🤝
Hand gesture emoji meaningsPrepared language edition
🤝 Handshake
Agreement, partnership, a deal, welcome, or mutual respect.
What does 🤝 mean?
The handshake represents agreement, cooperation, welcome, or mutual respect. It is common in professional messages but can also celebrate a personal deal or shared understanding.
What the picture shows
Two hands meeting in a handshake.
Common ways people use it
- Confirming an agreement, deal, or shared plan
- Welcoming a colleague, partner, or new community member
- Recognizing teamwork, reconciliation, or mutual respect
Check before interpreting it
- What action or agreement the handshake appears to confirm
- Whether the exchange is formal, playful, or congratulatory
- Whether any details remain unresolved in the written message
Tone at a glance
approvingformalsupportive
How this emoji can land
An editorial baseline for casual chat. Read the labels with the surrounding words and relationship—not as a verdict about one message.
Flirtation
Not typically flirtyMisinterpretation risk
Low to moderateWhat does 🤝 mean from a girl or guy?
A useful starting point is: Agreement, partnership, a deal, welcome, or mutual respect. The sender’s gender does not determine intent. Look for evidence in the conversation before deciding it is romantic, cold, or sarcastic.
Check these clues- The words around it
- Your relationship
- Their usual texting style
- Whether it is private, public, or at work
See it in a real chat
Agreed. Looking forward to working together 🤝
Why it may read this way
The agreement and partnership are stated directly.
So it’s a date 🤝
Why it may read this way
The businesslike handshake can make a romantic plan feel formal, joking, or deliberately platonic.
How to reply
Confirm the practical next step in words when the agreement matters; the emoji can then reinforce, not replace, that confirmation.
App and device note
Newer systems support mixed skin-tone handshake sequences, while older systems may split those sequences into separate symbols or show a fallback.
How this meaning was checked
The character name and sequence are checked against Unicode and CLDR. The conversational explanation above is original editorial guidance: it describes plausible uses, not a rule about any sender’s intent.
Editorial review: