Cat with wry smile emoji 😼 (smirking cat)
😼 is the cat with wry smile — the smirking cat: a yellow cat face with half-closed eyes and a lopsided grin.
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What the cat with wry smile 😼 (smirking cat) emoji means
😼 is the cat with wry smile — the smirking cat: a yellow cat face with half-closed eyes and a lopsided grin. It is the feline version of 😏 smirking face: sly, mischievous, up to something, or quietly pleased with itself. Cat faces are used when a plain smiley feels too direct; the cat adds a layer of playful distance, which is why 😼 turns up in flirty teasing and in “I did a bad thing and I regret nothing” posts. The cat emoji guide lists all nine cat faces.
Unicode name: cat with wry smile · U+1F63C · Emoji 0.6 (original set) · group: Smileys & Emotion.
How people use it
- Mischief: pranks, small crimes, plotting
- Smug: winning an argument, being right
- Flirty tease: the cat version of 😏
- Cat content: captions on actual cats looking sly
Compare the options
| Emoji | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| cat with wry smileU+1F63C | Smirking, sly cat | |
| smirking faceU+1F60F | Smirking human | |
| grinning cat with smiling eyesU+1F638 | Happy cat | |
| cat with tears of joyU+1F639 | Laughing cat | |
| pouting catU+1F63E | Grumpy cat |
The smirking cat 😼 as a meme
The smirking cat emoji is often used as a reaction image to convey smug satisfaction or knowing mischief. People pair 😼 with captions like “when you told them so” or “I know something you don’t.” The cat face reads as playful rather than genuinely smug, making it easy to use in friendly teasing.
- A sly self-report after breaking a small rule
- A knowing reaction to being proven right
- A flirty tease without directly saying it
Questions people ask
What does 😼 mean?
A smirk — sly, mischievous or smug — with a cat face for playful distance.
What does 😼 mean from a guy?
He is teasing or being cheeky, the same as 😏 but softer. It often flags a joke or a flirt.
Why use a cat emoji instead of a face?
Cat faces feel more playful and less loaded than the yellow smileys; they say the same thing with a wink.
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.
