Meaning
Two open palms face upward, held together in front of the body—a gesture that reads as humble, supplicant, or offering. The hands are typically rendered in a warm skin tone with fingers slightly separated and relaxed, creating an open, vulnerable posture.
This gesture carries deep spiritual significance across many cultures. It's used to express prayer, blessing, gratitude, or a heartfelt plea. In messaging, people send it to ask for help ("can you lend me a hand?"), to show appreciation ("thanks so much!"), or to convey a sense of surrender and acceptance. It's also popular in religious or spiritual contexts, whether someone is genuinely praying or using it to bless another person.
Beyond prayer, the palms-up gesture works as a shrug or expression of "I don't know" or "my hands are tied." It can soften a difficult request—instead of demanding something, you're essentially cupping your hands and humbly asking. This makes it useful for apologizing or showing vulnerability in conversation.
Different platforms render the hands with slightly different skin tones and finger spacing, but the meaning stays consistent. Interestingly, this gesture holds special meaning in Islamic prayer (dua) tradition, making it particularly significant in Muslim-majority communities online. Approved as part of Unicode Emoji 5.0 in 2017, it's become an essential tool for expressing both spiritual devotion and everyday politeness.
Common Uses
- • Asking for help or a favor
- • Expressing gratitude or appreciation
- • Spiritual prayer or blessing
- • Showing humility or surrendering to something
Popular Combos
Did You Know?
The palms-up gesture holds special significance in Islamic prayer tradition (dua), where cupped hands are used when making supplications to Allah, making this emoji particularly meaningful in Muslim communities.
Keywords
Skin Tones & Variants
Appears in Topics
Related Emoji
Technical Reference
Platform Shortcodes
:palms_up_together: :palms_up_together: :palms_up_together: Developer Codes
| HTML (decimal) | 🤲 |
| HTML (hex) | 🤲 |
| CSS | \1F932 |
| JavaScript | \uD83E\uDD32 |
| Python | \U0001F932 |
| Java | \uD83E\uDD32 |
| Perl | \x{1F932} |
| PHP / Ruby | \x{1F932} |
| Punycode | xn--2rsi |
| URL Encoded | %F0%9F%A4%B2 |
| UTF-8 Bytes | 0xF0 0x9F 0xA4 0xB2 |
🤲 in 28 languages
Names sourced from Unicode CLDR and emojibase.
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Bengali | হাতের তালু একসাথে ওপরের দিকে |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 掌心向上托起 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 雙手掌朝上 |
| Danish | håndflader samlet og løftet |
| Dutch | beide handpalmen omhoog |
| English | palms up together |
| English (UK) | palms up together |
| Estonian | peopesad üleval koos |
| Finnish | kämmenet vierekkäin |
| French | paume contre paume doigts vers le haut |
| German | Handflächen nach oben |
| Hindi | हथेलियों को एकसाथ ऊपर करना |
| Hungarian | felfelé fordított tenyerek |
| Italian | mani unite in alto |
| Japanese | 手のひらを揃えた両手 |
| Korean | 내민 두 손 |
| Lithuanian | delnai suglausti |
| Malay | tapak tangan rapat |
| Norwegian | håndflatene sammen |
| Polish | dłonie do góry razem |
| Portuguese | palmas unidas para cima |
| Russian | ладони лодочкой |
| Spanish | palmas hacia arriba juntas |
| Spanish (Mexico) | palmas hacia arriba juntas |
| Swedish | handflatorna upp |
| Thai | แบสองมือ |
| Ukrainian | долоні, підняті разом |
| Vietnamese | hai bàn tay chạm vào nhau |