Answering a question you cannot answer
Shrug
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Sad shrug
¯\_(ಥ‿ಥ)_/¯
The plain shrug is neutral; the tearful one says you wish you knew. Both work as a complete reply.
Shrug Kaomoji
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and every other shrug - sad, happy, bored, confused and Lenny. Tap a face to copy it.
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How the shrug kaomoji is built
The arms are four ASCII characters each: a macron ¯ for the shoulder, a backslash or slash for the upper arm and an underscore for the forearm. The face in the middle is ツ, the katakana syllable tsu, which is why the shrug is called a kaomoji at all - it borrows a Japanese letter for its face. Swap the face and the arms carry any mood: ¯\_(ಥ‿ಥ)_/¯ is a tearful shrug, ¯\_(´∀`)_/¯ a cheerful one, ¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯ the Lenny shrug.
The shrug is famously hard to type because the backslash disappears in many apps - Markdown, Reddit and Discord all treat \ as an escape character, so the left arm loses its upper half. Typing ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ with a doubled backslash fixes it on those platforms. 乁(ツ)ㄏ and ┐(￣ヘ￣)┌ are shrugs with no backslash at all, for places where nothing else survives.
The board above opens on the Shrug category. Tap any face to copy it; the Confused tab has the puzzled faces without arms.
What to know about the shrug text face
- ツ is the katakana syllable tsu - the shrug is a Japanese letter with arms, which is what makes it a kaomoji.
- The backslash \ is an escape character in Markdown, Reddit and Discord, so paste ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ with two backslashes there or the left arm breaks.
- 乁(ツ)ㄏ and ┐(￣ヘ￣)┌ are shrugs without a backslash, safe in any text field.
- Any face works between the arms: swap ツ for ಥ‿ಥ, ´∀` or ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° and the shrug takes that mood.
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Popular shrug kaomoji and what they mean
The shrug faces people copy most, and the tone of each one.
| Face | Name | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ | Shrug | I don't know, whatever |
| ¯\_(ಥ‿ಥ)_/¯ | Tearful shrug | Sad, but what can you do |
| ¯\_(´∀`)_/¯ | Happy shrug | Oh well, it's fine |
| 乁(ツ)ㄏ | Alt shrug | A shrug with no backslash |
| ┐(￣ヘ￣)┌ | Whatever | Indifferent, not my problem |
| ¯\_(ಠ_ಠ)_/¯ | Disapproving shrug | I don't know and I don't like it |
Shrug kaomoji examples
On Reddit, Discord or in Markdown
Doubled backslash
¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
No backslash
乁(ツ)ㄏ
Markdown eats a single backslash and the left arm loses its top. Double it, or use the 乁 ㄏ version, which has no backslash to lose.
Common shrug kaomoji mistakes
- Pasting ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ into Markdown with one backslash - it renders as ¯_(ツ)_/¯ with a broken left arm.
- Retyping the macron ¯ as a hyphen - -\_(ツ)_/- drops the shoulders and looks like a typo. Copy the face.
- Shrugging in reply to a serious question from someone who needs an answer - the face is dismissive by design.
Shrug kaomoji FAQ
What does the ツ in ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ mean?
It is the Japanese katakana syllable tsu. On its own it means nothing here - it was chosen because its two dots and curved stroke look like a smiling face between the arms.
Why does the shrug break when I paste it on Reddit or Discord?
The backslash \ is an escape character in Markdown, so it disappears and the left arm loses its top half. Paste ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ with a doubled backslash, or use 乁(ツ)ㄏ, which has none.
Is there a sad or crying shrug?
Yes - ¯\_(ಥ‿ಥ)_/¯ has tearful eyes, ¯\_(´-`)_/¯ is downcast and 乁(ಥ_ಥ)ㄏ is the backslash-free crying shrug.
Is the shrug an emoji or a kaomoji?
Both exist. 🤷 is the shrug emoji, a single picture character. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ is a kaomoji: nine ordinary characters arranged into a shrugging figure, which is why it renders identically everywhere and never depends on an emoji font.
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