Face with tongue is the internet’s universal “just kidding, don’t @ me” face. It’s for teasing friends, defusing a spicy take, or adding that playful “bleh” after something awkward, sour, or secondhand-cringe. Drop it in food chats when you’re drooling over wings or reacting to ice-cream-brain-freeze chaos; it also revives that old-school xP energy from the MSN/AIM era. Lightly flirty? A little—but it’s more goofy than thirsty, perfect for harmless clowning.
On Apple/iOS, it’s a bright lemon‑yellow round face, front-facing, with wide open dot eyes and an open smile showing a big pink tongue sticking straight out. Clean gradients, soft shadows, and that shiny bubble finish make it feel like a cheerful sticker you could boop. The centered mouth and tongue are the instant visual giveaway.
Online, it softens sarcasm, cushions a roast, and signals “I’m playing” in DMs, group chats, and Discord gremlin hours. You’ll see it with #TongueOutTuesday pet pics, sour-candy challenges, and “oops I did it again” fail posts. Compared to 😜 (wink = cheekier flirting) and 😝 (squinty chaos), this one sits in the sweet spot: classic, friendly goofball.
Definition
A face with round eyes, open mouth and tongue sticking out. Most often used to display slightly reserved and mild silliness. Less commonly used to express the act of panting to display crude sexual desire. Can easily cause awkward miscommunication.
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Emoji History The emoji code/ image log of changes.
This emoji first appeared in OSX / iOS after the iOS 6 update.
