Fingertips gathered together and pointing up, the pinched-fingers emoji is the classic Italian hand gesture for 'what do you want from me' or 'what are you even saying.' It's become a huge meme for exasperation and disbelief, and doubles as a chef's-kiss gesture for something done with real precision.
What 🤌 means
An extended hand with all five fingers coming together to make a bud-like shape. This is one such emoji with numerous interpretations that change depending on the country and culture.
Going by the more popular way of using it in the Italian sense, the 🤌 Pinched Fingers emoji suggests a way of saying "WTF", "What do you want", "What the hell is wrong with you" etc.
Apart from that, it can also signify sarcasm, bossiness, and even a sense of being intimidating. This emoji is available in the designated colors almost across all platforms.
How and when to use it
- 🤌 emoji is mostly used in the context of saying WTF.
- You can also use 🤌 in sarcastic conversations.
- 🤌 can also replace the phrase "What the hell is wrong with you".
- If you just came across something absolutely ridiculous on social media, you can use 🤌 emoji as a reaction to that post.
- You can also send 🤌 emoji along with something obnoxiously silly that you witnessed.
- If someone just told you something and you cannot believe what you read/saw, use 🤌 emoji as a way of showing disbelief.
- If your homie texts you out of the blue, and you know they're up to something, send 🤌 emoji as a way of asking "What do you want?".
Other Names
- 🤌 WTF
- 🤌 What Do You Want
- 🤌 What is Wrong With You
- 🤌 Are You Hungry?
- 🤌 Are You Serious?
- 🤌 Silly
- 🤌 Shocking
- 🤌 Disbelief
- 🤌 Skepticism
- 🤌 Mother Child Love
- 🤌 Back and Forth
🤌 in real conversations
What does 🤌 mean in texting?
Borrowed from the Italian 'ma che vuoi' gesture — 'what do you want,' or exasperated emphasis on a point. It also does chef's-kiss duty, marking something as perfectly done.
What does 🤌 mean from a guy?
Usually emphasis — punctuating a strong opinion the way a hand gesture would in an animated conversation. 'This pizza 🤌' means it's excellent, closer to a kiss of the fingers than actual impatience.
Does 🤌 mean perfect or impatient?
Both meanings coexist — the original Italian gesture reads as exasperated 'what now,' while English-language use leans toward chef's-kiss perfection. Food and achievement posts almost always mean the compliment.
The lowdown
- Category
- People & Body › hand-fingers-partial
- Codepoints
U+1F90C- Emoji version
- Emoji 13.0
- Shortcodes
:pinched_fingers:- Keywords
- fingers, gesture, hand, hold, huh, interrogation, patience, pinched, relax, sarcastic, ugh, what, zip
How it looks across platforms
Seeing a blank box instead of the emoji somewhere? Here's why that happens. Curious why the designs above don't match to begin with? Here's why that happens too.
Skin tone variations
Pairs well with
Tap any combo to copy the whole thing.
⚡ Quick round
Which joined the keyboard first — 🤌 Pinched Fingers or 🎮 Video Game?
Runs with a crowd
🤌 keeps company in hand emojis — tap-to-copy sets for when one emoji isn't enough.