🤧
Sneezing Face
SNEEZ-ing fays
Definitions
1
Health · Illness
Very Common
Depicts a face with a scrunched expression, watery eyes, and a tissue or handkerchief held to the nose, representing the act of sneezing or having a cold or allergies.
Used to indicate illness, allergies, or feeling unwell. Often employed to explain absence or request sympathy.
Can't make it to dinner tonight, woke up feeling awful 🤧
Text message
Spring is beautiful but my allergies are killing me 🤧
Social media post
Working from home today 🤧 Don't want to spread whatever this is
Work chat
In post-pandemic culture, carries stronger connotations of contagious illness and social responsibility to isolate when sick.
2
Emotional · Sympathy
Common
Used metaphorically to express being emotionally moved or touched, as if something is so sweet or emotional it makes one teary-eyed.
Often used in response to heartwarming content, especially among younger users.
Your wedding photos are so beautiful 🤧 I'm so happy for you guys
Instagram comment
That reunion video has me 🤧
TikTok comment
This metaphorical usage has evolved from the physical representation, highlighting how emoji meanings expand beyond literal interpretations.
Evolution Timeline
2016
Introduced in Unicode 9.0 as part of health-related emoji expansion.
Growing demand for more nuanced illness representation beyond basic sick face.
2020
Usage skyrocketed during COVID-19 pandemic as illness-related communication became central to daily life.
Global health crisis creating heightened awareness of symptoms and contagion.
2021
Evolved to signal social responsibility when ill, not just sympathy-seeking.
Pandemic-driven cultural shift toward illness transparency and isolation when symptomatic.
2022
Secondary meaning solidified among Gen Z as metaphor for being emotionally moved.
TikTok and Instagram users adopting it for emotional reactions to touching content.
Cultural Context
Post-COVID, this emoji has shifted from simply indicating illness to signaling social responsibility and consideration for others' health.
Gen Z has expanded its meaning beyond physical illness to metaphorical emotional contexts, using it to express being moved to tears by touching content.
Gained significant cultural importance during the COVID-19 pandemic as public health messaging emphasized symptom awareness and isolation when ill.
Demonstrates semantic drift common in emoji evolution, where meanings expand beyond literal visual representation to metaphorical usage.
In cultures with strong sick-leave policies (like Scandinavia), used more freely without the apologetic tone often seen in American usage.
Regional Variations
Australia
Often accompanied by distinctly Australian slang terms for illness.
United Kingdom
Often used with typically British expressions like 'feeling rough' or 'under the weather' rather than directly stating illness.
United States
Often paired with medical terminology like 'flu season' or 'allergies' and frequently used during winter months and spring allergy season.
Generational Usage
Gen_X: Straightforward usage for actual illness, particularly when explaining cancellations or requesting understanding from colleagues.
Gen_Z: Dual usage: literal for illness and metaphorical for emotional reactions. Frequently used on TikTok and Instagram to express being moved by content.
Older: Limited usage, primarily literal when discussing actual illness. Often paired with text explicitly stating symptoms rather than letting emoji stand alone.
Millennials: Primarily used literally for illness, often in workplace contexts to explain absence or in parenting discussions about children's health.
Common Combinations
🤧🤒
Seriously ill with cold or flu symptoms requiring rest and recovery.
Used to indicate legitimate illness when requesting time off or canceling plans.
🤧💊
Taking medication for cold, flu or allergy symptoms.
Often used when discussing treatment or seeking remedy recommendations.
🤧😷
Sick but taking precautions to avoid spreading illness to others.
Post-pandemic signal of social responsibility when ill.
🤧🌼
Suffering from seasonal allergies, particularly hay fever or pollen allergies.
Common during spring and summer months in temperate regions.
🤧❤️
Emotionally touched or moved to tears by something heartwarming.
Gen Z usage for expressing being emotionally affected by content.
Related Emojis
🤒
Indicates fever rather than sneezing, often used together for severe illness
😷
Face with medical mask, often used in sequence with sneezing face
🤢
Represents nausea rather than respiratory symptoms
🤧
Visual similarity in expressing emotional overwhelm
🌼
Often paired to indicate seasonal allergies or hay fever