Monkey emoji
The monkey face, the full monkey and the three wise monkeys — including why 🙈 usually means “embarrassed”, not “blind”.
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What the monkey emoji means
🐵 is the monkey face and 🐒 the full monkey, both used for playfulness, mischief and “monkeying around”. The three wise monkeys are the interesting ones: 🙈 (see-no-evil), 🙉 (hear-no-evil) and 🙊 (speak-no-evil) come from a Japanese proverb, but in messages they mean embarrassment (“I can’t look”), ignoring something, and “oops, I said too much”. 🙈 in particular is one of the most used reaction emoji for playful mortification.
Unicode name: monkey face · U+1F435 · Emoji 0.6 (original set) · group: Animals & Nature.
How people use it
- Embarrassment: 🙈 — playful, lighter than 😳
- “Didn’t hear that”: 🙉 when ignoring a request
- Secrets and slips: 🙊
- Silliness: 🐵 🐒
- Apes: 🦍 gorilla and 🦧 orangutan for the bigger relatives — see the gorilla emoji guide
Compare the options
| Emoji | Name | Use it for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| see-no-evil monkeyU+1F648 | Embarrassed, “can’t look” | Playful | |
| hear-no-evil monkeyU+1F649 | Ignoring, “la la la” | Cheeky | |
| speak-no-evil monkeyU+1F64A | Oops, a secret, “I shouldn’t say” | See the shh emoji guide | |
| monkey face / monkeyU+1F435 · U+1F412 | The animal, silliness | Literal |
Chat examples
Real messages with 🐵, and a reply that fits.
I said the wrong name 🙈
oh no
didn’t hear a thing 🙉
convenient
🙊 I won’t tell
you’d better not
Questions people ask
What does 🙈 mean in a text?
Playful embarrassment or “I can’t watch”. It is the cute version of covering your eyes.
What do the three monkeys mean?
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil — a Japanese proverb. Online they mean embarrassment, ignoring and oops.
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.
