Work with us

😮 Face with Open Mouth: Surprise, Shock, Impression, Amazement

😮

😮 Associations

The man who saw the trick.
"I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn't come out."
Birthday surprise.
A sudden bolt from the blue.
A "eureka!" moment (but with a touch of surprise).

😮 Use in correspondence

Reaction to the news: "You won the lottery? 😮" / "He said what ? 😮"
Surprised by the fact: "It turns out octopuses are aliens 😮"
Admiration without delight: "Wow, that turned out so clever 😮"
Replacement for "wow": "Your new hairstyle... 😮" (neutral-positive).
Clickbait style: "This trick will blow your mind 😮"

How it appeared

Approved in Unicode 6.0 (2010) and Emoji 1.0 (2015) . The design is based on the classic smiley face :-O(colon, minus, capital O), which was used to express surprise back in the days of IRC and SMS.

Interesting facts

Gradation of surprise: There are several degrees in the emoji line:

😯 (Hushed Face) - a subdued, restrained expression of surprise (a quiet "ooh").

😮 (Open Mouth) - a loud, obvious expression of surprise ("OOO!").

😲 (Astonished Face) - shock to the point of tears or numbness ("HOLY SHIT!").

No negativity: Unlike 😨 (fright) or 😱 (scream of terror), 😮 has no fear. Just pure amazement.

In fonts: On some platforms (old Samsung, LG) 😮 looks almost like a yawning person, but it is not.

Meme potential: Has become a symbol of reaction to an unexpected tweet or post in the spirit of “Modern problems require modern solutions.”

Combining 😮 with other emojis

😮💨 A gasp of surprise / "wow, I exhaled"
😮✨ Surprise at magic / unexpected beauty
😮💡 A moment of sudden insight ("ah, I get it!")
😮🎁 A reaction to an unexpected gift
😮📰 "What's this news?!" (a shocking article)
😮🍿 A plot twist in a movie
😮❓ "Seriously? Are you serious?"
😮🤝 Surprised agreement ("Well, if that's the case... okay")

Website niches where 😮 is appropriate for SEO content

News portals (under the "Incredible" or "Breaking News" section) feature clickbait headlines like: "Scientists have found a living dinosaur 😮 . "
Educational platforms (YouTube channels "Wow-facts", "Encyclopedia of the Amazing") - "How does a pineapple eat you? 😮 "
Websites featuring tricks, magic, and stunts to get a reaction from viewers.
Game forums (spoilers, walkthroughs) - "And here comes the boss! 😮 "
Travel blogs (unexpected finds) - "We stopped at an abandoned village, and there... 😮 "
Parenting forums (unexpected children's questions) - "My daughter asked where babies come from. I 😮 . "
Websites with tests and riddles (answers section) - "The correct answer will surprise you 😮 "

A quick rule: 😮 is pure, loud, but not frightened surprise . Use it when you want to say, "Wow!" or "What a twist!" but without the fear or hearts.