Face with medical mask Emoji

Smileys

A yellow face wearing a white surgical mask that covers the nose and mouth. The eyes are typically shown as oval-shaped, giving the impression of someone who is tired, unwell, or avoiding germs.

Usage Context

Widely used to communicate that someone is sick, has a cold, or is trying to avoid catching an illness. In many Asian countries, wearing this mask is a standard social courtesy when feeling under the weather, but it has gained universal status as a shorthand for public health concerns and safety measures. It is frequently sent alongside 🤒 or 🤧 when someone is calling in sick or discussing recovery.

History

While the mask was part of the original emoji sets used in Japanese mobile phone networks in the late 90s, its global usage exploded in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic turned this specific icon into a primary tool for digital communication regarding health safety, mandates, and the shared experience of living through a global health crisis.

Details

Glyph

😷

Unicode

U+1F637

Shortcode

:emoji_u1f637:

HTML Entity

&#xD83D;&#xDE37;

Specifications

Vendor Twitter/X

Category Smileys

Subcategory face-unwell

Unicode Version 6.0

Emoji Version 1.0

License CC-BY 4.0

Twemoji Attribution

Emoji graphics by Twitter/X, licensed under CC-BY 4.0

Twemoji graphics are licensed under CC-BY 4.0. You must provide appropriate credit when redistributing or modifying these assets.

CC-BY 4.0 License Twemoji Repository