The Handshake: Medium Skin Tone, Medium-dark Skin Tone emoji (🫱🏽🫲🏾) means agreement, partnership, and mutual respect, shown as two hands clasping with two different skin tones. It is used to seal deals, welcome someone, say thanks, or show unity across backgrounds. It was added in Unicode 14.0 and Emoji 14.0.
What Does the Handshake: Medium Skin Tone, Medium-dark Skin Tone Emoji Mean?
This emoji means two people are agreeing, greeting each other, or forming a partnership, with each hand shown in a different skin tone.
The standard handshake emoji 🤝 has long been used to signal a deal, a truce, or a friendly hello. This version keeps the same core meaning but lets the two hands carry different skin tones: a medium tone on the left and a medium-dark tone on the right. The result reads as a handshake between two distinct people rather than a single generic gesture.
That visual detail is the whole point. When you send 🫱🏽🫲🏾 you are saying more than "deal." You are also saying that the agreement, friendship, or collaboration happens between people who are not identical, and that this is worth showing.
Core meanings at a glance
- Agreement: a deal is done, terms are accepted, or both sides are on the same page.
- Greeting: a warm hello or welcome, often to a new colleague, client, or neighbor.
- Partnership: two people, teams, or organizations working together.
- Respect: a nod of mutual regard after a disagreement, a game, or a negotiation.
- Unity: togetherness across cultures, backgrounds, and communities.
What Is the Difference Between This Emoji and the Standard Handshake?
The standard handshake 🤝 shows two hands in one shared tone, while this emoji shows a medium-toned hand clasping a medium-dark-toned hand.
Both share the same gesture and the same general meaning. The difference is representation. The default yellow handshake is deliberately neutral. The skin-tone-pair versions, introduced with Unicode 14.0, let you choose the exact combination that fits the people involved or the message you want to send.
Technically, this is also a different kind of emoji from most skin tone variants. It is a sequence of five codepoints: U+1FAF1 (rightwards hand), U+1F3FD (medium skin tone modifier), U+200D (zero width joiner), U+1FAF2 (leftwards hand), and U+1F3FE (medium-dark skin tone modifier). Your device joins them into one glyph. The data for this page lists skin tone support as No, because the tones are already built into this specific emoji and cannot be changed by tapping and holding it.
How Do You Use the Handshake: Medium Skin Tone, Medium-dark Skin Tone Emoji?
Use it whenever you want to confirm an agreement, welcome someone, or celebrate people coming together, especially when the tones match the people involved or the diversity of the group matters.
In work and business messages
It works well in professional chats because the meaning is clear and friendly without being overly casual. It fits onboarding messages, contract confirmations, and partnership announcements.
- Welcome to the team, Marcus! Glad to have you on board 🫱🏽🫲🏾
- Terms confirmed on both sides. Looking forward to working together 🫱🏽🫲🏾
In personal conversations
Friends use it to end an argument, say thanks, or promise something. A quick handshake after a disagreement signals that things are settled and there are no hard feelings.
- Okay, you take the window seat and I get the aux cord. Deal 🫱🏽🫲🏾
In community and social posts
Because the two tones differ, this version often appears in captions about collaboration, allyship, mentorship, and community events. It carries a built-in message about people coming together.
- Proud to partner with local organizers on this year's neighborhood fair 🫱🏽🫲🏾
What Does 🫱🏽🫲🏾 Mean in Texting and on Social Media?
In texting and social media, it usually means "we agree," "thank you," or "let's work together," with the skin tones adding a note of inclusion.
In a text thread, it often closes a negotiation about plans, money, or favors. On social platforms, brands and creators use it to announce collaborations, sponsorships, and shared projects. Individuals use it to thank a mentor, congratulate a teammate, or mark a reconciliation.
Context shapes the tone. After a heated exchange, it reads as a peace offering. After a job offer, it reads as acceptance. In a post celebrating a new partnership, it reads as pride and optimism. It rarely carries sarcasm, so you can generally trust the sincere reading.
Which Emojis Pair Well With the Handshake Emoji?
The best pairings reinforce the message you want to send: approval, celebration, or friendly follow-up.
Pairing helps you control tone. A handshake alone is calm and formal. Add a second emoji and the message becomes warmer, more playful, or more emphatic.
- 👍 Thumbs Up after a handshake adds a clear "approved" signal to a deal or plan.
- 👀 Eyes works in playful messages when you are teasing a collaboration that has not been announced yet.
- 👩💻 Woman Technologist fits tech partnerships, hiring announcements, and developer community posts.
- 🎉 or 🙏 can add celebration or gratitude, depending on the moment.
If you are unsure how a string of emojis will read, the Emoji Translator can help you turn plain text into emoji and see how your message might come across.
How Does the Handshake Emoji Look on Different Platforms?
It looks like two clasped hands in two skin tones on every supported platform, though the exact art style differs by vendor.
Because this is a Unicode 14.0 emoji, it only appears on relatively recent software. Based on the supported platform data for this emoji:
- Apple: iOS 15.4+ and macOS 12.3+
- Google: Android 12L+
- Microsoft: Windows 11 22H2+
- Samsung: One UI 5.0+
- WhatsApp (Meta): version 2.22+
- Twitter/X: Twemoji 14.0+
If a friend has an older phone or operating system, they may not see the combined handshake. Instead, the sequence can fall back to separate hand emojis with skin tone swatches. If you are messaging someone who may not have updated, the plain 🤝 is a safer choice.
When Should You Avoid the Handshake Emoji?
Avoid it when the situation is serious, unresolved, or sensitive enough that a symbol of agreement could feel dismissive.
A handshake signals closure. Sending it in the middle of a real conflict can feel like you are trying to end the conversation before the other person is ready. In legal, financial, or contractual discussions, an emoji is not a substitute for written confirmation, so treat it as friendly acknowledgment only.
Also think about intent when using a specific tone pairing. If you choose this combination to represent particular people, make sure that is what you mean. If you simply want a generic handshake, the default 🤝 avoids any unintended implication. And if you are uncertain how recipients' devices will render it, a simple word like "agreed" never fails.
What Other Emojis Show Similar Reactions?
Several emojis overlap with the handshake, but each carries a different shade of meaning.
- 👍 Thumbs Up is quicker and more casual: "okay" or "sounds good."
- 🤷🏻♀️ Woman Shrugging is the opposite of commitment: "I don't know" or "whatever works."
- 🤦🏻♀️ Woman Facepalming shows frustration, the mood you hope to resolve with a handshake.
You can browse more gesture and hand-based options in the People & Body emoji category, or check what is popular on the trending emojis page.
How Do You Copy and Paste the Handshake: Medium Skin Tone, Medium-dark Skin Tone Emoji?
Click the copy button on this page and the emoji 🫱🏽🫲🏾 is saved to your clipboard in one click, ready to paste anywhere.
Once copied, paste it into any text field, chat, email, document, or social post using your usual paste shortcut (Ctrl+V on Windows, Cmd+V on Mac, or long-press and Paste on a phone). Because it is a multi-part sequence, copying is more reliable than hunting for it on a keyboard, where this particular tone pairing can take several taps to build.
After pasting, check that it displays as a single combined glyph. If you see separate hands or empty boxes, your device may not support Unicode 14.0 yet, and updating your operating system should fix it.
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