What Does It Mean When a Woman Sends the Smirking Face Emoji?

Usually she's being playful, and often a little flirty. The smirking face 😏 is a sly, cheeky look, and the sources that explain it agree it leans toward flirting or suggestion. It can also mean she's pleased with herself, or that she's teasing you. The message right before the emoji tells you which one you got.

Emojipedia describes 😏 as a smug, mischievous face that's often used to convey flirtation or sexual innuendo. Other emoji guides add a few more readings. In practice she means one of these:

• Flirting. She likes where the conversation is going and isn't saying so out loud.
• Teasing. She's poking fun at you in a friendly way.
• Smug pride. She's pleased with herself, like "Told you I'd win 😏."
• Knowing. She sees what you meant and is letting you know she saw it.

One of the guides also says the smirk can show a quiet, confident kind of play. A girl who sends it usually isn't nervous. She's enjoying the exchange.

Don't read the emoji alone. Read what's around it.

1. Look at what she was answering. If it followed your compliment or a flirty line, flirting is the likely read. If it followed a boast or something that sounded too good to be true, she's probably teasing you.
2. Look at what she wrote. A smirk after a full, warm sentence means more than a smirk alone. A smirk with no words is a shrug with attitude.
3. Look at how she texts everyone else. Some women put 😏 on every other message. Then it means very little.
4. Check the face. The unamused face 😒 has similar eyes but a flat, pouting mouth, and it means bored or annoyed. A wink 😉 added to a smirk points to open flirting.

Also remember that the picture changes by phone. Emojipedia notes that some early designs showed closed eyes and looked more contented. A friendly smile on her phone can look smug on yours.

Respond to the words, not the emoji. Keep it light and a little playful.

• She sends: "Fine, you were right about the restaurant 😏". Reply: "I'm always right about food. Ask me about the dessert."
• She sends: "Maybe I'll let you pick the bar 😏". Reply: "Careful, I'll pick somewhere with good booths. Thursday?"
• She sends: "Interesting 😏". Reply: "Interesting good or interesting suspicious?"

Each reply does two things. It answers what she actually said, and it gives her an easy line to answer back. A reply that only says "😏" back gives her nothing to work with.

Sometimes the smirk comes after a joke at your expense. Don't get defensive and don't go quiet. Send a quick, confident comeback and move on.

"Okay, that one was fair. I'll let you have it. You still owe me a drink."

That tells her you can take a tease, which is attractive. If you're not sure it's friendly, a light "was that a compliment or a warning?" lets her say.

When it follows "I told you so" or a dry remark, there's no flirting to answer. Laugh it off and carry on with the topic. Don't read romance into it, and don't treat it as an insult either.

Emojipedia's blog says men's heavy use of 😏 on dating apps may have helped give it a sleazy reputation. So if you use it, use it once, after a line that's actually funny or warm, and after she's used one first.

Better still, write the line and leave it off:

"You pick the movie and then complain about it. I admire the confidence."

It's flirty without the emoji. A wink 😉 or a laughing face 😂 are friendlier choices if you want a face at the end. Match how she writes: if she uses plenty of emojis you can use a few, and if she uses none, send none.

a dating coach shows how an emoji should work in a text breakdown. He sends a laughing-crying emoji after a joke so that it reads as amused, not defensive. The emoji is not the flirt. It sets the mood of the sentence, and the sentence does the flirting.

A smirk is a small green light, not a plan. If her messages are warm, answer with something playful, then suggest a specific time and place for a drink. If her replies stay flat and she uses the smirk on everything, don't read much into it.

If she keeps sending short, empty replies with no questions back, she may not be interested. Say something direct and friendly once, and then see whether she meets you halfway.