The Kiss: Man, Man, Medium-dark Skin Tone, Medium Skin Tone emoji (👨🏾❤️💋👨🏽) shows two men sharing a kiss, one with a medium-dark skin tone and one with a medium skin tone. It stands for romance, affection, and love between a male couple, and it lets people picture their own relationship accurately.
What Does the Kiss: Man, Man, Medium-dark Skin Tone, Medium Skin Tone Emoji Mean?
This emoji means romantic love and physical affection between two men, shown with two distinct skin tones. It belongs to the family of couple emojis that let people portray real relationships instead of a generic default.
The image pairs a man with a medium-dark skin tone and a man with a medium skin tone, with a heart and a kiss mark between them in the underlying sequence. Because the skin tones are specific, many people use it to represent their own relationship, a friend's relationship, or a character they love.
The emoji is part of the People & Body category on this site. You can browse the full group on the People & Body emojis page.
What Is the Difference Between This Emoji and the Default Kiss: Man, Man?
The difference is that this version specifies two skin tones, while the default does not. The standard Kiss: Man, Man emoji uses a neutral yellow appearance, which is fine when representation is not the point of the message.
Choosing the tone-specific version signals intent. It says the sender picked this exact pairing on purpose, which often feels more personal and more affectionate.
How Is This Emoji Built From Unicode?
It is a ZWJ (zero width joiner) sequence made of ten codepoints: U+1F468, U+1F3FE, U+200D, U+2764, U+FE0F, U+200D, U+1F48B, U+200D, U+1F468, U+1F3FD.
Reading the sequence in order, it begins with man (U+1F468) plus the medium-dark skin tone modifier (U+1F3FE). It then joins a heart (U+2764 with the variation selector U+FE0F), a kiss mark (U+1F48B), and a second man (U+1F468) with the medium skin tone modifier (U+1F3FD).
The official Unicode name is KISS: MAN, MAN, MEDIUM-DARK SKIN TONE, MEDIUM SKIN TONE. It was introduced in Unicode 13.1 and Emoji 13.1, which is the release that added many mixed skin tone couple combinations.
The shortcode is :kiss_man_man_medium_dark_skin_tone_medium_skin_tone:, which some chat apps and platforms recognize when you type it.
How Do You Use This Emoji in Texting and on Social Media?
You use it to express love, affection, or celebration of a male couple, in private messages and in public posts alike. It works well for anniversaries, couple photos, wedding announcements, and Pride content.
Here are a few realistic examples:
- Three years with my favorite person 👨🏾❤️💋👨🏽
- Happy anniversary to the best husband a guy could ask for 👨🏾❤️💋👨🏽
- Pride weekend with this one. Love wins every time 👨🏾❤️💋👨🏽
It also works as a reaction. If a friend shares news about their engagement or a sweet moment with their partner, dropping this emoji in the reply is a warm, personal way to celebrate with them.
What Does This Emoji Mean in Dating and Relationship Chats?
In dating chats, it signals romantic interest or affection, and it carries more weight than a casual smiley. Sending a kiss emoji too early can read as forward, so it fits best once both people are comfortable with that level of warmth.
Between established partners, it is a sweet sign-off for good morning and good night messages. Between close friends, it can be playful, though the context should make clear that you are joking.
Can It Be Used Platonically?
It can, but with care. The emoji depicts a romantic kiss, so using it between friends works only when your humor and relationship make the intent obvious. When in doubt, a heart or a hug emoji communicates friendship with less ambiguity.
Why Does Skin Tone Representation Matter in Couple Emojis?
Representation matters because people want to see their own relationships reflected accurately in the symbols they send every day. A couple with two different skin tones can pick the exact pair that matches them, instead of settling for a default that does not look like them.
Many people describe these mixed-tone combinations as a way to feel included, and the keywords associated with this emoji reflect that: inclusive, interracial, diversity, and representation. The emoji shows how the emoji system can support more specific identities.
One technical note: the pair here is fixed. Each man's skin tone is baked into the sequence, so the emoji does not offer additional tone swaps after you select it.
How Does This Emoji Look on Different Platforms?
It looks slightly different on each platform, because every company draws its own artwork for the same sequence. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, WhatsApp, and Twitter (Twemoji) all render the two men, the skin tones, and the kiss, but styling, proportions, and heart or kiss details vary.
Support depends on your operating system version, since this is a Unicode 13.1 emoji. Based on the data for this emoji, the minimum versions are:
- 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 a recipient has an older device, the sequence may break apart into separate pieces, such as two men, skin tone swatches, a heart, and a kiss mark shown side by side. That is not an error on your end. It simply means their system cannot yet combine the codepoints into one image.
Which Emojis Pair Well With This Emoji?
Hearts, sparkles, rings, and rainbow flags pair naturally with it, since they reinforce the romantic or celebratory tone. Choose companions that match the moment you are sharing.
- ❤️ or 💕 for extra affection in a caption
- 🏳️🌈 for Pride posts and LGBTQ+ celebrations
- 💍 for engagement and wedding news
- ✨ for anniversaries and special milestones
If you want to react to a friend's relationship post with a playful twist, the Eyes emoji can signal that you noticed something exciting, and the Thumbs Up emoji offers a simple approval. For a deeper look at what is popular right now, see the trending emojis page.
When Should You Avoid This Emoji?
Avoid it in formal or professional settings where romantic imagery would feel out of place, such as emails to clients, workplace announcements, or school notices. A kiss emoji carries an intimate tone that most professional channels do not call for.
It is also wise to think about audience and safety. Not everyone you message may be comfortable with, or safe in sharing, content that references same-sex relationships, so consider privacy settings and who can see a shared post before you use it publicly.
Finally, avoid using it to tease or mock people. The emoji represents genuine love between real couples, and it should be used with respect.
How Do You Copy and Paste This Emoji?
You can copy it with one click on this page, then paste it anywhere you type: messages, social media captions, comments, emails, or documents. Just click the copy button next to the emoji, then paste with Ctrl+V on Windows or Cmd+V on Mac, or by long-pressing in a text field on your phone.
Because the emoji is a multi-part sequence, copying it directly is more reliable than typing each piece by hand. If you want to turn a full sentence into emojis, you can also try the Emoji Translator tool.
Once pasted, the emoji will display using the style of the platform your recipient uses. If it appears as separate symbols, their device likely needs a software update to support Emoji 13.1.
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