The ? (pleading face) emoji is a yellow face with large, puppy-dog-like eyes and a small frown. It's often used to earn sympathy from the recipient, and is sometimes used to request a favor, often with the ? (backhand index pointing right) and the ? (backhand index pointing left) emojis. It can also signify sadness.
The pleading, I'm-begging-for-you emoji ? expresses an earnest appeal, often suggesting a cute, vulnerable charm that says “I'm into you and hoping you feel the same way.”
If someone sends you the ? (skull) emoji in a funny text, let them know that you found their message funny, too. Send a laughing emoji, an "lol," or your own ? (skull) to let them know you enjoyed the joke.
It is meant to represent the typical face one makes when pleading—that is, trying to win compassion or sympathy. Besides conveying such acts as pleading, begging, or beseeching, the Pleading Face emoji ? also variously conveys sadness, guilt, cuteness, and even arousal.
Use the ? (exploding head) and ? (bomb) emojis to say “mind blown!” Including the ? emoji in your text gives extra emphasis when expressing shock.
The ? emoji shows symbolizes someone trying to cry when they're overcome with joy, pride, or by something very sweet or touching. A ? emoji can also refer to someone putting on a brave face while they're sad, angry, or hurt.
One wide eye is peeking through the fingers. Can be used to express the duality of wanting to look away from something because it's frightening, disgusting, or embarrassing, but not being able to. Face with Peeking Eye was approved as part of Unicode 14.0 in 2021 and added to Emoji 14.0 in 2021.
“?” U+1F97A Face with Pleading Eyes Unicode Character.
Pleading Face was approved as part of Unicode 11.0 in 2018 under the name "Face with Pleading Eyes" and added to Emoji 11.0 in 2018.