hug emoji mean?
A hug, warmth or โcome hereโ. Because its hands face outward, it is also read as jazz hands, a โta-daโ or a cheerful welcome, so the words around it decide which one you mean.
How do I copy and paste hug emoji?
Tap or click any emoji on this page to copy it, then paste it into WhatsApp, iMessage, Instagram or any app. The combos above copy as a whole sequence, kaomoji included.
What does the hug emoji mean from a guy or a girl?
Mostly the same thing: affection and comfort without romance. from a friend is a friendly squeeze; paired with or it becomes more tender. Read it with the message, not on its own.
Is there a big hug or bear hug emoji?
No single one. People send for a bear hug, for big hugs, or for a soft, cuddly one.
What is the hug symbol, X or O?
O is the hug and X is the kiss, as in XOXO, hugs and kisses. Both orders are understood, and many people swap them.
How do I send a hug in text without emoji?
Use a kaomoji: (ใฅ ยณ)ใฅ, or สใฃโขแดฅโขสใฃ, or type โhugs โ. They work in nicknames and anywhere colour emoji do not show.
Is there a cuddle emoji?
Not an official one. is the closest, and , , , and are used to build cuddle combos.
