The Kiss: Man, Man, Medium Skin Tone, Medium-light Skin Tone emoji 👨🏽❤️💋👨🏼 shows two men kissing with a heart between them, one with a medium skin tone and one with a medium-light skin tone. It means romantic love, affection, and intimacy between a male couple, and it lets two partners be represented accurately.
What Does the Kiss: Man, Man, Medium Skin Tone, Medium-light Skin Tone Emoji Mean?
This emoji means romantic affection between two men, shown through a kiss with a heart symbol, and it specifies the skin tone of each partner.
The image depicts two men in profile leaning toward each other, with a small heart placed between them. The first figure uses the medium skin tone modifier and the second uses the medium-light skin tone modifier. That pairing is what separates this emoji from the default yellow version of the same couple.
People use it to talk about their own relationships, to celebrate a couple they know, or to mark moments of tenderness such as anniversaries, engagements, and Pride celebrations. Because each person in the couple can carry a different tone, it also works as a quiet statement about who is being represented.
Why the Two Skin Tones Matter
Having two different skin tones in one emoji means a couple can see themselves reflected exactly, rather than settling for a generic default.
Many male couples are made up of partners with different complexions. Before Unicode 13.1, the couple emojis did not allow that mix inside a single character. This emoji exists so that a medium-toned partner and a medium-light-toned partner can appear together in one symbol.
What Is This Emoji Made Of Under the Hood?
It is a sequence of ten Unicode code points joined together, which your device renders as a single picture.
The full sequence is U+1F468 (man), U+1F3FD (medium skin tone), U+200D (zero width joiner), U+2764 (heavy black heart), U+FE0F (variation selector), U+200D, U+1F48B (kiss mark), U+200D, U+1F468 (man), and U+1F3FC (medium-light skin tone). The zero width joiner characters tell the system to merge the parts into one glyph.
This is a ZWJ sequence, a common way of building complex emojis out of simpler ones. If a device does not recognize the sequence, it may show the pieces separately: a man, a skin tone swatch, a heart, a kiss mark, and another man with a swatch.
- Category: People & Body
- Unicode version: 13.1
- Emoji version: 13.1
- Shortcode: :kiss_man_man_medium_skin_tone_medium_light_skin_tone:
How Do You Use This Emoji in a Message?
Use it whenever you want to express romantic love or affection between two men, whether about yourself, a partner, or a couple you are celebrating.
It fits naturally in captions, anniversary posts, relationship announcements, and private messages between partners. Here are a few realistic examples:
- Three years today and I would marry you all over again 👨🏽❤️💋👨🏼
- So happy for my brother and his fiancé. Love wins every time 👨🏽❤️💋👨🏼
- Goodnight, my love. See you at the airport tomorrow 👨🏽❤️💋👨🏼
It carries a stronger romantic charge than a simple heart, so it tends to appear in messages that are openly affectionate rather than casual.
What Does This Emoji Mean on Social Media?
On social media it signals love, pride, and visibility for male couples, and it often accompanies relationship milestones and LGBTQ+ celebrations.
During Pride month you will see it paired with rainbow flags in captions and profile bios. Couples use it in anniversary photos, wedding announcements, and travel posts. Allies use it when congratulating friends or sharing stories about same-sex relationships.
Some people place it in a bio as a quick, friendly way to show that they are partnered or that they are part of the LGBTQ+ community. Others use it as a reaction when commenting on a couple's photo. The skin tone detail makes it feel more personal than the default version, because it shows you chose the version that matches the people involved.
How Is It Different From the Default Kiss: Man, Man Emoji?
The only difference is skin tone: the default Kiss: Man, Man emoji uses a neutral yellow, while this version assigns specific tones to each man.
Both share the same meaning and the same underlying structure of two men, a heart, and a kiss mark. If you are unsure which to pick, the default is a safe choice when you do not want to specify complexion. This tone-specific version is better when you want to depict a particular couple or reflect your own relationship.
Keep in mind that you can choose from many other combinations of skin tones for the same couple. Choosing the pair that matches the people you are talking about is the whole point of having these variants.
How Does This Emoji Look on Different Platforms?
The design varies by platform, but every major system draws two men kissing with a heart, and the skin tones follow the Unicode modifiers.
Support depends on the version of your operating system or app. Based on 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: version 2.21.16+
- Twitter: Twemoji 13.1+
If your device is older than these versions, the recipient may see a row of separate symbols instead of one kissing couple. Updating your operating system usually fixes this. Since the emoji dates to Unicode 13.1, devices released before 2021 may need an update to display it properly.
Which Emojis Pair Well With This One?
This emoji works well alongside hearts, rings, rainbow symbols, and celebratory icons that reinforce a romantic or festive mood.
- ❤️ or 💞 to deepen the affection
- 🏳️🌈 for Pride posts and LGBTQ+ celebration
- 💍 for engagements and weddings
- 🥂 for anniversaries and toasts
- ✨ for a sparkling, joyful tone
If you want to react to a couple's news with surprise or curiosity, you might add the Eyes emoji. To show approval, the Thumbs Up emoji is a simple companion. You can also browse more options in the People & Body category.
When Should You Avoid This Emoji?
Avoid it in formal or professional settings where romantic content would feel out of place, and anywhere you are not sure the other person is comfortable with it.
At work, in a message to a manager, or in a customer email, a kissing couple can read as too personal. It is also wise to be thoughtful when using it about people who have not shared their relationship publicly, since posting it could out someone unintentionally.
Do not use it to mock or tease, and avoid using it as a joke about a friendship, because that can feel dismissive of real same-sex relationships. In some regions and communities, public displays of same-sex affection can carry social or legal risk, so consider your audience and your platform before posting.
Can You Translate Text Into Emojis Like This One?
Yes, you can turn short phrases into emoji sequences using a translator tool, which is handy when you want to build a romantic message quickly.
Try the Emoji Translator to convert a sentence about love or a relationship into emojis, then swap in this tone-specific couple for the generic version. If you want to see which emojis people are using right now, check the trending emojis page.
How Do You Copy and Paste This Emoji?
You can copy this emoji with one click on this page and paste it anywhere that supports emoji, including messaging apps, social posts, emails, and documents.
Click the copy button near the emoji at the top of this page, then paste it into your message with Ctrl+V on Windows or Cmd+V on Mac, or by long-pressing in the text field on a phone. 👨🏽❤️💋👨🏼
If the emoji appears as separate symbols after pasting, the app or device does not support Unicode 13.1 yet. Try updating the app or your operating system, or use the default Kiss: Man, Man emoji as a fallback.
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