Clown emoji
🤡 is the internet’s way of calling someone — often yourself — a fool. Copy it here and see when it stings.
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What the clown emoji means
🤡 (clown face, Emoji 3.0) is the internet’s way of calling someone a fool. Aimed at yourself it is self-deprecating (“thought the meeting was tomorrow 🤡”); aimed at someone else it is mockery, and the “putting on the clown makeup” meme describes realising, step by step, that you were the fool all along. It is rarely about actual clowns, though it does show up for circuses, birthdays and Halloween.
Unicode name: clown face · U+1F921 · Emoji 3.0 (2016) · group: Smileys & Emotion.
How people use it
- Self-mockery: the safest use
- Calling out foolishness: under a bad take — insulting
- “Clown behaviour”: describing someone acting ridiculous
- Circus and Halloween: 🤡🎪, 🤡🎃
Compare the options
| Emoji | Name | Use it for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| clown faceU+1F921 | Foolish, ridiculous, self-mocking | Insulting when aimed at others | |
| zany faceU+1F92A | Silly, goofy | See the crazy emoji guide | |
| cat with tears of joyU+1F639 | Laughing at it | Cat face | |
| circus tentU+1F3AA | Circus tent | Literal |
Chat examples
Real messages with 🤡, and a reply that fits.
I forgot my keys again 🤡
classic
he texted his ex 🤡
no
me thinking it’d be quick 🤡
never is
Questions people ask
What does 🤡 mean in a comment?
That the commenter thinks the post or person is foolish. It is an insult unless the poster used it about themselves.
What does “clown makeup” mean?
A meme of a person applying clown makeup in stages, used to narrate realising you were the fool in a situation.
About this guide
Written and maintained by the Emoji Directory editorial team, without ads or sponsorship. Meanings describe how the emoji is commonly used in public posts and messages, not an official definition. Names, code points, versions, keywords and translations come from the Unicode Emoji 18.0 and CLDR data; shortcodes from the gemoji project. Last reviewed . Spotted a mistake or a new usage? Tell us, or read how the directory is made.
