Hourglass Emoji

Press Copy for the hourglass emoji, or take the one still running, a plain symbol or a typed one.

Hourglass Emoji

⌛Hourglass doneU+231BReady to copy

59 items. Tap one to copy it.

Hourglass emoji 20

Hourglass symbols 8

Typed hourglasses 4

Hourglass drawings 2

Time sayings 9

Waiting lines 5

Hourglass combos 11

Next step Next: every clock faceNext: emoji for running late

How it works

The hourglass emoji comes as a pair from Emoji 0.6: ⌛, which CLDR names Hourglass done, and ⏳, Hourglass not done. They are the only two emoji CLDR files under hourglass and under sand.

Read the full guide

Done and not done

The character names tell them apart. ⌛ is Hourglass, in Unicode since version 1.1; ⏳, added in 6.0, is Hourglass with flowing sand. CLDR files the first under time and the second under waiting, flowing and hours, so ⏳ is the one for a wait still running.

Sand clock, sandglass, time glass

By Wikipedia an hourglass is also a sandglass, a sand timer or a sand clock: two glass bulbs joined by a narrow neck, with sand running from the upper to the lower. In Norwegian, by Wiktionary, it is a timeglass. So a sand clock emoji or a time glass emoji is one of these two. As a plain hourglass sign, Unicode adds White hourglass and Black hourglass among its mathematical symbols.

Questions and answers

What does the hourglass emoji mean?

Time passing or running out. By Wikipedia the hourglass is a symbol of the passage of time, and Wiktionary gives it a second life on screens: an hourglass cursor indicates that the computer is busy. Hence ⏳ for loading and ⌛ for time’s up.

What is the hourglass Unicode character?

U+231B for ⌛ and U+23F3 for ⏳. Each has a text style, made by adding U+FE0E, and those are the hourglass text symbol tiles here. White hourglass is U+29D6, which Unicode also notes as vertical bowtie, and Black hourglass U+29D7.

Is there an hourglass Alt code?

Yes, in apps that take Unicode numbers: by Wikipedia some turn Alt and a decimal number from 256 to 65,535 into its character, so Alt+8987 is ⌛ and Alt+9203 is ⏳. Code page 437, which the old Alt codes follow, has no hourglass.

Is there an hourglass emoticon in text?

Nothing standard, so these are this page’s own, typed with plain keys: |><| is an hourglass on its side and |>:<| has sand in the neck. Two drawings stand one upright, sand at the top in the first and run through in the second.

All 59 items

Hourglass emoji 20

  • Alarm clock U+23F0. Filed under waiting and hours. Emoji 0.6.
  • Beach with umbrella U+1F3D6 U+FE0F. Filed under beach. Emoji 0.7.
  • Check mark button U+2705. Filed under done. Emoji 0.6.
  • Counterclockwise arrows button U+1F504. Filed under again. Emoji 1.0.
  • Desert U+1F3DC U+FE0F. Filed under desert. Emoji 0.7.
  • Egg U+1F95A. Filed under egg. Emoji 3.0.
  • Game die U+1F3B2. Filed under game. Emoji 0.6.
  • Hourglass done U+231B. One of two emoji CLDR files under hourglass and under sand. Also filed under done, time and timer. Emoji 0.6.
  • Hourglass not done U+23F3. The other, and the only emoji CLDR files under flowing. Also filed under waiting, hours and timer. Emoji 0.6.
  • Luggage U+1F9F3. The emoji before Hourglass done in Unicode’s list. Emoji 11.0.
  • Mantelpiece clock U+1F570 U+FE0F. Filed under time. Emoji 0.7.
  • Person in lotus position U+1F9D8. Filed under relax and zen. Emoji 5.0.
  • Sloth U+1F9A5. Filed under slow. Emoji 12.0.
  • Snail U+1F40C. Filed under snail. Emoji 0.6.
  • Spiral calendar U+1F5D3 U+FE0F. Filed under calendar. Emoji 0.7.
  • Stopwatch U+23F1 U+FE0F. Filed under time. Emoji 1.0.
  • Timer clock U+23F2 U+FE0F. The only other emoji CLDR files under timer. Emoji 1.0.
  • Turtle U+1F422. Filed under turtle. Emoji 0.6.
  • Watch U+231A. The emoji after Hourglass not done in Unicode’s list. Filed under time. Emoji 0.6.
  • Wing U+1FABD. Filed under fly. Emoji 15.0.
Show all 59 items (39 more)

Hourglass symbols 8

  • Black bowtie U+29D3. Unicode names it Black bowtie.
  • Black hourglass U+29D7. Unicode names it Black hourglass.
  • Bowtie U+22C8. Unicode names it Bowtie. An hourglass on its side.
  • Hourglass done, text style U+231B. The same character with the text selector, U+FE0E, which asks for a plain symbol.
  • Hourglass not done, text style U+23F3. The same character with the text selector, U+FE0E, which asks for a plain symbol.
  • Hourglass, Han character U+6F0F. A Han character. Unihan defines it as leak, drip; funnel; hour glass.
  • Time, Han character U+6642. A Han character. Unihan defines it as time, season; era, age, period.
  • White hourglass U+29D6. Unicode names it White hourglass and also notes it as vertical bowtie.

Typed hourglasses 4

  • (-_-) |><| A face that has been waiting a while. Plain ASCII
  • |>:<| The same, with sand in the neck. Plain ASCII
  • |><| An hourglass on its side: two ends and the pinch. Plain ASCII
  • |><| . . . An hourglass and three dots: still loading. Plain ASCII

Hourglass drawings 2

  • Hourglass, sand at the top Eight lines of ASCII
  • Hourglass, sand run through Eight lines of ASCII

Time sayings 9

  • Against the clock By Wiktionary: under a time limit, to meet a deadline. Person running, then hourglass not done, then dashing away.
  • Egg timer By Wiktionary: a small hourglass for timing a boiling egg. Egg, then hourglass not done.
  • In the nick of time By Wiktionary: at the last possible moment. Hourglass not done, then check mark button.
  • Patience is a virtue By Wiktionary: patience beats impatience. Person in lotus position, then hourglass not done.
  • Sands of time By Wiktionary: time thought of as a finite thing that slowly runs out like the sand of an hourglass. Desert, then hourglass not done.
  • Time flies By Wikipedia a winged hourglass has been used to picture the Latin tempus fugit, time flies. Hourglass not done, then wing.
  • Time is money By Wiktionary: time is precious and not to be wasted. Hourglass not done, then money bag.
  • Time will tell By Wiktionary: outcomes and events can't be known ahead. Hourglass not done, then crystal ball.
  • Time’s up By Wiktionary: the deadline is past; no time is left. Hourglass done, then stop sign.

Waiting lines 5

  • Almost there ⏳ For the final stretch
  • And that is time ⌛ For the end of a round
  • Good things take time ⏳ For work still in progress
  • Loading, please wait ⏳ For a status line
  • Time is running out ⏳ For the last days of a sale or a sign-up

Hourglass combos 11

  • Cake in the oven Cupcake, then hourglass not done.
  • Countdown to the weekend Hourglass not done, then party popper.
  • Done waiting Hourglass done, then check mark button.
  • Exam, pens down Memo, then hourglass done.
  • In the queue Person standing, twice, then hourglass not done.
  • Parcel on its way Package, then hourglass not done.
  • Slow morning Snail, then hourglass not done.
  • Turn it over Hourglass done, then counterclockwise arrows button.
  • Waiting for a reply Hourglass not done, then speech balloon.
  • Waiting for the kettle Hourglass not done, then teapot.
  • Your turn Game die, then hourglass not done.

How this list was compiled: Built on 2026-10-09 from sources read that day. The emoji, their names, code points and Emoji version numbers are from the Unicode emoji list, version 18.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/emoji/emoji-test.txt); names are the CLDR short names printed in that file. Search words are from the CLDR English annotations (https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/blob/main/common/annotations/en.xml and https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/blob/main/common/annotationsDerived/en.xml). Hourglass done is U+231B and Hourglass not done U+23F3, both Emoji 0.6, printed one after the other at the start of the subgroup time in the group Travel & Places: Luggage comes before them and Watch after. CLDR files those two, and no other emoji, under hourglass and under sand; with Timer clock they are the three under timer. Hourglass done is filed under time and done; Hourglass not done under flowing (alone), waiting, hours and done. Character names are from UnicodeData.txt, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/UnicodeData.txt): Hourglass, Hourglass with flowing sand, White hourglass (U+29D6) and Black hourglass (U+29D7) are the four characters named for one. Unicode’s note vertical bowtie on White hourglass and the block name Miscellaneous Mathematical Symbols-B are from NamesList.txt (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/NamesList.txt); U+231B dates from Unicode 1.1 and U+23F3 from 6.0 by DerivedAge.txt (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/DerivedAge.txt), and both have an emoji and a text style row in https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/emoji/emoji-variation-sequences.txt. The two Han characters are defined as in the Unihan database, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/Unihan.zip). The other names of an hourglass, its two bulbs and neck, its use to symbolize time passing and the winged hourglass are from Wikipedia, Hourglass (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hourglass, CC BY-SA 4.0). Code page 437, which the old Alt codes follow, has no hourglass (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_page_437). That some apps turn Alt and a decimal number from 256 to 65,535 into the Unicode character is from Wikipedia, Alt code (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt_code); 8987 is 231B and 9203 is 23F3 in decimal. The words and sayings are as Wiktionary defines them (CC BY-SA 4.0): the cursor sense of hourglass (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hourglass), the Norwegian timeglass (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/timeglass), sands of time (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sands_of_time), time’s up (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/time%27s_up), time is money (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/time_is_money), against the clock (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/against_the_clock), in the nick of time (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/in_the_nick_of_time), egg timer (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/egg_timer), patience is a virtue (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/patience_is_a_virtue) and time will tell (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/time_will_tell). The four typed hourglasses, the two drawings, the five lines and the eleven combos are this site’s own work. Licence: own work: the selection, the combo names, the text drawings and the notes are this site's own. Emoji names, code points and search words are Unicode and CLDR data, with definitions from the Unihan database, used under the Unicode License v3 (https://www.unicode.org/license.txt). Facts from Wikipedia and Wiktionary are restated in this site's own words and credited in the source line.

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