The Handshake: Medium-light Skin Tone, Dark Skin Tone emoji (🫱🏼🫲🏿) shows two hands clasping, one with a medium-light skin tone and one with a dark skin tone. It means agreement, partnership, welcome, or a deal sealed, with the two tones representing people of different backgrounds meeting in trust and cooperation.
What Does the Handshake: Medium-light Skin Tone, Dark Skin Tone Emoji Mean?
This emoji means two people are joining hands in agreement, greeting, or partnership, and the two different skin tones add a message of diversity and unity.
The emoji belongs to the People & Body category and was approved as part of Unicode 14.0 and Emoji 14.0. Before that release, the standard handshake emoji (🤝) could only appear in a single yellow default tone, which meant that two people with different skin tones could not be shown shaking hands. This version fixes that gap.
The core meanings carry over from the classic handshake: a deal is done, a promise is made, two sides are cooperating, or someone is being welcomed. The two-tone design layers on a second idea: people of different heritage meeting as equals.
Core meanings at a glance
- Agreement: both sides accept the terms.
- Partnership: two people or teams are working together.
- Greeting: a friendly hello or a formal introduction.
- Respect: mutual regard after a negotiation or disagreement.
- Unity across differences: a nod to multicultural and inclusive relationships.
Why Does the Handshake Emoji Have Two Different Skin Tones?
The emoji has two skin tones so that people can show a handshake between two individuals who look different from each other, instead of forcing both hands into the same tone.
Unicode 14.0 introduced separate skin tone options for each hand in the handshake. Each hand is encoded as its own character: a right-pointing hand (U+1FAF1) and a left-pointing hand (U+1FAF2), with a skin tone modifier after each one. A zero width joiner (U+200D) links them into one image.
For this particular version, the left side of the sequence uses the medium-light modifier (U+1F3FC) and the right side uses the dark modifier (U+1F3FF). The full sequence is U+1FAF1 U+1F3FC U+200D U+1FAF2 U+1F3FF.
The emoji itself does not have an additional skin tone picker on top of this, since the two tones are already fixed in the sequence. If you want a different pairing, you would choose another handshake variation from the set of two-tone combinations.
How Do You Use the Handshake: Medium-light Skin Tone, Dark Skin Tone Emoji?
You use this emoji whenever you want to signal a deal, a welcome, a thank you, or a partnership, especially when the two people involved have different skin tones.
It works well as a closing punctuation mark on a message that confirms something. Because it carries a positive, cooperative tone, it rarely creates confusion. Here are a few realistic examples:
- Contract signed, officially partners with the Lagos team 🫱🏼🫲🏿
- So glad we finally met in person after months of emails 🫱🏼🫲🏿
- You helped me move apartments, I owe you one 🫱🏼🫲🏿
Place it at the end of a sentence for a light confirmation, or send it alone as a reply when someone proposes a plan and you simply agree. In a group chat, a single handshake after a long negotiation about dinner plans is a perfectly clear answer.
What Does 🫱🏼🫲🏿 Mean in Texting and on Social Media?
In texting and on social media, this emoji usually means "deal," "we're good," or "welcome," and it often carries a message about diversity or collaboration.
In a one-on-one chat, it can settle a disagreement. After an argument, sending it says you are willing to move on. After a negotiation over who pays for dinner, it says the matter is resolved.
On social media, brands, nonprofits, and community groups tend to use two-tone handshakes in posts about partnerships, mentorship programs, and cross-cultural events. A caption like Proud to team up with our local community partners 🫱🏼🫲🏿 reads naturally and signals a collaboration without extra explanation.
Individuals also use it in posts about friendship across backgrounds, or to celebrate a friend who has just received a new job offer. It is a gesture that people read as warm and sincere.
How Does the Handshake Emoji Look on Different Platforms?
The emoji looks like two clasped hands in two different tones on every platform that supports Emoji 14.0, though the exact artwork varies by vendor.
Because this emoji is relatively new, you need an up-to-date device to see it correctly. Based on the platform data for this emoji, support begins at these versions:
- Apple: iOS 15.4+ and macOS 12.3+
- Google: Android 12L+
- Microsoft: Windows 11 22H2+
- Samsung: One UI 5.0+
- WhatsApp: version 2.22+
- Twitter: Twemoji 14.0+
If someone's device is older than these versions, the emoji may not display as a single handshake image. Instead, the receiving device may show the component characters separately, such as two individual hands with a small box or blank space between them. That is not an error on your end; it simply means their system does not recognize the sequence yet.
Each vendor draws the hands in its own style, so the shading, the angle of the clasp, and the shape of the sleeves can differ from one platform to the next. The meaning stays the same everywhere.
Which Emojis Pair Well With the Handshake Emoji?
The handshake pairs best with emojis that reinforce agreement, celebration, or friendliness.
A few combinations that read clearly:
- 👍 Thumbs Up: doubles down on approval after a deal is confirmed.
- 👀 Eyes: playful way to hint that a new collaboration is coming soon.
- 👩💻 Woman Technologist: fits announcements about tech partnerships or hiring a new developer.
For a personal touch, you might pair the handshake with a heart, a sparkle, or a party popper in a congratulatory message. Keep the combination short. The handshake already communicates a lot, so one or two companion emojis is plenty.
If you are not sure how to express a whole sentence in emoji form, the Emoji Translator can turn plain text into emojis and help you see which symbols match your meaning.
When Should You Avoid the Handshake Emoji?
You should avoid it when the situation is not actually resolved, when the tone is sarcastic, or when a formal message needs plain wording instead of symbols.
Because the handshake signals closure, sending it before a deal is truly finalized can create a false impression. If terms are still being discussed, wait until everyone agrees before using it.
Be careful with sarcasm too. A handshake after a tense exchange can read as a sincere truce or as a pointed "fine, whatever," depending on your history with the person. When in doubt, add a few words to clarify your tone.
In serious legal, medical, or financial correspondence, an emoji is generally not a substitute for written confirmation. Use it in casual or semi-casual chats, not as a replacement for a signed agreement.
Finally, remember that this version highlights a specific skin tone pairing. If you are sending a handshake to represent a particular pair of people, check that the tones fit the message you want to give. For general use, any handshake variant is fine.
How Does This Emoji Differ From the Standard Handshake and Other Hand Emojis?
This emoji differs from the standard handshake (🤝) because each hand has its own skin tone, while the standard version uses one default color for both.
Compared with other gesture emojis, the handshake is the only one that depicts two people interacting. A thumbs up shows approval from one person. The handshake shows agreement between two. That mutual quality is what makes it ideal for partnerships, deals, and welcomes.
It also sits among many other people-focused symbols in the People & Body emoji category, where you can browse gestures, body parts, and people with different skin tones and roles.
How Do You Copy and Paste the Handshake: Medium-light Skin Tone, Dark Skin Tone Emoji?
You can copy this emoji with one click on this page and paste it into any app, message, or document that supports Emoji 14.0.
Click the copy button next to the emoji at the top of this page, then paste it wherever you want it to appear: a text message, an email, a social media caption, or a work chat. The emoji is saved to your clipboard as the full sequence (U+1FAF1 U+1F3FC U+200D U+1FAF2 U+1F3FF), so it should paste as a single image on any up-to-date device.
If the emoji does not show correctly after pasting, check that your operating system or app meets the version requirements listed earlier. Updating your device usually fixes the problem.
Looking for what else people are using right now? Check the trending emojis page to see what is popular today.
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