Is there a robber emoji?
No, there is no robber emoji — and you are far from the only one who remembers one. Here is what exists instead and why the memory is so common.
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The robber emoji does not exist
No. There is no robber, burglar or thief in the Unicode emoji set, and there never has been. We checked all 3,963 fully qualified sequences in the Emoji 18.0 data: nothing is named robber, burglar, thief or bandit. Yet a very large number of people are sure they have used one — usually described as a figure in a black beanie or mask, a striped shirt, sometimes carrying a bag of money. That description is remarkably consistent, which is what makes the robber the most famous emoji false memory after the seahorse.
Where does the image come from? Probably from a mix of the 🥷 ninja (masked, dark, added in 2020), the 🦹 supervillain (2018), cartoon burglars in games and clip art, and platform stickers that are not Unicode. Once a few people described it online, the description spread and others “remembered” it too.
Compare the options
| Emoji | Name | Use it for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| ninjaU+1F977 | Masked figure; the closest look | A ninja, not a robber | |
| supervillainU+1F9B9 | Supervillain; a masked bad guy | Comic-book villain | |
| detectiveU+1F575 U+FE0F | Detective; “investigating” | The opposite side of the crime | |
| police officerU+1F46E | Police officer | For “caught” | |
| money bag / money with wingsU+1F4B0 · U+1F4B8 | The loot | Add them to any of the above | |
| performing artsU+1F3AD | Masks; disguise | Theatre, but works for “in disguise” |
How to say “robber” with emoji
- 🥷💰 — masked figure with the money bag, the most common stand-in
- 🦹💸 — supervillain making off with cash
- 🕵️👮 — the chase
- Type the word if it matters: “the robber 🥷 in episode 3”
Any of these can be assembled in the combo studio. If Unicode ever adds a robber it will appear in this directory and this page will change; as of Emoji 18.0 there is no accepted proposal in the data we use.
Chat examples
Real messages with 🥷, and a reply that fits.
is there a robber emoji? 🥷
no, that’s a ninja
heist movie night 🕵️
I’ll bring popcorn
🦹 villain era
dramatic
Questions people ask
Was there ever a robber emoji?
No. The emoji has never existed in any Unicode release. The memory is a shared false memory, likely built from the ninja, the supervillain and non-emoji stickers.
Is 🥷 the robber emoji?
🥷 is the ninja (Emoji 13.0). It is the closest match visually and is what most people use, but it is a ninja.
What about a burglar emoji?
Same answer: none exists. Searches for burglar, thief and bandit all point to the same missing character.
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. Facts were checked against the sources listed above. Last reviewed . Spotted a mistake or a new usage? Tell us, or read how the directory is made.
