The shrug and other famous faces
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ is probably the most famous kaomoji outside Japan. The face is ツ, a Japanese katakana letter (tsu) that happens to look like a smile, and the arms are built from ¯, \ and _. It means "who knows?" or "oh well".
Why the shrug often breaks
When you type the shrug in an app that uses markdown, the backslash and underscores are treated as formatting, and the arm disappears: ¯\(ツ)/¯. Copying it from here keeps all the characters. If an app still eats an arm, try adding a second backslash where the arm is missing.
Other famous reaction faces
- The lenny face ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) means mischief or a sly hint.
- The look of disapproval (ಠ_ಠ) uses the Kannada letter ಠ for wide, unimpressed eyes.
- Deal with it ( •_•)>⌐■-■ puts on sunglasses, ending as (⌐■_■).
- Surprised (⊙_⊙) and Σ(°△°|||) are shocked and frozen.
- Sleepy (￣o￣) zzZZ is dozing off.
Use with a light touch
Reaction faces work best as quick replies. One shrug says more than a paragraph, but a reply full of faces can be hard to read.
For more moods, see angry kaomoji and happy kaomoji.
Reaction faces for every reply
| Reaction | Try |
|---|---|
| Who knows? | ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ · ┐(￣ヘ￣)┌ · ╮(￣～￣)╭ |
| Sly or teasing | ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) · (¬‿¬) · ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°) |
| Unimpressed | (ಠ_ಠ) · ( ´_ゝ`) |
| Shocked | (⊙_⊙) · Σ(°△°|||) · (ﾟДﾟ;) |
| Awkward | (・_・;) · (￣ω￣;) · (・・;) |
| Cool | (⌐■_■) · ( •_•)>⌐■-■ |
| Sleepy | (－_－) zzZ · (￣o￣) zzZZ |
Where these faces came from
Many of these faces spread through early internet forums and chat rooms, where people shared them as quick, wordless replies. The lenny face, for example, became popular on online forums in the early 2010s. They're still common in group chats, gaming communities and comment sections because one face can answer a whole message.