Frowning face emoji ☹️ 🙁
Two emoji frown. ☹️ frowning face is the classic sad smiley turned upside down: plain eyes and a deep downturned mouth, the simplest way to say “that’s a shame”.
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What the frowning face ☹️ 🙁 emoji means
Two emoji frown. ☹️ frowning face is the classic sad smiley turned upside down: plain eyes and a deep downturned mouth, the simplest way to say “that’s a shame”. 🙁 slightly frowning face is the milder version — a small frown, “a bit disappointed”. Both are quieter than 😞 disappointed or 😢 crying because they have no closed eyes or tears; they are the emoji equivalent of the :( emoticon. ☹️ is a 1993 text symbol with a variation selector, so it sometimes renders as a black-and-white glyph; 🙁 (2015) is always drawn as an emoji. The sad emoji guide places them on the full sadness scale.
Unicode name: frowning face · U+2639 U+FE0F · Emoji 0.7 (original set) · group: Smileys & Emotion.
How people use it
- Mild disappointment: small letdowns, bad weather
- Sympathy: “oh no ☹️” to a friend’s news
- Sulking: playful pouting
- Text-face replacement: where you would type :(
Compare the options
| Emoji | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| frowning faceU+2639 U+FE0F | Clear frown, the :( face | |
| slightly frowning faceU+1F641 | A small frown, mild | |
| disappointed faceU+1F61E | Eyes closed, let down | |
| pensive faceU+1F614 | Wistful, reflective | |
| frowning face with open mouthU+1F626 | Startled dismay |
An unhappy face: when ☹️ says it all
The frowning face is a basic unhappy face in the emoji set. Its downturned mouth gives it a quiet, disappointed look. It fits everyday letdowns such as a cancelled plan, a rainy afternoon, or a favourite team losing. The slightly frowning face 🙁 has a gentler appearance.
Use ☹️ to show disappointment without drama. It reads as “I’m not angry, just disappointed” in a single character. It works well after a short explanation, like “the shop was closed ☹️” or “my train is late again ☹️”.
Frown face memes and reaction images
The frowning face can be used in memes to react to minor disappointments — a photo of a spilled coffee with ☹️ pasted on, or a screenshot of a mildly annoying message with the face. Its understated look is a good match for dry humour.
A frowning face meme can lean on contrast: an overly cheerful situation met with a small frown, or a huge problem met with a tiny ☹️. The slightly frowning face 🙁 also works for these jokes because it looks even more restrained.
Questions people ask
What is the frowny face emoji?
☹️ frowning face, or the milder 🙁 slightly frowning face. Both are the emoji version of the :( text face.
Why does ☹️ sometimes look black and white?
It is an old text symbol (U+2639) that needs a variation selector to display as an emoji. The copy button here includes it; some apps still draw the text glyph.
What is the difference between 🙁 and ☹️?
The size of the frown: 🙁 is slight, ☹️ is a full frown. ☹️ often looks more dramatic because of its simpler, older design.
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.
