Shrug Emoticon
Copy the shrug emoticon ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, then check the meaning, origin and close variants.
Where the shrug emoticon came from
The shrug emoticon ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ grew out of Japanese kaomoji culture on text-based BBS communities such as 2channel, where whole faces were drawn from characters you read upright. It crossed into the English-speaking web through forums, IRC and early Twitter, and became a mainstream reaction after high-profile public use around 2010. The katakana tsu (ツ) forms the smiling face in the middle, and the macron marks (¯) are the raised arms.
Shrug emoticon variants by mood
The classic shrug has a small family of moods — tap the grid above to copy any of them, or browse the full set on the shrug kaomoji page:
- Classic / "I don't know": ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- Happy: ＼(^o^)／
- Whatever: ┐(´∀｀)┌
- Helpless: ┐(´･ω･`)┌
- Cute: ╮(╯▽╰)╭
- Sad / defeated: (╯︵╰)
Shrug emoticon vs picture emoji
- Emoticons are made of text, so they never change shape between apps.
- The picture emoji 🤷 (U+1F937) looks different on iPhone, Android and Windows, and adds skin-tone and gender variants.
- For code, terminals and docs, the text emoticon is the safe, predictable choice.
FAQ
What is the shrug emoticon?
The shrug emoticon ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ is a kaomoji — a face and gesture drawn with text characters. It shows shrugging shoulders to mean indifference, confusion or 'I don't know'.
Where did the shrug emoticon come from?
It grew out of Japanese kaomoji culture and spread worldwide through forums, chat and social media. The katakana 'tsu' (ツ) forms the smiling face in the middle.