'Woman tipping hand' emoji is most confusing for Americans

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Baffled by an upside-down smiley face? Join the club! 

The “woman tipping hand” emoji was among the most confounding for people across the country, according to a study conducted last month which also put the “money with wings” and “nail polish” icons at the top of the list.

“I have no clue what people mean when they use this one,” 18-year-old Saraya Weerasinghe of Kips Bay told The Post, pointing to the emoji of a woman with her palm raised. 

More than 1,000 Americans, ranging in age from 18 to 76, participated in the online survey by Preply, a language learning app. 

When asked what they believed the emoji of a woman tipping her hand meant, 35% of respondents checked the box next to “feeling sassy,” while 31% took it to mean “I have a suggestion,” and 20% said “feeling sarcastic.” 

But nearly 300 people didn’t know any of these meanings were attached to the emoji, according to the study’s raw data. 

“Most people use other emojis — not these ones,” perplexed porter Tony Junior, 20, said while reviewing the list of the most mystifying glyphs. 

“I think that one would be to say you’re doing your nails,” the East Village resident said about the nail polish emoji. 

Junior’s analysis of the symbol aligned with 40% of the survey participants, who said it was “just nail polish.” 

But the majority of those who answered the question, 495 total, said they’d seen the emoji used to convey the feeling that something’s “classy or posh/bougie.”

Another 189 individuals thought it meant “Don’t mind me hehe.”

The upside-down smiley face emoji was found to be the fourth most puzzling.  

“The upside down smiley face one is definitely confusing because that could mean anything,” said St. Francis College student Sabrina Tayeh, 18, of Brooklyn Heights. 

“That can be happy, that can be, like, a ‘f–k you,’” she explained. 

While 45% of respondents thought it meant sarcasm, 23% said the emoji translated to passive aggressiveness, and 37%, “smiling through pain.”

Another 12% said it was the same as the traditional smiley face.

A staggering 1 in 3 people said they’d witnessed uncomfortable situations arising from unsuitable emoji sending, and the same number reported their parents were likely to send an icon that didn’t make sense in the scenario. 

“Sometimes I just don’t know what the emoji is supposed to mean — especially when an old person uses one,” Tayeh said.

“I purposely don’t send emojis to older people because I know they won’t get what it means.”

One potential reason for any emoji-based confusion is generational differences, said Preply spokesperson Matt Zajechowski.

The findings highlight “the need for context and clarity in digital conversations,” Zajechowski said. 

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