A new study from the language education company Preply has revealed that even in 2024 people are still getting confused on what an emoji represents, according to Axios. The study had over 2,000 American participants and found that three specific emojis created the most confusion: 💅, 💨 and 🙃.
Preply found out that 81% of participants have gotten confused by someone else’s emoji, explaining that situations like these normally occur when “someone sends an emoji that seems out of context to the person on the other end but makes perfect sense to the sender.”
They also found that 48% of participants have seen conversations become uncomfortable because of an emoji misinterpretation.
These emojis were the most confusing ones in 2024
The study revealed the top ten confusing emojis of 2024, revealing how split Americans are on defining these emojis.
💅
Forty percent of participants thought the nail polish emoji to mean classy or posh, while 23% found it to mean nail polish. Only 15% thought it meant self-care, but according to Preply this emoji is often the most confusing one to people in the Midwest, West and the South.
💨
The dash away emoji meant exactly that to 38% of participants, with 34% believing it alluded to gassiness and another 15% thought it meant exhaustion. It confused many people living in the Midwest, Northeast and the South.
🙃
Thirty-eight percent found the upside down face emoji to mean sarcasm, 36% to mean smiling through the pain and 10% to understand it as passive aggressiveness. Those in the South found this emoji very confusing.
😣
Described as a persevering face, 40% of participants believed it to mean frustration and 31% saw it as cringe, while a mere 5% saw it as perseverance.
💁♀️
Forty-one percent of participants found this woman tipping hand emoji to mean “oh well”, according to Preply, while 35% thought it meant feeling sassy. Another 19% felt it represented having a suggestion and 5% saw it as sarcasm.
🫥
This dotted line face meant wanting to disappear to 43% of participants, feeling invisible to 25% and feeling depressed to 5% of participants.
💸
Fifty percent of the participants found the money flying with wings emoji to represent losing money, 24% thought it meant gaining money and 15% saw it as flaunting one’s wealth.
😪
This sleepy emoji was interpreted as sadness by 51% of the participants and only 29% saw it as being sleepy or tired. An additional 18% saw it as it meaning sickness while 2% viewed it as disgust.
😨
Sixty-three percent of participants found the fearful face emoji to mean being surprised or shocked, 17% to mean “this is horrible news” and 11% to mean fearful. Another 7% interpreted it as being sick and 2% saw it as “I just had a revelation,” per Preply.
💆
The massage emoji meant exactly what it represents to 77% of participants, while 16% of participants felt it represented rubbing one’s temples out of frustration or irritation. Another 7% felt it represented exhaustion.