Right hand facing emoji 🫱
The 🫱 emoji shows a hand reaching to the right. It suggests offering something, reaching out, or indicating a direction. This guide covers its meaning, common uses, and how to type it.
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What the 🫱 emoji means
The 🫱 emoji shows an open hand with fingers together, pointing to the right. The pose reads as reaching toward something or someone, so it often stands in for the word “reach” — whether that’s physically reaching for an object or metaphorically reaching a goal or a person.
Because the hand points to the viewer’s right, it can also signal “that way” or draw attention to a message or image to its right.
This rightwards hand is one of several directional hand emoji. It sits alongside the leftwards hand 🫲, the palm down hand 🫳, and the palm up hand 🫴, each showing a different orientation of an open hand.
How to use the 🫱 emoji
You’ll see 🫱 in casual messages when someone wants something, offers a hand, or points to a link or photo. It pairs naturally with a question like “can I have one?” or a statement like “pass me that.”
The emoji works well with words about reaching out emotionally, too — for example, telling a friend you’re there for them or asking for help.
In group chats, 🫱 can act as a simple pointer to the next message or a reaction to someone asking for something. It may also appear in captions where the hand seems to reach toward a call-to-action or a product link.
Compare rightwards hand with similar emoji
| Emoji | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| rightwards handU+1FAF1 | Reaches to the right; often means “reach” or “offer” | |
| leftwards handU+1FAF2 | Mirror image; reaches to the left; pairs with 🫱 for handover | |
| palm down handU+1FAF3 | Palm faces down; suggests dropping or pressing down | |
| palm up handU+1FAF4 | Palm faces up; suggests offering or asking for something | |
| raised handU+270B | Palm faces forward; used to stop or get attention | |
| waving handU+1F44B | Open hand; used for greeting or goodbye |
Similar hand emoji
The rightwards hand is easy to confuse with the leftwards hand 🫲, which is its mirror image. The two are often used together to show a movement from one side to the other, like “hand it over.” Other open-hand emoji, such as the raised hand ✋ or the hand with fingers splayed 🖐️, are more about stopping or showing the hand itself than reaching.
- The palm down hand 🫳 and palm up hand 🫴 are vertical gestures, not sideways, and often suggest dropping or offering respectively.
- The waving hand 👋 is used for greetings or goodbyes; 🫱 suggests a reaching action.
- The raised back of hand 🤚 shows the back of the hand, not the palm, and is often used to indicate stopping or waiting.
Skin tones
Like most hand emoji, the rightwards hand supports five skin tone modifiers. You can choose a skin tone on supported platforms; the modifier changes only the colour of the skin, not the direction or shape of the hand. Some people use the default yellow tone for a neutral or playful feel, while others pick a tone to match their own. For example, if you’re using 🫱 to offer a hand to a friend, a matching skin tone can make the gesture feel more personal. The five modifiers follow the standard emoji skin tone scale, so the same tones work across other hand emoji. On many devices, you can press and hold the 🫱 emoji to see the skin tone options, then slide to the one you want.
Questions people ask
What does the rightwards hand emoji mean?
The rightwards hand emoji 🫱 shows a hand reaching to the right. It usually means “reach”, “offer”, or “point this way” — for example, asking for something or indicating a direction.
What’s the difference between 🫱 and 🫲?
🫱 is the rightwards hand, reaching to the right; 🫲 is the leftwards hand, reaching to the left. They are mirror images and often appear together to show a handover from one person to another.
How do I type the rightwards hand emoji on my phone?
On most phones, open the emoji keyboard and look for the open hand facing right in the hand or people categories.
Is the rightwards hand emoji the same as the waving hand 👋?
No. The waving hand 👋 is used for greetings or goodbyes, while 🫱 suggests reaching or pointing. They convey different actions.
Can I use the rightwards hand emoji in professional messages?
It’s informal, so it’s best for chats with friends or colleagues you’re friendly with. In more formal emails, a word like “reach” or “contact” is clearer and more appropriate.
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.
