🥹 Face Holding Back Tears emoji meaning
🥹 means feeling touched, proud or grateful, so moved that you almost cry in a happy way. People send it for sweet messages, cute moments and proud news. The Apple artwork shows a yellow face with a small smile, raised brows and big shiny eyes filled with tears.
U+1F979
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More emojis: Smileys
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What 🥹 means
The tone is warm and soft. It usually shows happy emotion, like "aww, that means so much", not sadness. It is gentler than 😭, which can mean sobbing or laughing hard, and different from 🥺, which is pleading. People use it for compliments, kind gestures, baby and pet photos, graduations, weddings and reunions. It can also show you are trying to stay strong while sad, such as at a farewell. It is very common on Instagram and TikTok under emotional or cute posts.
From a girl or a guy
It usually means your message touched them or made them happy. It is warm but not automatically romantic; friends and family send it too.
In a relationship or crush chat
After a compliment or sweet text, 🥹 means "that made me melt". It shows they feel cared for, which is a good sign.
On Instagram and TikTok
In comments it means a post is so cute or emotional it nearly made the viewer cry, often under pet, baby or glow-up videos.
🥹 How people use it
- Reacting to a sweet message or compliment
- Feeling proud of someone
- Seeing a cute baby or pet photo
- Thanking someone for a kind gesture
Example messages
You remembered my birthday 🥹❤️
My little brother just graduated 🥹
This puppy video 🥹🥹
Thank you all for the wishes 🥹🙏
Common 🥹 combinations
- 🥹❤️Deeply touched and full of love
- 🥹🫶Grateful and full of affection, "this warms my heart"
- 🥹🙏Very thankful, almost emotional
🥹 vs similar emojis
| 🥹 vs 🥺 | 🥺 has big pleading puppy eyes for begging or acting cute, while 🥹 shows happy, touched tears. |
|---|---|
| 🥹 vs 😭 | 😭 is full crying, used for sadness or for laughing hard, much stronger than the held-back tears of 🥹. |
| 🥹 vs 😢 | 😢 is plainly sad, while 🥹 is mostly happy emotion. |
Emoji details
| Name | face holding back tears |
|---|---|
| Codepoints | U+1F979 |
| Category | Smileys |
| Keywords | admiration, aww, back, cry, embarrassed, face, feelings, grateful, gratitude, holding, joy, please, proud, resist |
How to use
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32, 64, 128, 256 and 512px transparent PNGs. Get all five in one ZIP.
Skin tones and genders
People emojis include five skin tones and gender variants as separate images.
Usage
Apple emoji artwork is Apple's property. Use for personal or non-commercial purposes; check Apple's policy for commercial use.
FAQ
What does the 🥹 face holding back tears emoji mean?
🥹 means feeling touched, proud or grateful, so moved that you almost cry in a happy way. People send it for sweet messages, cute moments and proud news. The Apple artwork shows a yellow face with a small smile, raised brows and big shiny eyes filled with tears.
What is the difference between 🥹 and 🥺?
🥹 means you are touched or proud, close to happy tears. 🥺 means pleading, begging or acting cute to get something.
Is 🥹 sad?
Usually not. It mostly shows happy or grateful emotion, though some people use it when trying to stay brave during a sad moment.
How do you reply to 🥹?
Respond warmly, for example with a ❤️, 🫶 or a short "you deserve it". It means your message touched them, so a kind reply fits.
Are the backgrounds transparent?
Yes, every PNG has a transparent background.