Handshake: Medium-dark Skin Tone, Medium Skin Tone Emoji

The Handshake: Medium-dark Skin Tone, Medium Skin Tone emoji (🫱🏾‍🫲🏽) shows two hands clasping, one in a medium-dark tone and one in a medium tone. It means agreement, partnership, greeting, or a deal sealed between two people, with the mixed skin tones highlighting cooperation across backgrounds.

What Does the Handshake: Medium-dark Skin Tone, Medium Skin Tone Emoji Mean?

This emoji means two parties are agreeing, greeting each other, or cooperating, and the two different skin tones add a message of diversity and mutual respect.

A handshake is one of the oldest social gestures for sealing a promise, welcoming someone, or showing good faith. The emoji carries all of that, and the pairing of a medium-dark right hand with a medium left hand makes the gesture visibly two-sided, as though two different people are meeting in the middle.

Core meanings

• Agreement: a deal, contract, or plan is settled.
• Partnership: two people or teams are joining forces.
• Greeting: a polite hello or a welcome to someone new.
• Respect: mutual regard between people who may not share the same background.
• Inclusion: a message that people of different backgrounds belong together.

Because the tones are specific, the emoji also lets two real people see themselves in the image, which is the main reason it exists.

Why Does This Handshake Have Two Different Skin Tones?

The emoji uses two skin tones because Unicode 14.0 introduced handshakes where each hand can be given its own tone, so the image can match the two people involved.

Before that update, the handshake emoji (🤝) existed only in a single default yellow style. Handshake emoji with two separate tones arrived as part of Emoji 14.0, and they are built as a sequence of characters rather than as one single character. The sequence here is a right-facing hand (U+1FAF1) with the medium-dark tone modifier (U+1F3FE), joined by a zero width joiner (U+200D) to a left-facing hand (U+1FAF2) with the medium tone modifier (U+1F3FD).

This is why a phone that does not support Emoji 14.0 may show the pieces separately instead of a single clasped handshake. When the sequence is understood, it combines into one image.

How Do You Use the Handshake: Medium-dark Skin Tone, Medium Skin Tone Emoji?

You use it at the end or beginning of a message whenever you want to confirm an agreement, welcome a collaborator, or celebrate teamwork between two people.

It works as a punctuation mark for positive outcomes. It tends to go after a sentence that states what was agreed, or on its own as a quick reply that means "we have a deal."

Example messages

• Contract signed, thrilled to partner with you on this project 🫱🏾‍🫲🏽
• Great meeting you at the conference today, looking forward to working together 🫱🏾‍🫲🏽
• Mentoring program kicks off Monday, welcome to the team 🫱🏾‍🫲🏽

It can also stand alone as a reply. If a colleague proposes a plan and you agree, sending only the emoji communicates acceptance clearly without extra words.

What Does 🫱🏾‍🫲🏽 Mean in Texting and on Social Media?

In texting and social posts, it signals a friendly, trusting agreement and often a deliberate note of diversity or unity.

In a private chat, it usually means "deal," "sounds good," or "thank you, we're on the same page." In public posts, it frequently appears in announcements about collaborations, new hires, community events, and mentorship, where the two-tone design reinforces a message of cooperation.

• Business updates: We're proud to announce our new partnership 🫱🏾‍🫲🏽
• Community posts: Neighbors coming together for Saturday's cleanup 🫱🏾‍🫲🏽
• Friendly agreements: You bring the music, I'll bring the food. Deal 🫱🏾‍🫲🏽

Because it is a gentle, professional-feeling emoji, it rarely reads as sarcastic, though context can change that, as the avoid section below explains.

How Does the Handshake Emoji Look on Different Platforms?

It looks like two clasped hands on every supported platform, but the exact shading, outline, and sleeve details vary by vendor, so the same message can look slightly different on each device.

Support depends on the software version, since this emoji belongs to Emoji 14.0. These are the minimum versions listed 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/X: Twemoji 14.0 and later

If you or your recipient use an older system, the emoji may appear as two separate hands, or as a blank box or question mark. When that happens, the safest fallback is the standard yellow handshake or a plain text phrase such as "deal."

Which Emojis Pair Well With the Handshake Emoji?

The handshake pairs best with emojis that reinforce approval, excitement, or attention, such as a thumbs up, eyes, or professional-themed characters.

• Thumbs Up 👍: confirms approval alongside the agreement, as in Terms look good 👍🫱🏾‍🫲🏽
• Eyes 👀: hints that something is in the works, as in Big announcement coming soon 👀🫱🏾‍🫲🏽
• Woman Technologist 👩‍💻: fits tech collaborations and startup partnerships, as in Excited to team up with our dev partners 👩‍💻🫱🏾‍🫲🏽

Keep combinations short. One supporting emoji is usually enough, since the handshake already carries a complete message.

When Should You Avoid the Handshake: Medium-dark Skin Tone, Medium Skin Tone Emoji?

Avoid it when the agreement is not actually friendly, when the tone choice could feel assigned or assumed, or when the recipient may not see it properly.

Situations to think twice about

• Sensitive deals: a handshake can feel flippant if the topic is a settlement, a layoff, or any serious dispute.
• Assumptions about people: pairing tones to represent two specific people can read oddly if you pick them without their input. Use it for your own relationship or a general message of unity.
• Older devices: if you know the recipient is on outdated software, the sequence may break apart and confuse the message.
• Sarcasm: a handshake after a cold or tense exchange can come across as passive-aggressive.

In very formal writing, such as contracts or legal notices, emojis generally do not belong at all. In casual workplace chats the handshake is typically fine and is one of the more professional emojis available.

How Is This Different From the Standard Handshake Emoji?

The standard handshake (🤝) shows a single default style, while this version lets two specific skin tones appear in the same gesture.

The meaning stays the same, but the message becomes more personal and more deliberate. If you want a neutral gesture that fits every context, the default is simple and universally supported. If you want the emoji to reflect the people involved, or to emphasize diversity and inclusion, a two-tone version is the better fit. You can browse more options in the People & Body emoji category, where hand gestures and people emojis with skin tone variations are grouped together.

It also helps to compare it with the more reactive emojis in that category. For instance, the Woman Shrugging 🤷🏻‍♀️ expresses uncertainty and the Woman Facepalming 🤦🏻‍♀️ expresses frustration, while the handshake expresses settled, positive agreement.

How Do You Copy and Paste the Handshake: Medium-dark Skin Tone, Medium Skin Tone Emoji?

You can copy this emoji with one click on this page and paste it anywhere you type, including texts, emails, social posts, and documents.

Click the emoji or the copy button above, then paste it with Ctrl+V on Windows, Cmd+V on Mac, or by long-pressing in a text field on a phone. Because the emoji is a multi-part sequence, always copy the whole character rather than typing the pieces, so that the zero width joiner stays intact and both hands appear together.

If you want to turn a full sentence into emoji, try the Emoji Translator, and to see what people are sending most right now, check the trending emojis page.