Shrug emoji
The shrug 🤷 is “no idea”, “whatever” and “not my problem” in one gesture. Copy it — or the text version ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ — and learn when it sounds dismissive.
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What the shrug emoji means
🤷 (person shrugging) means I don’t know, who knows, not my problem or whatever. It is one of the most useful reaction emoji because it commits to nothing: it can be innocent (“no idea what time it starts 🤷”) or pointed (“he said he’d handle it 🤷”). The gendered versions 🤷♀️ (woman shrugging) and 🤷♂️ (man shrugging) are zero-width-joiner sequences of the base person plus a gender sign, and every version supports the five skin-tone modifiers.
The shrug arrived in Emoji 3.0 (2016), and it came in only because so many people were already typing its text ancestor, the shruggie: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. That emoticon still travels better in a few places — code comments, plain-text email, usernames — because it is ordinary characters (the face is the Japanese katakana tsu) and needs no emoji font.
Compare the options
| Emoji | Name | Use it for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| person shruggingU+1F937 | “No idea”, indifference, “what can you do” | Gender-neutral; some platforms draw it ambiguously | |
| woman shrugging / man shruggingU+1F937 U+200D U+2640 U+FE0F · U+1F937 U+200D U+2642 U+FE0F | The same, with an explicit woman or man | ZWJ sequences; old devices show 🤷 plus a sign | |
| face with diagonal mouthU+1FAE4 | Unsure, “ehh” | Newer; see the confused emoji guide | |
| thinking faceU+1F914 | Still thinking it over | See the thinking emoji guide | |
| person gesturing NO / person gesturing OKU+1F645 · U+1F646 | “No” and “OK” gestures | Often confused with the shrug at small sizes |
Innocent or passive-aggressive?
- After a question you can’t answer: innocent (“Saturday or Sunday? 🤷”).
- After someone else’s mistake: pointed (“told them twice 🤷”).
- About your own choices: playful (“bought the shoes 🤷♀️”).
- In a disagreement: dismissive; it reads as “I’m done arguing”. Use words instead.
- Work chat: fine for genuine uncertainty, risky as a reply to a request.
The shrug emoji as a meme
The shrug emoji is often used as a meme because it sums up a whole mood of indifference and uncertainty in one character. People pair it with captions or use it alone as a reaction.
The text version is the shruggie ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, which people have used in forums and chat rooms. The emoji 🤷 offers the same meaning with skin tone options.
Using the shrug to say “I don’t care”
The shrug emoji often stands in for “I don’t care” or “whatever”. It can be a light way to show you are not bothered, but tone is tricky: in text, 🤷 can read as dismissive if you are replying to something the other person cares about.
If you genuinely mean “I don’t care”, consider adding a word or two to soften it, like “I’m easy 🤷” or “up to you 🤷”. For a stronger “I don’t care” there are other emoji such as the unamused face 😒 or the face with rolling eyes 🙄.
- Playful: “I’m easy, you pick 🤷”
- Dismissive: “he said he’d be late again 🤷”
- Careless: “forgot my keys 🤷”
Chat examples
Real messages with 🤷, and a reply that fits.
where did the remote go?
🤷
did he say why?
🤷♀️ nothing
should we bring a gift?
🤷♂️ maybe wine
Questions people ask
How do I type the shrug emoji?
Search “shrug” in your device’s emoji keyboard, or copy 🤷 from this page. Windows: Win + . opens the emoji panel; macOS: Control + Command + Space.
How do I type ¯\_(ツ)_/¯?
It is hard to type by hand because ツ is a Japanese character. Use the copy button above; the text works anywhere, including places that strip emoji.
Is 🤷 rude?
Not by itself. It becomes dismissive when it replaces a real answer to a real question, especially about something the other person cares about.
What do the different skin tones and genders of the shrug emoji mean?
The base shrug emoji 🤷 is a gender-neutral person with a yellow skin tone. You can add a gender: 🤷♀️ for woman and 🤷♂️ for man. Each of those supports five skin tone modifiers, for example 🤷🏻♂️ is a man with light skin tone, 🤷🏽♀️ is a woman with medium skin tone, and 🤷🏾♂️ is a man with medium-dark skin tone. All variants carry the same meaning of “I don’t know” or “whatever”; the skin tone and gender simply describe who is shrugging.
Is there an “I don’t care” emoji?
The shrug emoji 🤷 is the closest common choice, but its meaning is broader: it can mean “I don’t know”, “whatever”, or “not my problem”. If you specifically want to show displeasure or annoyance, the unamused face 😒 or the face with rolling eyes 🙄 might be stronger. For a truly indifferent tone, 🤷 works well.
What is the shrugging meme?
The shrugging meme uses the 🤷 person shrugging or the text shrug ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ to react to something with a “who knows?” or “not my problem” attitude. People often pair it with an “I don’t care” tone, making it a natural choice for showing indifference.
What is the male shrug emoji and female shrug emoji?
The male shrug emoji is 🤷♂️ and the female shrug emoji is 🤷♀️. They work the same as the base 🤷 and support all five skin tones, so you can send 🤷🏿♂️ or 🤷🏼♀️, and the 🤷🏼♀️ meaning is simply “a woman with medium-light skin tone shrugging”. There is no blue shrug emoji by default; the standard colour is yellow.
How do I use the shrug emoji on Android?
On Android, open your emoji keyboard and browse the Smileys & People category to find the 🤷 emoji.
What does it mean when someone sends the shrug emoji?
It can mean they don’t care, aren’t sure, or think it’s not their problem. The tone depends on context—it could be a casual ‘whatever’ or a genuine ‘I don’t know’.
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.
