Shrug Emoji Generator
The classic shruggie and every variation — one tap to copy.
Reddit & Discord safe: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
192 ready-made shrugs
Type it without copying
- iPhone. Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement. Paste the shrug as the phrase and use
shrugas the shortcut. - Android. Settings → System → Languages & input → Personal dictionary. Add the shrug with the shortcut
shrug. - Mac. System Settings → Keyboard → Text Replacements, then add it there.
- Windows. There is no built-in text replacement, so use a clipboard manager or paste it from this page.
The Shrug Emoji ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ — Everything About It
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ is the most copied text face on the internet. It means “who knows”, “not my problem”, and “I have stopped trying”, and it does all three without a single word — which is why it works as a complete reply. Tap it above to copy, browse the variations, or build your own with the mixer.
What it is made of
Four parts, and none of them are what you would guess. The arms are macrons and slashes: ¯ \ _ and _ / ¯. The face is ツ, the Japanese katakana character “tsu” — it has no facial meaning in Japanese whatsoever and was adopted purely because its shape happens to look like a smile. Change the face and the attitude changes with it: ¯\_(ಠ_ಠ)_/¯ is a judgemental shrug, ¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯ an insinuating one.
Why your shrug loses an arm
This is the single most common problem people have with it. On Reddit, Discord and anywhere else using markdown, the backslash is an escape character — so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ arrives as ¯_(ツ)_/¯ with the left arm eaten. There are two fixes. Double the backslash so one survives the parser, or use a variation with no backslash at all, like ┐(ツ)┌ or ╮(ツ)╭. Our Reddit guide covers the escaping in detail.
How to type it without copying
Nobody types it character by character. Set a text replacement instead. On iPhone: Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement, paste the shrug as the phrase and use “shrug” as the shortcut. Android offers the same under the personal dictionary. On Mac: System Settings → Keyboard → Text Replacements. After that, typing shrug expands into the full face anywhere on the device.
Shrug text, shrug emoticon, shrug emoji
All three names describe the same thing, and none of them is technically an emoji — there is no shrug in the emoji standard that looks like this. The actual shrug emoji is 🤷, a drawn figure that renders differently on every platform. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ is a text emoticon, which is precisely why people prefer it: it looks identical everywhere.
Variations worth knowing
The one-armed shrug ヾ(ツ) is compact enough for usernames. The bracket shrug ┐(ツ)┌ survives markdown. The double shrug ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ doubles as exasperation. And the Lenny shrug ¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯ is the most-requested crossover — 200 of those live on shrug Lenny faces, with the non-Lenny styles on shrug faces and 200 more on shrug emoticon.
FAQ
How do I type the shrug emoji?
Copy it from this page, or save it as a text replacement so typing “shrug” expands into ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ automatically on your phone or computer.
Why does my shrug lose its left arm?
Markdown platforms like Reddit and Discord treat the backslash as an escape character. Double it, or use a bracket-armed variation with no backslash.
What does ツ mean?
It is the Japanese katakana character “tsu”. It carries no facial meaning in Japanese — it was adopted because its shape resembles a face.
Is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ an emoji?
No. It is a text emoticon built from characters. The real shrug emoji is 🤷, which is drawn artwork and looks different on each platform.
What is the shrug emoji called?
Commonly the shruggie, or smugshrug. All of shrug text, shrug emoticon and shrug emoji refer to the same face.
Can I use the shrug in a username?
Short variations like ヾ(ツ) usually fit. The full version is often too long or contains characters some username fields reject.