Man Bowing Emoji
U+1F647 U+200D U+2642 U+FE0F:bowing_man:Skin tonesAbout Man Bowing πββοΈ
Man Bowing () is part of the People & Body group in Unicode. Added in Unicode E4.0. Type on GitHub and Slack to use it. On Discord it's . Click copy above to grab it, paste it anywhere.
Works in iMessage, WhatsApp, Discord, Slack, Instagram, Twitter, Gmail, and every app that supports Unicode. Pick a skin tone above to customize it.
Often associated with apology, ask, beg, and 11 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?
A man bowing deeply from the waist. This is one of the most culturally loaded emojis in the entire set: in Japan, it represents dogeza or a deep formal bow, used for sincere apologies, showing profound respect, or making a serious request. Outside Japan, many Western users misread it as a person doing push-ups, lying on a massage table, or just thinking with their head down.
The emoji's Unicode name is , and it was originally designed for Japanese mobile carriers to express what no English word captures perfectly: the physical act of lowering yourself before another person as acknowledgment of wrongdoing, gratitude, or deference. Japan has four distinct bow types measured by angle: eshaku (δΌι, 15Β°, casual greeting), keirei (ζ¬η€Ό, 30Β°, business respect), saikeirei (ζζ¬η€Ό, 45-70Β°, utmost respect), and dogeza (εδΈεΊ§, floor prostration). The emoji depicts something in the saikeirei-to-dogeza range.
When someone sends πββοΈ in texting, the meaning depends heavily on their cultural background. From a Japanese speaker: sincere apology or serious gratitude. From a Western speaker: often exaggerated or humorous apology ("Sorry I'm late πββοΈ"), begging for a favor, or general deference.
In Japanese messaging, πββοΈ appears in both formal and casual contexts. A work email ending with πββοΈ says "I sincerely apologize for the trouble." A friend texting "Can you cover my shift? πββοΈ" is making a request with acknowledged weight. The emoji adds gravity that words alone might not carry.
In Western texting, πββοΈ has been adopted primarily for exaggerated humility. "Please forgive me for eating the last slice πββοΈ" uses it as comedic prostration. On Slack and Teams, it works as a reaction to say "thank you so much" or "I owe you one" with theatrical deference. There's a self-deprecating quality to how English speakers use it: the bow is so extreme that using it for minor things becomes ironic.
In Korean digital culture, πββοΈ carries similar weight to its Japanese usage, as bowing (jeol) is a deep part of social etiquette. K-pop fans use it frequently when idols make public apologies, and it appears in fan communities during scandal or controversy periods.
It represents a man bowing deeply, used for sincere apologies, deep gratitude, showing respect, or making a serious request. The gesture comes from Japanese bowing culture (ojigi), where the depth and duration of a bow carry specific social meaning.
Both. In Japanese culture, a deep bow serves for both profound apology and deep gratitude. Context tells you which: "Sorry for the trouble πββοΈ" is apology, "Thank you for everything πββοΈ" is gratitude. The emoji's power is that it conveys sincerity in either direction.
What it means from...
From a crush, πββοΈ is usually playful begging. "Please come to my party πββοΈ" or "I'm sorry I didn't text back πββοΈ" The theatrical deference adds charm. It says "I care enough about your opinion to grovel." It's self-deprecating in a way that invites the other person to reassure you.
Between partners, πββοΈ ranges from sincere to comedic. "I forgot our anniversary πββοΈπββοΈπββοΈ" (repeated for emphasis) is genuinely apologetic with a self-aware edge. "Thank you for doing the dishes πββοΈ" is exaggerated gratitude. Partners who know each other well use the extremity of the bow as emotional calibration.
Among friends, πββοΈ almost always leans comedic. "Can you drive me to the airport at 5am πββοΈ" is begging with the bow as acknowledgment that the ask is unreasonable. Friends use it to soften big requests by visually prostrating themselves before making the ask.
In East Asian families, πββοΈ can carry genuine weight, especially from younger to older family members. In Western families, it's usually playful: "Mom please don't show the baby photos πββοΈ"
In Japanese workplaces, πββοΈ is formal acknowledgment of causing trouble or making a request. In Western offices, it's a way to soften an ask: "Sorry to bother you but can you review this by EOD? πββοΈ" The bow signals "I know this is an imposition" without actually saying it.
From someone you don't know, πββοΈ usually accompanies a request or apology. A customer service interaction ending with πββοΈ signals genuine gratitude for help. In a random DM, it's deferential approach: "Sorry to message out of nowhere πββοΈ"
Usually an apology or a big request. "Sorry I didn't text back πββοΈ" is acknowledging a mistake with visible remorse. "Can you help me move this weekend? πββοΈ" is a favor request with built-in acknowledgment that the ask is significant. The bow adds weight to whatever he's saying.
Emoji combos
The People Gesturing family
Origin story
Bowing as social protocol predates recorded Japanese history. The earliest written reference to the practice appears in the Gishiwajinden (ιεΏεδΊΊδΌ), the oldest Chinese record of encounters with the Japanese people, which describes commoners falling prostrate and clapping their hands when meeting noblemen on the road.
Japan formalized bowing into a precise system. Four levels exist: eshaku (δΌι) at 15 degrees for casual greetings between equals, keirei (ζ¬η€Ό) at 30 degrees for standard business respect, saikeirei (ζζ¬η€Ό) at 45-70 degrees for the utmost respect in ceremonies or when meeting dignitaries, and dogeza (εδΈεΊ§) where you kneel and touch your forehead to the floor. Each level carries increasing weight. Getting the angle wrong in a business meeting isn't just awkward; it's a social miscalculation.
Dogeza, the extreme form, has become the most culturally loaded bow. In modern Japan, it's reserved for catastrophic apologies. When corporate scandals break, Japanese CEOs hold press conferences and bow deeply before cameras. When Mitsubishi Motors apologized for two decades of product defects, their executive bowed for a full minute. Sony's apology bow lasted seven seconds. The duration is scrutinized. Kobe Steel, Nissan, Toray, Olympus all had their corporate bow moments. The gesture's power hasn't diminished; if anything, the spectacle of a CEO physically lowering himself has become more potent in an era of corporate arrogance.
The emoji captures this cultural weight in a single character. It was designed for Japanese mobile carriers where the gesture needed no explanation. When it went global via Unicode 6.0 in 2010, the cultural context didn't travel with it. Mic.com and Inc.com both listed π among the most misunderstood emojis, noting that Western users read it as push-ups, massage, or just a person looking down.
The base π Person Bowing was approved in Unicode 6.0 (2010) as PERSON BOWING DEEPLY. It was originally named PERSON WITH FOLDED HANDS in early drafts before being corrected. The gendered variant πββοΈ Man Bowing was added in Emoji 4.0 (2016) as a ZWJ sequence: + + + . Supports skin tone modifiers.
Design history
- 600Earliest written reference to prostration as Japanese social custom, documented in Chinese records (Gishiwajinden)
- 1999Japanese mobile carrier emoji sets include the bowing gesture as a standard pictograph
- 2010π Person Bowing Deeply approved in Unicode 6.0 as U+1F647β
- 2016Gendered variants (πββοΈ Man, πββοΈ Woman) added in Emoji 4.0 via ZWJ sequencesβ
- 2020Anime series "Dogeza: I Tried Asking While Kowtowing" airs, centered entirely on the cultural weight of the prostration gesture
Around the world
Bowing exists across many Asian cultures, but the πββοΈ emoji's design is specifically Japanese.
In Japan, the bow is a tiered system with strict rules. The depth and duration communicate your relationship to the other person and the severity of what you're apologizing for or thanking them about. Getting it wrong is a meaningful social error. Using πββοΈ carries real weight in Japanese digital communication.
In Korea, bowing (jeol) is similarly formalized, especially during holidays like Seollal (Korean New Year) when deep bows to elders are a central ritual. Korean users read πββοΈ with similar gravity to Japanese users.
In Thailand, the wai) (palms pressed together with a slight bow) serves a similar social function but uses hands, not the full upper body. In India, namaste involves a similar pressed-palms bow. Neither exactly maps to πββοΈ, but users from these cultures generally understand the deferential intent.
In Western cultures, bowing is largely extinct outside formal performing arts (theater curtain calls, martial arts dojos). Western users adopted πββοΈ primarily as comedic humility: the gesture is so extreme by Western norms that using it for everyday apologies becomes inherently ironic. "I'm begging you to share your Netflix password πββοΈ" is funny precisely because the level of deference doesn't match the request.
Because the bowing pose, when viewed without cultural context, looks like someone face-down with their upper body lowered. Western users have no equivalent gesture, so they map it to familiar actions: push-ups, massage, or just thinking with head down. Multiple emoji guides have listed it among the most misunderstood emojis.
Dogeza (εδΈεΊ§) is the most extreme form of Japanese bowing, where you kneel on the floor and touch your forehead to the ground. It's reserved for catastrophic apologies or profound deference. Japanese CEOs perform versions of it at press conferences after corporate scandals.
Popularity ranking
Often confused with
Both come from the same Japanese gesture emoji family. πββοΈ is bowing (apology/respect), πββοΈ is the maru gesture (OK/correct). They look nothing alike at full size, but at small text sizes or in fast-scrolling conversations, the similar code points (U+1F647 vs U+1F646) can cause selection errors.
Both come from the same Japanese gesture emoji family. πββοΈ is bowing (apology/respect), πββοΈ is the maru gesture (OK/correct). They look nothing alike at full size, but at small text sizes or in fast-scrolling conversations, the similar code points (U+1F647 vs U+1F646) can cause selection errors.
π§ββοΈ (Man Kneeling) shows a figure on their knees. πββοΈ is specifically bowing from the waist or doing a full prostration. Kneeling is a position; bowing is a gesture of deference. In practice, dogeza involves both: kneeling then bowing forward.
π§ββοΈ (Man Kneeling) shows a figure on their knees. πββοΈ is specifically bowing from the waist or doing a full prostration. Kneeling is a position; bowing is a gesture of deference. In practice, dogeza involves both: kneeling then bowing forward.
πββοΈ is a physical bow, specifically Japanese in origin. π is folded hands, which reads as either prayer or "thank you/please" depending on the culture. πββοΈ carries more weight and formality. Using both together (πββοΈπ) is the maximum digital expression of sincere apology.
Do's and don'ts
- βUse πββοΈ when making a request you know is an imposition
- βUse for sincere apologies where you want to convey real remorse
- βPair with π for maximum apologetic weight
- βUse humorously for small transgressions to show self-awareness
- βDon't use πββοΈ sarcastically toward someone who's actually hurt, as it trivializes real apology
- βDon't overuse it in workplace messages; repeated bowing can read as insincere or undermining your authority
- βDon't use as a substitute for a genuine written apology when the situation demands one
Yes, but use it sparingly. One πββοΈ to acknowledge causing trouble or to thank someone for extra effort reads well. Repeated use in professional settings can seem either insincere or as if you're undermining your own authority. In East Asian work cultures, it carries more formal weight.
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Fun facts
- β’The Unicode name is but earlier drafts temporarily named it , causing confusion with π which has its own prayer-vs-high-five debate.
- β’Japan's bowing system includes a special top tier: the hanamaru (θ±δΈΈ, "flower circle") isn't a bow but a teacher's mark for exceptional work, decorated with petals. There's no emoji for that yet.
- β’When Sony's CEO bowed for 7 seconds at a press conference, Kotaku analyzed that "saying sorry isn't enough in Japan." The physical gesture matters as much as the words.
- β’In a SoraNews24 article, a photo of convenience store employees bowing in apology went viral because Japanese internet users felt forcing workers to bow publicly for a minor issue was an overreaction, showing that even in Japan, there are limits to bowing culture.
Common misinterpretations
- β’Western users commonly misread πββοΈ as a person doing push-ups, lying face-down for a massage, or resting their head on their arms. The emoji is specifically a deep bow of apology or respect.
- β’In exaggerated Western usage, πββοΈ can accidentally read as submissive or self-abasing if overused. One bow is charming; five in a row might make the other person uncomfortable.
In pop culture
- β’Japanese corporate apology press conferences are their own genre. When Toyota's president Akio Toyoda bowed at a congressional hearing over vehicle recalls, or when Kobe Steel executives bowed over falsified data, the depth and duration of each bow was analyzed in media coverage. These events are the real-world πββοΈ at maximum gravity.
- β’The anime "Dogeza: I Tried Asking While Kowtowing" (2020) is a comedy series built entirely around the premise of extreme bowing to make requests. The show's existence demonstrates how deeply the dogeza gesture is embedded in Japanese pop culture, enough to sustain an entire series.
- β’In martial arts culture globally (judo, karate, taekwondo, kendo), the bow before sparring is a direct descendant of the same deferential tradition. The πββοΈ emoji occasionally appears in MMA and martial arts communities as a sign of respect between opponents.
Trivia
For developers
- β’ZWJ sequence: + + + . Older systems may render as π + βοΈ separately.
- β’Shortcodes: on Slack and GitHub. Some platforms accept for the base character.
- β’Supports Fitzpatrick skin tone modifiers. Tone goes after the base: + + + + .
- β’The kaomoji is the most common text fallback for this emoji in Japanese digital communication. Consider supporting it in text-to-emoji conversion systems.
It's the text-based version of πββοΈ. The "m"s represent hands on the floor, the parentheses and underscore represent a head bowed between them. It's one of the most widely used kaomoji in Japanese internet culture, predating the emoji by at least a decade.
See the full Emoji Developer Tools guide for regex patterns, encoding helpers, and more.
What do you use πββοΈ for?
Select all that apply
- Person Bowing Emoji (emojipedia.org)
- Man Bowing Emoji (emojipedia.org)
- Dogeza - Wikipedia (wikipedia.org)
- Three Types of Bowing in Japanese Culture (tokhimo.com)
- Bowing in Japan: How to Bow and When (ejable.com)
- Sony Shows Saying Sorry Isn't Enough in Japan (kotaku.com)
- CEO Bows Betray Troubles Facing Japanese Firms (chinadaily.com.cn)
- 9 Emojis You've Been Using Wrong (mic.com)
- Dogeza: I Tried Asking While Kowtowing (anime) (wikipedia.org)
- Maru and Batsu Guide (nippon.com)
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