What Does the 🤗 (Hugging Face) Emoji Mean?

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A complete guide on using the hug emojis to flirt, express love, or have fun

Co-authored by Eric McClure Reviewed by John Keegan

Last Updated: August 28, 2025 Fact Checked

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• 🤗 (Hugging Face) Emoji Meaning
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• How to Use the 🤗 (Hugging Face) emoji
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• How to Respond to the 🤗 (Hugging Face) Emoji?
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• 🫂 (Hugging People) Emoji Meaning
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• Q&A
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• Tips

|Show more |Show less

If someone drops a 🤗 (hugging face) emoji over text, on Snapchat, Facebook, or Instagram, you may be scratching your head trying to interpret precisely what they mean. We’ve got your back! We’ll walk you through what the emoji means, how it’s used, and how you can use it yourself. As a note, there are actually two hugging emojis—the other one is the 🫂 (hugging people) emoji. We’ll cover both here.

Things You Should Know

• The 🤗 emoji depicts someone reaching out for a hug, although it can also be jazz hands.
• Use a well-timed 🤗 emoji to flirt, celebrate successes, or ironically complain.
• The 🫂 emoji depicts two people hugging. Use it to express care and love.

Steps

Section 1 of 4:

🤗 (Hugging Face) Emoji Meaning

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1. 
   1
   The 🤗 emoji is a hug. The 🤗 emoji depicts an affectionate, friendly face reaching out to you with both arms like they’re hugging you. Like an IRL hug, the meaning depends on your relationship with the other person.

   • A hug from your mom might just be a friendly gesture, while a cute guy or girl flirting with you is probably hugging you in a romantic way.
2. 
   2
   Unofficially, the 🤗 emoji is also jazz hands. Frankly, a lot of folks don’t think 🤗 does a very convincing job as a big hug emoji. It does do a solid impression of someone flailing their hands in the air in joy, though. As such, a lot of people use 🤗 to indicate jazz hands.

   • It’s best to avoid using the emoji this way with someone who may misinterpret you. Don’t try to do jazz hands at work, for example (lest your coworkers think you’re the hugging type).
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Section 2 of 4:

How to Use the 🤗 (Hugging Face) emoji

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1. 
   1
   Use 🤗 to communicate thankfulness or appreciation. The most popular usage of the hugging emoji is basically “aw thanks.” When used this way, the 🤗 emoji is a digital hug than serves more as a sign of sincerity than a romantic or friendly embrace. Someone might say:

   • “I really appreciated you standing up for me in class today 🤗”
   • “Thank you for your help this morning 🤗”
   • “I just wanted to let you know you’re appreciated 🤗”
2. 
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   Drop a 🤗 if you want to show excitement or celebrate. The jazzy hands version of the emoji can be used to indicate you’re…well…jazzed about something. For example, somebody might say:

   • “We got the house!!! 🤗”
   • “🤗 guess who passed the test.”
   • “I just finished my final project 🤗”
3. 
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   Flirt a bit with a 🤗 emoji and a kind message. The 🤗 emoji is up there with the 👀 (eyes) and 😏 (smirk) emojis in the category of “flirty emojis that aren’t automatically flirty.” As a note, if you want some plausible deniability, include a compliment. Then, you can always play it off like you were just doing jazz hands. Someone might say:

   • “Hey hot stuff! What’s going on? 🤗”
   • “I cannot wait for our date next week 🤗”
   • “Loved that cute outfit you were wearing today 🤗”
4. 
   4
   Send a 🤗 ironically to communicate a bit of sass. This emoji is super popular among the saucier folks out there. The 🤗 is so wholesome-looking that it’s almost silly, so you can use this one with a little goofy melodrama if you’d like. For example:

   • “My front tooth just cracked on a slice of cold pizza, so my day is going great 🤗”
   • “I didn’t get the job. Let’s celebrate with some whiskey tonight 🤗”
   • “Want to hang out? I’m so bored I’m going to jump off the roof 🤗”
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Section 3 of 4:

How to Respond to the 🤗 (Hugging Face) Emoji?

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1. 
   1
   Reply to the message itself if it’s an appreciative or jazz hands 🤗 emoji. If someone sends you a 🤗 to let you know that they’re thankful, excited, or appreciate, you don’t actually need to reply in a specific way. Just respond to the body of their message. You can also say nothing if you were sent a 🤗 alone and it’s the natural end of the conversation.
2. 
   2
   Try flirting back if you’re talking to your crush. If you’re talking to someone you wouldn’t mind cuddling with and they drop a 🤗 emoji, it could be their way of testing the waters to see if you’ll flirt back. Try pushing things further by saying something playful or suggestive. Alternatively, you can try dropping some slightly more flirtatious emojis out there (like 😈 or 😉). For example:

   • Them: “I’m so happy I got to see you yesterday 🤗”
   • You: “Oh, me too. My day is always brighter when you’re around 🥰”
3. 
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   Lean into the joke if they’re being sarcastic. If someone is using the 🤗 ironically, play along with the bit. Even if they’re having a rough one, they’re doing okay enough to joke about it. Give them something to smile about. Like this:

   • Them: “I only got two hours of sleep yesterday and a double shift at work. #blessed 🤗”
   • You: *“Oh wow. Two whole hours? You must be feeling super well-rested. I’ll drop by with a bunch of friends right before you guys close 😊”
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Section 4 of 4:

🫂 (Hugging People) Emoji Meaning

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1. 
   The 🫂 is a sympathetic way of saying you’ve got their back. The 🫂 depicts two figures embracing one another. Unlike the 🤗 emoji, the 🫂 is very straightforward—it communicates care, love, and support. You can use this emoji to let someone know you’re there for them while they go through a hard time, or send a 🫂 to say “I love you” in a platonic way. You might say:

   • “Hey, I heard your mom isn’t doing well. Hope everything is okay 🫂”
   • “Happy New Year’s, Lou! I wish all your dreams come true this year! 🫂”
   • “I know you’re upset right now, but I do love and care for you 🫂”

Community Q&A

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• Question

  What does it mean if a married woman sends me a hugging face emoji?

  

  Community Answer

  It means she is showing friendliness towards you.

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• Question

  What does the ^^ mean?

  

  Community Answer

  It can mean either closed happy eyes or they're agreeing with something above.

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Tips

• A lot of people find the 🤗 emoji a little creepy, so know that you aren’t alone if you aren’t a super fond of this one.
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