The Kiss: Man, Man, Medium-dark Skin Tone, Dark Skin Tone emoji (👨🏾❤️💋👨🏿) shows two men kissing, one with a medium-dark skin tone and one with a dark skin tone. It means romantic love, affection, and intimacy between a male couple, and it lets users depict their own relationship or celebrate same-sex love with accurate skin tones.
What Does the Kiss: Man, Man, Medium-dark Skin Tone, Dark Skin Tone Emoji Mean?
This emoji means two men sharing a romantic kiss, shown with one medium-dark and one dark skin tone.
At its core, it communicates romance between two men. It sits in the People & Body category and belongs to the family of couple emojis that Unicode has expanded over the years to cover different gender pairings and skin tone combinations. Where the generic version uses a default yellow skin tone, this one lets two real people see themselves in the picture.
The emoji carries several layers of meaning at once:
- Romantic love: a kiss between partners, boyfriends, or husbands.
- Affection and intimacy: tenderness, closeness, and a shared moment.
- LGBTQ+ representation: a visible, positive image of a male couple.
- Skin tone representation: two specific tones that reflect real couples, including couples with slightly different complexions.
Because the image includes a heart and a lip mark in its underlying sequence, it reads as clearly romantic rather than platonic. It is not a friendly greeting. It is a statement about love.
What Is the Technical Background of This Emoji?
This emoji is a ZWJ sequence introduced in Unicode 13.1 and Emoji 13.1, officially named "Kiss: Man, Man, Medium-dark Skin Tone, Dark Skin Tone."
Unlike a single-character emoji, it is built from several codepoints joined by zero width joiners (U+200D). The sequence is U+1F468 (man), U+1F3FE (medium-dark skin tone modifier), U+200D, U+2764 (heavy black heart), U+FE0F (emoji presentation selector), U+200D, U+1F48B (kiss mark), U+200D, U+1F468 (man), and U+1F3FF (dark skin tone modifier).
Your device reads that chain and renders it as one image. If a device does not support the full sequence, it may fall back and show the separate pieces, such as two men, a heart, and a kiss mark, one after another. The shortcode for this emoji is :kiss_man_man_medium_dark_skin_tone_dark_skin_tone:.
Version 13.1 was the release that added mixed skin tones to the couple and kiss emojis, which is why this exact pairing only became available relatively recently and needs an up-to-date operating system.
How Do You Use This Emoji in Texting and on Social Media?
You use it to express romantic affection toward a male partner, to share news about your relationship, or to celebrate love between men.
In private messages, it works as a loving sign-off or a sweet reaction. In public posts, it often accompanies anniversaries, wedding announcements, and Pride content. Here are a few realistic examples:
- Three years with this man and I would do every single one again 👨🏾❤️💋👨🏿
- Goodnight, love. See you at breakfast 👨🏾❤️💋👨🏿
- Happy Pride to us and to everyone who gets to love out loud 👨🏾❤️💋👨🏿
Many people choose the skin tone version because it feels personal. Sending the default version works, but picking a pairing that matches you and your partner makes the message feel like it is truly about the two of you.
Can you use it for someone who is not your partner?
Yes, but with care. Because the emoji depicts a romantic kiss, using it for a friend can be read as a joke or as flirting. Between close friends who share that humor it may land fine, but it is best saved for romantic or celebratory contexts.
Why Do Skin Tone Combinations Matter for Couple Emojis?
They matter because they let people depict themselves and their partners accurately instead of choosing a generic default.
Couple emojis with two people are more complex than single-person emojis, since each person can have a different tone. This version pairs a medium-dark skin tone with a dark skin tone, so it suits couples whose complexions are close but not identical. Many users also look for these combinations to show interracial or intercultural relationships, and the keyword data for this emoji reflects that interest in diversity and inclusion.
For the basic, default version of the same idea, see the Kiss: Man, Man emoji. If you prefer not to specify any tone, that option is the simplest choice and works on every supported device.
How Does This Emoji Look on Different Platforms?
It looks slightly different on each platform because Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, and others each draw their own artwork for the same sequence.
Support for this emoji depends on your software version. According to the platform data for this emoji:
- Apple: iOS 14.5+ and macOS 11.3+
- Google: Android 12.0+
- Microsoft: Windows 11+
- Samsung: One UI 4.0+
- WhatsApp: 2.21.16+
- Twitter: Twemoji 13.1+
If you or your recipient are on an older device, the emoji may appear as separate characters rather than a single kissing couple. Updating your operating system is the usual fix. Since rendering is controlled by the platform, the exact faces, hairstyles, and level of detail will differ from one device to the next, but the core meaning stays the same everywhere.
Which Emojis Pair Well With This Emoji?
The best pairings add warmth, celebration, or context without changing the romantic meaning.
- ❤️ or 💕 to intensify the love.
- 💍 for engagements and weddings.
- 🏳️🌈 for Pride posts and LGBTQ+ celebrations.
- 🥰 for a softer, affectionate tone.
- 🎉 for anniversaries and milestones.
If you are writing a longer message and want help choosing a matching set, the Emoji Translator can turn a line of text into suggested emojis. To see what people are currently sending, check the trending emojis page.
A reaction like 👀 or 👍 is a common reply when a friend posts this emoji with big news, such as a proposal. Other emojis in the same family live in the People & Body category.
When Should You Avoid This Emoji?
Avoid it in professional or formal settings, with people you barely know, and anywhere romance would be unwelcome or unsafe to display.
In work chats, school group messages, or conversations with a manager or client, a romantic kiss emoji is out of place regardless of who is depicted. It signals intimacy that most workplaces do not expect in messages.
Consider your audience's safety too. In some regions and families, openly sharing same-sex affection can carry social or legal risk. If you are not sure a recipient is supportive, or if your messages may be seen by others, it is wise to hold back. The decision to share is always yours, and this emoji is meant to be a happy, affirming one, not something that puts you in a difficult position.
Finally, do not use it to mock or tease someone about their orientation. Used that way, it can come across as hurtful rather than playful.
How Do You Copy and Paste This Emoji?
You can copy it with one click on this page, then paste it anywhere that supports emoji.
Click the emoji at the top of this page and it is copied to your clipboard instantly. Then paste it into your message, social post, email, or document using your device's paste command (Ctrl+V on Windows, Cmd+V on Mac, or a long press and Paste on mobile).
Because this is a multi-part sequence, always copy and paste the whole emoji rather than typing parts of it. If it shows up as separate symbols after you paste, the app or device you are using may not support Emoji 13.1 yet, and an update should resolve it.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!