The Handshake: Dark Skin Tone, Medium-dark Skin Tone emoji (🫱🏿🫲🏾) means agreement, partnership, and mutual respect between two people. It shows a right hand with a dark skin tone clasping a left hand with a medium-dark skin tone, making it a ready-made symbol for deals, greetings, and unity across backgrounds.
What Does the Handshake: Dark Skin Tone, Medium-dark Skin Tone Emoji Mean?
This emoji means two people are joining hands to seal an agreement, welcome one another, or show solidarity. It carries the same core meaning as the standard handshake, with one difference: each hand has its own skin tone, so the pair can represent two specific people.
The left-hand figure in the image is rendered in a dark skin tone, and the right-hand figure in a medium-dark skin tone. Together they form a single image of cooperation that feels personal instead of generic.
Common meanings include:
- Agreement: a deal is done, terms are accepted, or two sides have reached a compromise.
- Greeting: a warm hello or a formal welcome between colleagues, clients, or new acquaintances.
- Partnership: a collaboration, merger, sponsorship, or team-up is official.
- Trust and respect: thanks, goodwill, or acknowledgment between two parties.
Why Does This Emoji Have Two Different Skin Tones?
The two tones exist because Unicode 14.0 introduced the ability to give each hand in a handshake its own skin tone. Before that, the handshake emoji could only appear in a single default yellow tone.
Emoji Version 14.0 added the Handshake with independent tones for each hand, which produces a large set of combinations. This one pairs dark with medium-dark, a close but visibly distinct match that many people choose to reflect themselves and a friend, partner, or colleague.
The emoji is built as a sequence rather than a single character. It joins a rightwards hand (U+1FAF1), a skin tone modifier (U+1F3FF), a zero width joiner (U+200D), a leftwards hand (U+1FAF2), and a second skin tone modifier (U+1F3FE). Devices that support Emoji 14.0 stitch these pieces into one image.
How Do You Use the Handshake Emoji With Two Skin Tones?
Use it whenever you want to mark a shared moment of agreement or friendship and you want the image to reflect the people involved. It works best when the tones feel meaningful, such as showing two real people, two teams, or a message about togetherness.
Business and work messages
Use it to confirm a deal, a signed contract, or a new working relationship. It reads as friendly and professional, so it fits project updates and announcements.
- Contract signed and we start Monday 🫱🏿🫲🏾 Looking forward to working together.
- Welcome to the team, Marcus 🫱🏿🫲🏾
Friendship and personal moments
Between friends, the emoji can mean "we're good," "I've got your back," or a truce after an argument. Pair it with a short line of text so the tone is clear.
- No hard feelings, we're good 🫱🏿🫲🏾
What Does 🫱🏿🫲🏾 Mean in Texting and on Social Media?
In texting and social posts, it usually means "deal," "agreed," or "respect," and it often signals unity or inclusion. The mixed tones make it popular in posts about diversity, community, mentorship, and collaboration.
Here is how it tends to read in different spots:
- Direct messages: a quick way to say "agreed" or "we're cool."
- Public posts and captions: a symbol of partnership, community events, or collaborations between creators and brands.
- Group chats: a light way to close a negotiation, such as settling who pays for dinner.
Because the emoji is visual and positive, it rarely needs extra explanation. If you are replying to a serious request, add words so the emoji does not feel like a brush-off.
How Does the Handshake Emoji Look on Different Platforms?
The design varies slightly by platform, but the two-tone effect is always visible if your device supports Emoji 14.0. Support begins at the following versions, according to the platform data for this emoji:
- Apple: iOS 15.4 and later, macOS 12.3 and later.
- Google: Android 12L and later.
- Microsoft: Windows 11 22H2 and later.
- Samsung: One UI 5.0 and later.
- WhatsApp: version 2.22 and later.
- Twitter: Twemoji 14.0 and later.
If a friend has an older phone or operating system, they may not see the combined image. Instead they may see two separate hand emojis in different tones, or a blank box. When you are sending something important to someone on older software, a short text explanation avoids confusion.
Which Emojis Pair Well With the Handshake Emoji?
The handshake pairs best with emojis that reinforce agreement, celebration, or approval. Choose companions that match the mood you want without overloading the message.
- Thumbs Up 👍 adds a clear "approved" note after a deal or a confirmation.
- Eyes 👀 can signal that you are watching a new partnership unfold or inviting people to look at an announcement.
- Woman Technologist 👩💻 suits a tech collaboration, a hiring announcement, or a developer partnership.
Keep combinations short. One handshake plus one supporting emoji usually communicates more clearly than a long string.
How Is This Different From the Standard Handshake Emoji?
The main difference is representation: the standard handshake uses one tone for both hands, while this version uses two distinct tones. The meaning of agreement and greeting stays the same.
If you want to show two people with similar but not identical skin tones, this pairing is a precise choice. If you simply want a neutral symbol for a deal, the default handshake is fine. Neither version is more correct; the choice depends on whether you want the image to say something about the people in the conversation.
You can browse more options in the People & Body emoji category, where hand gestures and person emojis live together.
When Should You Avoid the Handshake Emoji?
Avoid it when the situation is tense, unresolved, or sensitive, since a handshake can read as dismissive or falsely cheerful. It also does not suit moments where no real agreement has happened.
- Ongoing disputes: sending it before both sides actually agree can feel presumptuous.
- Serious or formal complaints: use words, not an emoji, to acknowledge the issue.
- Legal or contractual confirmations: an emoji does not replace written terms.
Also consider your audience. If the tones would be read as a statement about specific people or groups and you did not intend that, a neutral handshake may be safer. When in doubt, test your message in the Emoji Translator to see how your wording and emoji choices fit together.
How Do You Copy and Paste the Handshake: Dark Skin Tone, Medium-dark Skin Tone Emoji?
You can copy this emoji with one click on this page, then paste it into any message, post, or document. There is nothing to install and no typing of codes required.
Click the emoji (🫱🏿🫲🏾) at the top of the page to copy it, then paste it where you want it. If it looks like two separate hands after pasting, the app or device probably does not yet support Emoji 14.0. Updating your operating system usually fixes this.
Looking for more ideas? Check out trending emojis to see what people are using right now.
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