Squinting Face With Tongue Emoji
U+1F61D:stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:About Squinting Face With Tongue π
Squinting Face With Tongue () is part of the Smileys & Emotion group in Unicode. Added in Unicode E0.6. Type on GitHub and Slack to use it. 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 closed, eye, eyes, and 10 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 yellow face with X-shaped eyes, a big open grin, and a tongue sticking out. This is the tongue-out face that's laughing so hard it can't keep its eyes open. Where π is composed playfulness and π is controlled mischief, π has lost composure entirely. It's the emoji form of XP (X = scrunched shut eyes, P = tongue out).
Emojipedia describes π as "generally more exuberant" than its siblings. The scrunched X-eyes read like someone squealing with excitement or laughing so hard their face contorted. It was approved in Unicode 6.0 (2010) under the marathon name "Face with Stuck-Out Tongue and Tightly-Closed Eyes," arriving in the same batch as π, two years before the simpler π.
Google Trends tells the story: π sits at a consistent 5-6, flat as a pancake, while π spiked to 87 in Q1 2023. The exuberant tongue face is the least searched of the family. In the silliness hierarchy, π€ͺ (arrived in 2018) ate π's lunch by going even further with asymmetric eyes and chaotic energy. π is stuck between π's cheeky appeal and π€ͺ's viral chaos, serving neither master fully.
π is the "I'm having so much fun I can't contain it" emoji. Not mischief (that's π), not gentle teasing (that's π), but pure exuberant silliness. "THAT WAS AMAZING π" or "I just did something so stupid π" or "WE WON π."
It gets used in three main scenarios. First, reactions to something hilarious: where π cries and π€£ rolls, π just loses its face. The X-eyes plus tongue is what happens when laughter hits your whole body. Second, boasting with a self-deprecating edge: "Got the highest score π" uses the silly face to undercut any arrogance. Third, expressing disgust playfully: "Just tried that new flavor π" can mean "that was gross" with enough playfulness to not be rude.
One thing π doesn't do well: flirting. The scrunched-shut eyes remove any knowing intent. π flirts because the wink shows self-awareness. π is too silly, too out-of-control to carry romantic weight. It's the face you make while sliding down a waterslide, not the face you make across a candlelit dinner.
Exuberant silliness. It's the face you make when you're laughing so hard your eyes scrunch shut, or when you're so excited your whole face goes haywire. More animated than π (composed), less intentional than π (knowing wink), less chaotic than π€ͺ (unhinged).
The Tongue Hierarchy: Sentiment from Mild to Wild
The Tongue-Face Family
What it means from...
Silly, not flirty. π from a crush means they're being goofy and comfortable around you, which is a positive sign. But it doesn't carry romantic intent the way π does. If they wanted to flirt, they'd wink. π means they trust you enough to be ridiculous.
Natural habitat. Friends use π for reactions to hilarious moments, playful boasting, and expressing extreme fun. 'I can't believe we did that π' or 'Best day ever π.' No analysis required.
The safest tongue emoji for work, if you must use one. π's pure silliness doesn't carry the flirty undertone that π does. But tongue emoji at work in general remain risky. Keep it to casual team channels.
Flirty or friendly?
Almost entirely friendly. π's scrunched-shut eyes remove any knowing intent. You can't wink when your eyes are X-shaped. This makes π the least flirty tongue-out emoji. It's silliness, exuberance, wild fun, but not seduction. If someone uses π in a flirty context, it means they're being goofy, not making a move.
No. π's scrunched-shut eyes remove any knowing intent. You can't flirt with your eyes closed and your tongue out. For flirting, use π (which winks, showing self-awareness). π is pure silliness, not seduction.
Emoji combos
Tongue-face family Google Trends, 2020 to 2026
Origin story
π is the emoji heir to XP, the text emoticon where X represents scrunched-shut eyes and P represents a tongue sticking out. While :P (later π) was composed and ;P (later π) was knowing, XP was exuberant, the face you make when something is so funny or exciting that your whole face goes haywire.
The three tongue faces arrived in a specific order that mirrors their energy levels: π and π (the more expressive ones) in Unicode 6.0 (2010), then π (the plain one) in Unicode 6.1 (2012). The standard's designers apparently thought people needed expressive tongue faces before they needed a basic one.
Then π€ͺ arrived in Unicode 11.0 (2018) and upstaged π entirely. Where π had X-shaped symmetrical eyes, π€ͺ had wildly asymmetric eyes (one large, one small) pointing in different directions. Where π was exuberant, π€ͺ was chaotic. The newer emoji captured the "unhinged" energy that Gen Z craved, leaving π as the earnest, slightly outdated version of silly.
Approved in Unicode 6.0 (2010) as FACE WITH STUCK-OUT TONGUE AND TIGHTLY-CLOSED EYES. Added to Emoji 1.0 in 2015. Renamed via CLDR to "Squinting Face with Tongue." Arrived alongside π (U+1F61C). The simpler π wasn't added until Unicode 6.1 (2012).
Around the world
Western cultures
π reads as playful, silly, and YOLO energy. It's the most intense of the tongue-out family β squinted eyes add commitment to the silliness. Common in friend group chats and casual social media.
East Asia
Sticking out the tongue carries different weight in cultures where emotional restraint is valued. π can read as more childish or rude than intended by Western senders, particularly in professional or semi-formal contexts.
Generational
π is reminiscent of the early-internet "XP" emoticon and carries a slight retro internet energy. Younger Gen Z users may see it as somewhat dated compared to π€ͺ, which arrived in Unicode 11.0 (2018) and captured a more chaotic, modern silliness.
Because the wink is more interesting than squinting. π's wink adds ambiguity (flirty? joking? both?) that generates curiosity and Google searches. π's scrunched eyes are unambiguously silly, which is less searchable. Then π€ͺ arrived in 2018 and captured the 'silly' lane with even more visual chaos.
π sits at the sentiment floor of the tongue family
Squeezed Out: π Between Two More Popular Siblings
Often confused with
π has symmetrical X-shaped eyes (exuberant but orderly). π€ͺ has wildly asymmetric eyes pointing different directions (chaotic, unhinged). π€ͺ arrived in 2018 and largely replaced π as the go-to 'silly' emoji, especially for Gen Z who preferred the more chaotic energy.
π Sentiment Breakdown
Do's and don'ts
- βUse it for genuine excitement or exuberant reactions
- βUse it when you're laughing so hard you've lost composure
- βUse it for playful boasting that you want to undercut with silliness
- βUse it as the emoji form of XP for anyone who remembers that emoticon
- βDon't use it for flirting (it's too silly, use π instead)
- βDon't use it in formal contexts (any tongue emoji is informal by nature)
- βDon't expect people to distinguish it from π or π (at small sizes they blur together)
- βDon't use it when you need composure (the X-eyes signal loss of control)
Caption ideas
Aesthetic sets
Type it as text
Fun facts
- β’π was part of Unicode 6.0 (2010), arriving two years before the simpler π (Unicode 6.1). The most animated tongue face was standardized before the plainest one.
- β’π's original name was "Face with Stuck-Out Tongue and Tightly-Closed Eyes" (11 words). That's tied with π for one of the longest emoji names in Unicode.
- β’Google Trends shows π at a flat 5-6 while π spiked to 87 and π€ͺ also sits at 5-6. π is sandwiched between two more interesting options and gets chosen by neither flirty texters nor chaotic memers.
- β’π€ͺ replaced π as the go-to silly emoji when it arrived in Unicode 11.0 (2018). Asymmetric chaos beat symmetric exuberance. Compare the whole tongue family side by side on LetsEmoji to see how π, π, π, and π€ͺ each escalate the silliness.
- β’The tongue-out emoji spectrum from calm to chaotic: π β π β π β π€ͺ. Each step removes more composure.
- β’π is the sentiment-score floor of the tongue family. In the 2015 Kralj Novak et al. sentiment study of 1.6 million tweets, π scored only 55.5% positive, the lowest of the four tongue emojis measured. π topped at 68.6%, π at 67.7%, π at 56.6%. The squinting eyes read more aggressive than playful, pushing π into more taunt, insult, and schoolyard-nyah contexts than its siblings.
- β’Fresh April 2026 Google Trends data caught one oddity: π jumped to 12 in Q2 2025, double its usual 5-6 floor, then dropped right back. No other tongue emoji spiked that quarter. No clean explanation either, just a short-lived blip, which is kind of how π operates in general, briefly loud and then forgotten again.
Trivia
For developers
- β’π is . Unicode name: FACE WITH STUCK-OUT TONGUE AND TIGHTLY-CLOSED EYES. CLDR: "squinting face with tongue." Common shortcodes: (Slack, Discord, GitHub). Part of Unicode 6.0 (2010).
- β’The tongue-out family codepoints: π (6.1), π (6.0), π (6.0), π (6.0), π€ͺ (11.0). Note the chronological gaps: π, π, and π came first, then π, then π€ͺ much later.
See the full Emoji Developer Tools guide for regex patterns, encoding helpers, and more.
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