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Rounding up the emojis…
🥹
🥹 Face Holding Back Tears Emoji — Meaning & Usage
Smileys & People📋 Copied 47.9K times
Description
Styled as a face with shimmering, watery eyes and a slight smile — trying SO hard not to cry but clearly about to lose the battle. Added in Unicode 14.0 (2021), it instantly became the emoji of choice for "I'm not crying, YOU'RE crying" moments. It sits in that bittersweet zone between happy and sad: graduation videos, surprise proposals, dogs greeting their owners after military deployments. The key difference from 🥺 (pleading face) is that this one is actively fighting back tears rather than making puppy-dog eyes at someone. Apple renders the tears as more visible; Google keeps them subtler.
When to Use
Use when emotionally touched, proudly moved, or trying to stay strong. Shows vulnerability.
Example Usage
- “I'm not crying, you're crying 🥹”
- “So proud of you 🥹”
- “This is too sweet 🥹”
Popular Combinations
🥹❤️
I'm not crying, you're crying
🥹🫶
My heart can't take this
🥹🐶
Cute aggression activated
🥹🎓
Proud tears at graduation
How Face Holding Back Tears looks across platforms
Open-source emoji designs. Each project maintains its own visual style — colors, shapes, and details may differ from what you see on your device.
Platform Comparison
This emoji may look different depending on your device:
AppleGoogle
Apple's version has a more neutral mouth while Google shows a slight frown, giving the two versions distinctly different emotional tones.
Samsung
Samsung's version features more prominent, glossy tears that make it look more overtly sad.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 🥹 mean in a text message?▼
Styled as a face with shimmering, watery eyes and a slight smile — trying SO hard not to cry but clearly about to lose the battle. Added in Unicode 14.0 (2021), it instantly became the emoji of choice for "I'm not crying, YOU'RE crying" moments. It sits in that bittersweet zone between happy and sad: graduation videos, surprise proposals, dogs greeting their owners after military deployments. The key difference from 🥺 (pleading face) is that this one is actively fighting back tears rather than making puppy-dog eyes at someone. Apple renders the tears as more visible; Google keeps them subtler. Use when emotionally touched, proudly moved, or trying to stay strong. Shows vulnerability. The tone can shift depending on context — a message to a friend reads differently than one to a coworker.
Where can I use 🥹?▼
You can use the Face Holding Back Tears emoji in any app or platform that supports Unicode emoji — including iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and email. It also works in documents, spreadsheets, and most modern software.
How is 🥹 encoded in Unicode?▼
The Face Holding Back Tears emoji is encoded as U+1f979 in the Unicode Standard. In HTML, you can use 🥹 and in CSS content: "\1f979". This standardized encoding ensures it works consistently across the web.
What is the shortcode for 🥹?▼
On platforms like Slack and Discord, you can type `:face_holding_back_tears:` to insert the Face Holding Back Tears emoji. On GitHub, the same shortcodes work in issues and comments.
Is 🥹 a newer emoji?▼
The Face Holding Back Tears emoji was added in Unicode 14.0, making it relatively new. If someone sees a blank square □ instead of this emoji, their device probably needs a software update.
Unicode
U+1f979
Category
Smileys & People
Added
Unicode 14.0
Shortcodes
:face_holding_back_tears:Keywords
touchedgratitudecry
When to Use 🥹 Face Holding Back Tears
Use when emotionally touched, proudly moved, or trying to stay strong. Shows vulnerability.
- •Send 🥹 when you want to express or reference "face holding back tears" in a message — it instantly conveys the meaning without extra words
- •Use 🥹 in conversations about touched or gratitude to add visual emphasis and make your point clearer
- •React with 🥹 Face Holding Back Tears on social media posts, stories, or comments related to face holding back tears
- •Combine 🥹 with related emoji in captions or bios — works well when talking about touched, gratitude, cry
⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts
Open your system emoji picker to type any emoji directly:
🪟
Windows
Win + .🍎
Mac
Ctrl + ⌘ + SpacePeople Also Search For
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