South Africans use the pinched finger emoji in many different ways, but it usually means that that someone is trying to emphasize their message.
The pinched finger emoji has taken the online world by storm. And, while it is most commonly used in Italy to express a feeling of exasperation or impatience, South Africans tend to use it in a wide variety of ways.
What the pinched finger emoji means in South Africa
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but in the age of social media, the meanings of those words can easily get lost in translation.
In the case of the pinched finger emoji, or as it was affectionately coined by its creators – the “What do you want?” emoji, we have rounded up everything that you could possibly need to know about where this emoji came from. This includes what it means and how it is most commonly used in South Africa (and worldwide).
Origin
If you have ever watched a television show or film with an Italian character, you will already know that the pinched finger gesture (which is often used in place of “Ma che vuò?” in Italian, translated to “What do you want?” in English) tends to be used quite often in everyday conversation.
And it is exactly the popularity and versatility of this hand gesture that prompted the vice-chair of the Unicode Emoji Subcommittee, Jennifer 8. Lee, as well as her partners, Adriano Farano and Theo Schear, to create this emoji in the first place.
This group’s proposal for the pinched finger emoji and their insistence that it would “offer users a much needed expression to engage in animated conversations by adding a touch of humor” ultimately led to its inclusion in the Unicode 13.0.0 update, which was rolled out in March of 2020.
Meaning
The pinched finger emoji can really mean whatever you want it to mean. However, in our small South African corner of the online world, it is most often used to emphasize and bring attention to the text that precedes or follows it within a conversation.
Everyday Usage Cases/Examples
As with all emojis, the pinched finger emoji has certainly taken on a wide range of meanings on the web since its introduction. And as a result, there are many different ways to incorporate it into your everyday usage, such as:
| Usage | Example |
| Use it when you want to show appreciation for Italian things | “We’re ordering pizza tonight! 🤌🍝” |
| Use it when you want to express your exasperation | “What are you talking about?! 🤌” |
| Use it when you want to emphasize | “🤌 this is what I have been saying” |
| Use it as a chef’s kiss | “That sauce was 🤌🤌🤌” |
