Face With Bags Under Eyes Emoji
U+1FAE9About Face With Bags Under Eyes
Face With Bags Under Eyes () is part of the Smileys & Emotion group in Unicode. Added in Unicode E16.0. Click copy above to grab it, paste it anywhere.
Works in iMessage, WhatsApp, Discord, Slack, Instagram, Twitter, Gmail, and every app that supports Unicode.
Often associated with bags, bored, exhausted, and 7 more keywords.
Meaning varies across cultures, see cultural notes below.
Scroll down for the full story: meaning, trends, combos, and more.
How it looks
What does it mean?
The face with bags under eyes is the emoji you send when "I'm tired" doesn't cut it anymore. It's chronic exhaustion in a yellow circle: drooping lids, dark circles, flat mouth, the resigned expression of someone who's well past their limit but still answering emails.
Approved as part of Unicode 16.0 in September 2024, it landed on iPhones in March 2025 with iOS 18.4 and immediately became the most popular new emoji of 2025 according to Emojipedia. It had already won the Most Anticipated Emoji award at the 2024 World Emoji Awards before anyone could actually use it. Back-to-back wins. The internet was apparently ready for this one.
Fast Company called it "not just an emoji, he's a sign of the times," and that tracks. In an era where burnout isn't the exception but the norm, fills a gap that 😫 and 😩 couldn't quite cover. Those emojis are dramatic, almost theatrical. This one is quieter. It's the look of someone who got four hours of sleep for the third night in a row and has a 9am meeting they can't cancel.
took off fastest on X (Twitter) and Instagram, where users immediately called it "the official emoji of adulthood." It lives in morning texts ("good morning "), work complaints ("back-to-back meetings "), and parenting updates ("baby woke up at 3am again "). On Slack and Teams, it's become shorthand for "I'm running on fumes but still here."
The interesting split is generational. Millennials adopted it as a sincere expression of their actual state. Gen Z uses it more ironically, adding it to bios and captions as a vibe marker. The Fast Company article noted that under a tweet revealing iOS 18.4's emoji, one commenter predicted: "I bet this is the most used emoji of the year. 3 months into 2025 and everyone is already tired." They weren't wrong.
What it means from...
If your crush sends , they're being vulnerable with you. It's a low-key invitation to check on them. Responding with concern ("get some rest!") or humor ("you still look good tho") both work. If they're sending it after staying up late texting you, that's a good sign. They chose sleep deprivation over ending the conversation.
Between partners, is daily shorthand. It replaces the "how was your day?" exchange with a one-emoji summary. If your partner sends this at 2pm, they need you to handle dinner. If they send it at 10pm, they're warning you they'll be asleep in five minutes.
Among friends, this emoji is pure commiseration. It's the group chat reaction to Monday morning, the response to "wanna hang out tonight?" when the answer is technically yes but physically no. Often followed by rain check negotiations.
Parents send this to each other at 6am when the baby has been up since 4. Adult children send it to their parents when work is crushing them. The universal family translation: "I'm okay, just really, really tired."
In work chats, is surprisingly accepted. It's less dramatic than 😫 and more specific than 😐. It says "I'm running on empty" without suggesting you can't do your job. Some teams have started using it as a status indicator: the Slack equivalent of a yellow traffic light.
From someone you don't know well, is usually commentary on a shared situation. Stuck in a long line? Waiting for a delayed flight? It's the emoji equivalent of making eye contact with a stranger and mutually acknowledging that this sucks.
Flirty or friendly?
is almost never flirty on its own. It's too real, too mundane. But context matters: someone who sends after staying up all night talking to you is indirectly saying "you're worth losing sleep over." That's not the emoji being flirty. That's the situation being flirty and the emoji being honest.
- • after a long day of texting you? They prioritized you over sleep. Notice that.
- • in response to your selfie? Probably not flirting, just saying they're too tired to form words.
- • followed by 'thinking about you kept me up'? That's flirting wrapped in exhaustion.
- • on its own with no context? Just tired. Don't overthink it.
Same as from anyone: he's tired. Guys tend to use as a straightforward status update rather than a bid for sympathy. If he's sending it during a late-night conversation with you, it might mean he's staying up past his limit because he'd rather keep talking to you.
She's exhausted. Women tend to use across a wider range of contexts: work stress, parenting fatigue, emotional exhaustion, staying-up-too-late exhaustion. If she sends it after a long conversation, she might be flagging that she needs to sleep but doesn't want the conversation to end.
Emoji combos
Origin story
The emoji began as proposal L2/23-260, submitted to the Unicode Consortium in 2023. The proposal argued that existing tired-face emojis (😫, 😩, 😴) captured dramatic exhaustion or literal sleep but missed the quiet, chronic tiredness that defines modern life. The kind where you're not collapsing, just perpetually running at 40%.
The Unicode Technical Committee discussed it at UTC 177 and approved it for Unicode 16.0 in September 2024. Even before it hit devices, the emoji won the Most Anticipated Emoji award at the 2024 World Emoji Awards, voted on by the public on World Emoji Day (July 17, 2024). When Apple shipped it in iOS 18.4 in March 2025, the reaction was immediate. CBS News ran a segment titled "Emojis soon to include one that speaks for the weary masses." Web Designer Depot reported that therapists were "considering using it as shorthand in diagnostic reports." Whether that was a joke or not says something about how perfectly this emoji hit its moment.
Proposal L2/23-260 (2023) submitted the case for an exhaustion-specific face. Discussed at UTC 177. Approved for Unicode 16.0 in September 2024. Added to Emoji 16.0. Deployed on Apple iOS 18.4 (March 2025), Google Android 16 DP2 (December 2024), WhatsApp, Samsung, and Discord throughout 2025.
Added in Unicode 16.0 (September 2024) as FACE WITH BAGS UNDER EYES. Part of the Supplemental Symbols and Pictographs block. One of only eight new emoji approved in the Emoji 16.0 cycle, alongside Splatter, Fingerprint, 🪻 Harp, Shovel, 🪴 Leafless Tree, [monarch-butterfly] Root Vegetable, and the flag for Sark.
Design history
- 2023Proposal L2/23-260 submitted to the Unicode Consortium for a face with bags under eyes↗
- 2024Wins Most Anticipated Emoji at the 2024 World Emoji Awards on July 17↗
- 2024Approved in Unicode 16.0 and Emoji 16.0, September 2024
- 2024Google ships it in Android 16 Developer Preview 2 (December 2024)↗
- 2025Apple releases it in iOS 18.4 (March 2025), triggering viral adoption↗
- 2025Crowned Most Popular New Emoji of 2025 by Emojipedia↗
Around the world
Unlike many face emojis that shift meaning across cultures, reads almost the same everywhere. Bags under the eyes are a universal human signal for tiredness. In Chinese it's called "有眼袋" (has eye bags), in Korean "다크서클이 있는 얼굴" (face with dark circles), and in Japanese "目にクマがある顔" (face with bears under the eyes, using the Japanese term for dark circles, "kuma," which literally means bear).
The cultural variation isn't in what the emoji means but in how acceptable it is to express exhaustion publicly. In Japan's work culture, being visibly tired can signal dedication (the concept of "ganbaru," or persevering). In the US and UK, plugs into the burnout conversation that's been building since the pandemic. In parts of East Asia, under-eye bags and dark circles are such a beauty concern that the emoji reads with a slightly different emotional weight, closer to "I look terrible" than just "I'm tired."
Two, actually. It won the Most Anticipated Emoji at the 2024 World Emoji Awards (before it was available on any phone) and then the Most Popular New Emoji of 2025 from Emojipedia. Back-to-back wins for a face that looks like it hasn't slept.
Popularity ranking
Often confused with
Tired Face (😫) shows dramatic, mouth-open exhaustion, like someone who just finished a marathon. is quieter. It's the difference between screaming "I'M TIRED" and staring blankly at the wall at 3pm because you're too tired to scream.
Tired Face (😫) shows dramatic, mouth-open exhaustion, like someone who just finished a marathon. is quieter. It's the difference between screaming "I'M TIRED" and staring blankly at the wall at 3pm because you're too tired to scream.
Weary Face (😩) leans more into frustration and overwhelm. is specifically physical tiredness, the kind that shows on your face. Think: 😩 after a terrible meeting vs after a terrible night's sleep.
Weary Face (😩) leans more into frustration and overwhelm. is specifically physical tiredness, the kind that shows on your face. Think: 😩 after a terrible meeting vs after a terrible night's sleep.
Sleeping Face (😴) means you're actually asleep or want to be. means you should be asleep but can't or won't be. One is rest, the other is the absence of it.
Sleeping Face (😴) means you're actually asleep or want to be. means you should be asleep but can't or won't be. One is rest, the other is the absence of it.
No. 😫 (Tired Face) and 😩 (Weary Face) are dramatic and loud. They're for moments of acute frustration or exhaustion. is for the quiet, chronic kind. The kind where you're not screaming, just silently existing with dark circles. Think of it as the difference between a sprint collapse and a slow, permanent shuffle.
😴 means you're sleeping or want to sleep. means you should be sleeping but aren't. One is rest, the other is the absence of it. You send 😴 when you're heading to bed. You send when it's 2pm and you're on your fourth coffee.
Do's and don'ts
- ✓Use it to commiserate with someone who's also exhausted
- ✓Send it as an honest status update in group chats
- ✓Pair it with coffee ☕ for the relatable Monday morning post
- ✓Use it in work Slack to signal you're running low without being dramatic
- ✗Don't overuse it as a replacement for every negative emotion. It's specifically about tiredness, not sadness or anger.
- ✗Don't send it to someone sharing good news. They don't need your exhaustion dampening their moment.
- ✗Don't use it as a passive-aggressive response to being asked to do something ("Can you finish the report?" "" is not a great look)
Not inherently. It's designed to express genuine tiredness, not annoyance. But tone is everything: responding to "can you pick up milk?" with just might come across as reluctant. Used on its own as a status update or reaction, it's sincere. Used in response to a request, it can read as a complaint.
Yes, and people already are. It's become a common Slack and Teams emoji for signaling low energy without being unprofessional. It's more honest than a fake thumbs-up and less alarming than 😵. Some teams even use it as an informal status indicator: "I'm here, but please be gentle."
Caption ideas
Aesthetic sets
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Fun facts
- • is the first emoji ever to win Emojipedia's Most Anticipated award and then follow it up with the Most Popular New Emoji award the next year. Back-to-back.
- •The Japanese name for under-eye dark circles is "kuma" (クマ), which also means "bear." So in Japanese, literally has bears under its eyes.
- •Screen readers announce this emoji as "face with bags under eyes," making it one of the most descriptively named emojis in Unicode. What you see is what you hear.
- •Only eight emojis were approved in the entire Emoji 16.0 cycle. beat out a fingerprint, a splatter, a harp, a shovel, a leafless tree, a root vegetable, and the flag of Sark (a 600-person island in the English Channel) for the popularity crown.
- •The Unicode proposal (L2/23-260) specifically argued that existing tired emojis were too dramatic and that there was no emoji for quiet, chronic tiredness. The committee agreed.
Common misinterpretations
- •Some people initially read as sick or hungover rather than just tired. The bags under the eyes can read as "rough night" in either direction. Context usually clears this up, but if you're calling in sick, you might want 🤒 instead.
- •In some early interpretations, people confused with boredom (one of its Unicode keywords is "bored"). But the dominant usage has settled firmly on exhaustion and tiredness, not disinterest.
In pop culture
- •Fast Company's 2025 article "This new emoji is all of us in 2025" called "a beleaguered little guy" and "a sign of the times," connecting it to existential dread from checking the news, buying eggs, and looking at Zillow prices.
- •CBS News ran a segment titled "Emojis soon to include one that speaks for the weary masses", covering the emoji's approval with the kind of gravitas usually reserved for political coverage.
- •Raw.Studio called Apple's implementation "The Symbol We Didn't Know We Needed" and praised it as "a design lesson in empathy" and "emotionally intelligent" design.
- •By 2026, Fast Company was already writing about 's successor: the Distorted Face emoji, calling it "all of us in 2026" and positioning it as the next evolution beyond mere exhaustion.
- •A YouTube video titled "The Emoji That Defines 2025" framed as capturing the collective exhaustion of the year, treating it as a cultural artifact rather than just a new emoji.
Trivia
For developers
- •Codepoint: . Single codepoint, no ZWJ sequence or variation selectors.
- •Shortcodes vary by platform. Discord uses . Slack may not support it yet if your workspace hasn't updated.
- •Since this is a Unicode 16.0 emoji (2024), older systems will display it as a missing character (tofu box). Always provide fallback text when using it in contexts where older OS support matters.
- •CLDR keywords: bags, bored, exhausted, eyes, face, fatigued, late, sleepy, tired, weary. Use these for search indexing if building emoji pickers.
- •Screen readers announce it as "face with bags under eyes." No ambiguity, unlike many face emojis.
It was approved as part of Unicode 16.0 in September 2024 and shipped on Apple devices in iOS 18.4 in March 2025. Google included it in Android 16 Developer Preview 2 in December 2024. It's one of only eight emojis in the Emoji 16.0 batch.
You need iOS 18.4 or later on iPhone, or Android 16 on most Android devices. Samsung, WhatsApp, and Discord have also rolled out support in 2025. If you see a blank box or question mark instead, your system hasn't been updated to support Unicode 16.0 emojis yet.
See the full Emoji Developer Tools guide for regex patterns, encoding helpers, and more.
When do you pull out ?
Select all that apply
- Face with Bags Under Eyes (emojipedia.org)
- The Most Popular New Emoji of 2025 Is... (blog.emojipedia.org)
- What's New In Unicode 16.0 (blog.emojipedia.org)
- Emoji Recently Added, v16.0 (unicode.org)
- Proposal L2/23-260: Face with Bags Under Eyes (unicode.org)
- This new emoji is all of us in 2025 (fastcompany.com)
- Emojis soon to include one that speaks for the weary masses (cbsnews.com)
- Apple's Exhausted Emoji: The Symbol We Didn't Know We Needed (raw.studio)
- Apple Releases New Exhausted Emoji (webdesignerdepot.com)
- iOS 18.4 Beta Adds New Emoji (macrumors.com)
- iOS 18.4 includes eight new emoji (9to5mac.com)
- The Distorted Face emoji is all of us in 2026 (fastcompany.com)
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