🙂
Subgroups
Unicode
U+1F642
Variant status
Fully-qualified
Emoji version
E1.0

slightly smiling face

Definitions & examples

A polite, gentle smile that signals friendliness or mild positivity. Often used to soften a message, acknowledge someone, or show calm reassurance. Depending on tone/context, it can also feel a bit neutral or perfunctory.

  • A friend proposes a plan you’re okay with but not excited about.

    Sure thing, we can do that — no worries 🙂

  • Your colleague just sent you the file you needed before a meeting.

    Perfect timing—thanks for sending that over 🙂

  • Your boyfriend drove you home after your first date and has been texting you a lot since, but you want to slow the pace while staying kind.

    Thanks for driving me home and for checking in so much—I really appreciate it. You’re sweet, but I think we could both use a little space to take things slow 🙂

General

Besides friendliness, 🙂 can also signal polite distance — especially in texts where tone can’t be heard. It sometimes feels like “smiling through formality,” used when you want to stay kind but not overly emotional.

Heads-up

Using 🙂 in serious or emotional contexts can seem emotionally distant or passive-aggressive (“fine 🙂”). When warmth matters, try 😄 or ❤️ instead.

Compare picks

See what they share and how they differ to choose the right one.

Differences between 🙂 (slightly smiling face) and ☺️ (smiling face)

More on smiling face

🙂 slightly smiling face and ☺️ smiling face both convey pleasantness and polite warmth, signaling friendliness and a calm positive attitude rather than exuberant joy; they can both soften messages, acknowledge others, and create a gentle, agreeable tone. The key difference is that 🙂 reads as a more neutral, mildly positive or perfunctory smile suitable for casual acknowledgements or courteous responses, whereas ☺️ carries a quieter, more intimate warmth and shy contentment that feels genuinely heartfelt and slightly more personal; use ☺️ when you want to imply sincere, soft happiness or modest pleasure in a subtle, tender way, and use 🙂 when you prefer a neutral, broadly friendly, or gently reassuring tone that keeps things comfortably formal or understated.

Usage

You might use 🙂 to politely acknowledge a colleague’s message, keep a conversation light, or offer mild reassurance without implying deep emotion. Use ☺️ to convey genuine warmth, modest happiness, or a shy, heartfelt compliment in a more personal interaction.

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