What 🫡 means
It means “got it”, “will do” or “respect”, depending on the message. The gesture is the one soldiers give an officer, and civilians borrow it for two things: taking an order and paying respect. The emoji follows both. Sent after a request, it says “acknowledged, on it”, the chat version of “roger” or “aye aye”. Sent under someone’s achievement, it says “hats off”. Among younger people it is just as often ironic: a “sir, yes sir” to a partner who asked for the bins to go out.
It also carries a quieter, solemn use. People salute a colleague who is leaving, a veteran, a retiring athlete or someone who has died, the way you would stand to attention for them. Sports and gaming fans salute a great performance; a lone 🫡 is a common way to sign off when leaving a group chat or a job.
Why did someone send you 🫡?
Read the relationship, not the hand. As a reply to something you asked for, it means they have taken it on board, usually with a wink: cheerful compliance rather than a formal yes. From a teammate, a colleague or in military talk it is plain acknowledgement or respect. From a close friend right after you got bossy, it is theatre: they heard you and are rolling their eyes behind the salute.
Repeating it turns the dial toward sarcasm. One 🫡 is crisp; 🫡🫡 is exaggerated over-compliance. In a memorial or farewell thread, there is no irony at all: it is a tribute.
Warm and light between people who know each other, sincere in formal, sports or military talk, and ironic the moment the request it answers feels bossy.
To a real boss or teacher after an instruction it can look like mockery; add a word if you mean it straight.
Drift: In November 2022, laid-off Twitter employees posted 🫡 in waves of farewell messages, which made it the internet’s standard sign-off for leaving a job, a team or a group.
What it means when someone sends it to you
4 readingsDon't confuse it with
3Combination ideas
3Worth knowing
- The typed salute o7 was the internet’s salute for years before this emoji existed, especially among players of online games like EVE Online; 🫡 simply gave it a face.
- Unlike almost every other smiley, its mouth is a flat line. That straight face is why it reads as duty and respect rather than happiness.
Questions people ask
4What does it mean when a guy sends 🫡 to a girl?
Nothing romantic on its own. From anyone it means acknowledgement, agreement or a joking “yes ma’am”; the tone comes from your conversation, not the emoji.
Is the salute emoji sarcastic?
It can be. Between friends answering a demand it is usually playful; in formal, sports or military talk it is sincere. Judge it by who sent it and what it replies to.
What does 🫡 mean when someone has died?
Respect. In condolence and memorial posts it stands for “rest in peace, thank you” with the solemnity of a salute, and is never meant as a joke there.
Does 🫡 mean goodbye?
Often, yes. Sent alone when leaving a chat, a team or a job it means “signing off, it was an honour”, a reading that spread widely in 2022.
How to type 🫡
:saluting_face:the common shortcode; support varies by platform.🫡Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.