4 Emojis Considered Offensive In Other Countries

By 965koit on August 22, 2017

Are you a big emoji user? I’m doing my best to be hip and try to work them into my casual conversations. Nothing to crazy, I would call myself a beginner in the world of emoji use. If you are like me or you are a big emoji user, you may not know that there are 4 common emojis that are OFFENSIVE to people from other countries. Which is good to know because if the emoji is offending them then there is no doubt that when you or I make the symbol in real life that we are angering those around us. The 4 you have to be careful with are:

The Waving Hand

To people from China it means “Goodbye Forever” as in, I never want to see you again GET LOST! 

Devil Horns

In several countries including Spain, Greece, Italy and Brazil this symbol means “Your spouse is cheating on you” and no one wants to hear that from a stranger. 

Peace Sign

It’s like flipping someone off to people in the UK. It’s technically supposed to be the back of your hand showing but it’s close enough that I would avoid it. 

Thumbs Up

In Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Nigeria is means “Sit on it” with “it” being my thumb in an unpleasant way.