Used when you’re freezing, shocked, or emotionally “cold.” It can mean literal cold weather or figuratively being frozen by surprise, fear, or awkwardness.
You check your bank account after buying one “small treat” every day for a week.
why is my balance lower than my self-esteem 🥶
🥶 can mean both literally cold (“It’s freezing outside 🥶”) and emotionally frozen — shocked, embarrassed, or reacting to something brutally harsh (“that comment was ice cold 🥶”).
In Japanese chats, 🥶 usually stays literal — describing winter chill or icy temperatures (“寒すぎ🥶”). It’s rarely used for emotional or slang meanings.
If you use 🥶 for emotional shock, make sure the tone is clear — otherwise people might just think you’re complaining about the weather.
See what they share and how they differ to choose the right one.
More on anxious face with sweat
Both 🥶 cold face and 😰 anxious face with sweat express negative, intense emotional states and can be used to react to discomfort, shock, or stressful situations; both signal that something has unsettled the sender and invite sympathetic responses. They differ in quality and nuance: 🥶 often reads as numbness, chill, or stunned disbelief—it can indicate literal cold, emotional withdrawal, or being frozen by surprise or awkwardness—while 😰 conveys active fear, nervousness, and pressure, a sweaty, panicked anticipation that something might go wrong. Use 🥶 when you want to communicate a cool, stunned, or emotionally shut-down vibe, and pick 😰 to communicate immediate anxiety, panic, or overwhelming stress in high-stakes, pressing contexts where things feel likely to worsen.
If you mean to say you’re literally freezing, shocked into silence, or emotionally shut off, use 🥶. If you’re trying to convey being scared, stressed, or urgently worried that a situation will get worse, use 😰.
More on sneezing face
Both 🥶 cold face and 🤧 sneezing face convey negative physical or emotional states and can signal discomfort, vulnerability, or a dramatic reaction; both are often used to elicit sympathy, explain a mood, or color a message with bodily response rather than explicit words. The differences lie in nuance and context: 🥶 cold face leans toward literal chill, shock, or emotional withdrawal—it feels stoic, stunned, or awkward and suits messages about freezing temperatures, being metaphorically iced out, or stunned into silence—whereas 🤧 sneezing face reads as overtly physical and often transient, signaling illness, allergies, or playful exaggeration of sadness; it sounds more vulnerable and seeking care (or attention) than the frosty distance of 🥶, and works best when you want to indicate being sick, having a runny nose, or amusingly feigning tears in a softer, more immediate way. The tone of 🤧 is therefore more intimate and solicitous, while 🥶 is colder, more shocked, or emotionally shut down.
Use 🥶 when you are literally cold, stunned, or feeling emotionally frozen and want to convey distance or shock. Use 🤧 when you are ill, suffering allergies, or playfully pretending to cry and want to evoke sympathy, care, or a lighthearted dramatic reaction.
Related emojis that share similar meanings or usage.
