15 Emoji That Get Misread in Korea, Japan and the US
The same emoji can read very differently in Korea, Japan and English-speaking countries. How 15 emoji get misread, and a safer substitute for each.
Emoji are often called a "universal language," but in practice every country has its own dialect. All Unicode decided is each emoji's name and number. Which feeling it's read as is decided by each culture and generation.
When you message a friend abroad or work with an overseas client, an emoji you sent without a second thought turning into something else happens more often than you'd think. This article picks 15 emoji that read especially differently in English-speaking countries, Korea and Japan, and sorts out where and how they differ, along with a safe emoji to use instead.
Hand emoji: 🙏 👌 👍 🤙
Hand emoji are the area with the most misunderstandings, because the meaning of a hand gesture differs from culture to culture.
🙏 Folded hands
In English-speaking countries, it's mainly read as a prayer, "please" or an expression of thanks, and some people see it as two palms meeting in a high five. In Korea and Japan, it broadly means "please," "sorry" and "thank you." In Japan especially, the feeling of "お願い" (onegai, please) is strong. You can end up sending it as an apology and having the other person take it as "I'll pray for you."
- A safe substitute: Write requests and apologies in a clear sentence, and for thanks, 😊 or 🙌 works too.
👌 OK sign
In English-speaking countries and Korea, it's understood as "good" and "perfect." In Japan, though, this hand shape is also used as a gesture meaning "money," so depending on context it can read like talk about money. In some countries such as Brazil, it's taken as a rude gesture, and in some corners of the English-speaking internet it has been used as a symbol by hate groups, so it's better to be careful in formal settings.
- A safe substitute: ✅ or a "sounds good" sentence.
👍 Thumbs up
Traditionally it's a positive sign meaning "good" and "got it." In Korea too, it's used safely in conversations with older generations. But among younger people in English-speaking countries, there's a lot of talk that sending a lone 👍 reads as a cold, indifferent reply, like "conversation over" or "okay, enough." In parts of the Middle East and West Africa, raising the thumb is itself taken as a rude gesture.
- A safe substitute: Putting a short sentence like "Sounds good!" before 👍 greatly reduces the cold feeling.
🤙 Call me hand
Its Unicode name is "call me hand," but in English-speaking countries, especially in Hawaii and surf culture, it's used more often as the "shaka," a greeting meaning "hang loose" or "cool, awesome." In Korea and Japan this culture is unfamiliar, so many people take it literally as "call me."
Face emoji: 😤 🙂 🥹 🫠 😇 🤗 🙃
Face emoji often look alike in expression but get interpreted differently by each culture.
😤 Face with steam from nose
In English-speaking countries and Korea, it's mostly read as "angry" or "huffing." But this emoji originally comes from Japanese emoji, and in Japan the meaning of "triumphant," "I did it" and a smug face (doyagao, ドヤ顔) is strong. If a Japanese friend sends "I passed😤," they're not angry but proud.
🙂 Slightly smiling face
By name it looks like the safest smile, but in practice it's one of the most misread emoji. Among English-speaking people and young people in Korea, it's often read as "smiling but uncomfortable inside," a "forced smile" or a "sarcastic smile." Older generations, on the other hand, use it as a purely friendly smile.
🥹 Face holding back tears
In Korea and Japan, it's often used with a positive meaning: "I'm moved," "so cute" or "I'm choked up with gratitude." But people seeing this emoji for the first time, especially a generation not used to emoji, sometimes take it as "sad" or "about to cry." Depending on the device design, the expression can look even sadder.
🫠 Melting face
In English-speaking countries, the sense of "I want to melt in embarrassment" or "I give up" is strong, and in Korea and Japan it's used more variously, like "melting from the heat" and "melting because it's so good." One side can read the same 🫠 as embarrassment and the other as happiness. It was added relatively recently, so on older devices it can show up as an empty box.
😇 Smiling face with halo
In English-speaking countries and Korea, the playful meaning of "acting innocent" or "I'm blameless" is typical. On the Japanese internet, though, it's often used to mean "it's over" or "ascended," as in resigned or ruined. If a Japanese friend sends "Exam's over😇," it most likely doesn't mean they did well but that it went badly.
🤗 Smiling face with open hands
Its Unicode name is "hugging face," but in many designs the two hands are spread open, so it can look like "ta-da!", "so excited" or even "jazz hands." A 🤗 you sent to comfort someone can be taken as excitement.
- A safe substitute: For comfort or a hug, 🫂 (people hugging) is much clearer.
🙃 Upside-down face
In English-speaking countries, it's used as a symbol of irony and sarcasm, meaning "unbelievable" and "pretending to be fine but not fine." In Korea and Japan, it's often used lightly as a plain playful smile, so sending it to a friend in an English-speaking country can read as more cynical than expected.
Objects and others: 💀 🍑 🙇 🎉
💀 Skull
Traditionally it stands for death, danger and poison. But among younger people in English-speaking countries and teens and people in their twenties in Korea, it's most often used to mean "I'm dying laughing." Someone who doesn't know this can misread it as an ominous or rude message.
- A safe substitute: For older generations or someone you're talking to for the first time, 😂 or "lol."
🍑 Peach
In English-speaking countries, it's very widely used as sexual slang for the butt. In Korea and Japan, it's just a fruit or a cute, sweet image. So a plain line like "Peach season🍑" can get a very different reading from a friend in an English-speaking country, and it could become a joke or an awkward moment. 🍆 (eggplant) also needs care in English-speaking countries for the same reason.
🙇 Person bowing deeply
In Japan, it's a very heavy emoji meaning a deep apology or a polite request. In Korea, it's understood as an apology too, but it isn't as heavy as in Japan. In English-speaking countries, the gesture itself is unfamiliar, so some people don't recognize what it means right away and see it only as a person lying face down.
- A safe substitute: To someone in an English-speaking country, "I'm sorry" in a sentence.
🎉 Party popper
The meaning of congratulations is the same everywhere, but the recognition of the shape differs. In Japan it's recognized right away as a クラッカー (kurakkā, a party popper), but in places where party poppers are less familiar, some people see an ice cream cone or a horn depending on the design. It's an emoji where the meaning is the same but the picture can be confusing.
Three tips for avoiding misunderstandings
Most emoji misunderstandings happen when you send only an emoji and leave out the sentence. Keeping just the three points below avoids most of them.
- Write the important meaning in a sentence first, and attach the emoji only to add mood.
- Watch which emoji the other person uses often and match their habit. If they laugh with 💀, 💀 is safe, and if they use 😊, 😊 is safe.
- With a foreigner you're talking to for the first time or a work contact, use only basic emoji with clear expressions (😊 😂 😢 🎉).
- 😊🙌Thanks and welcome that are safe in any country
- 🎉🎊A congratulation with no misunderstanding
- ✅The clearest way to say you've seen it
Last checked 2026-10-21