Backhand index pointing right, U+1F449, leads the other five fingers: left, up, down, up again and straight at the reader. Around them are directing hands, arrows, printer's hands like โ and 12 combos: 53 ways to point.
Read the full guide
Pointing emoji copy and paste, in any direction
Search reads Unicode names and CLDR search words, so viewer finds the finger aimed at the reader and shoo finds Palm down hand. Pick a skin tone once and all six fingers follow it, along with every hand in the combos.
Old hands and new ones
Five of the six fingers date from Emoji 0.6. Index pointing at the viewer came with Emoji 14.0. The two thumb signs are new in Emoji 18.0: a device shows an empty box until its maker adds the drawing. โ and โ are plain text characters from Unicode 1.1, not emoji. The five older fingers have a plain text form too: press Text style under More options.
Tips
Of the six fingers, only Index pointing up gets the word this from CLDR. It suits a point you are making, not only a direction.
Fingertips together is two sideways fingers, tip to tip: Internet slang for shyness, nervousness or hesitation, by Wiktionary. It may not read as over here.
There is no diagonal finger. To point at a corner, take Up-right arrow or one of its three relatives.
Questions and answers
Why is the pointing finger called white?
Its formal Unicode name is White right pointing backhand index. Wikipedia's manicule article notes that in Unicode names white means outlined and black means solid; neither describes skin. The name dates from Unicode 6.0, skin tone modifiers from 8.0, and Unicode's stability policy forbids renaming.
What is โ called?
A manicule, from the Latin for little hand. Printers called it a fist. Wikipedia gives Domesday Book of 1086 as the oldest book known to contain one, though that hand's age is unknown. Of Unicode's six, only the one pointing up is an emoji.
Where is the middle finger?
Left out on purpose. Unicode's emoji list has seven single-finger hands, and this page carries the six that CLDR files under pointing. The seventh points at nothing. Rightwards thumb sign and Leftwards thumb sign are here instead: CLDR files both under point.
๐Backhand index pointing downU+1F447. Points at whatever comes next: the link, the caption, the rest of the thread. Emoji 0.6.
๐Backhand index pointing leftU+1F448. The mirror image. Unicode cross-references it with the older pointing index at U+261C and with Leftwards hand. Set it after the right-pointing one and the fingertips meet. Emoji 0.6.
๐Backhand index pointing rightU+1F449. Formally White right pointing backhand index, where white is Unicode for drawn in outline and says nothing about skin. CLDR lists point and pointing. Five skin tones, and a plain text form. Emoji 0.6.
๐Backhand index pointing upU+1F446. Backhand means you see the back of the hand. In a thread it points at the message above and saves typing the word this. Emoji 0.6.
๐ซตIndex pointing at the viewerU+1FAF5. The newest of the six, and the only one aimed out of the screen. CLDR lists pointing, poke, viewer and you, and leaves out point. Wiktionary glosses it as Internet slang for you. No plain text form. Emoji 14.0.
โ๏ธIndex pointing upU+261D U+FE0F. The oldest of the six: U+261D has been in Unicode since version 1.1, one of six printer's pointing hands at U+261A to U+261F and the only one that became an emoji. CLDR adds the word this. Emoji 0.6.
Show all 53 ways to point (47 more)
Also filed under point 4
๐ชHookU+1FA9D. A hook has a point, and CLDR noticed. Its other words are catch, crook and curve. Emoji 13.0.
๐ฏHundred pointsU+1F4AF. The other kind of point. CLDR files it under point all the same, next to agree, perfect and score. Emoji 0.6.
๐ซนLeftwards thumb signU+1FAF9. The same thumb, aimed left. Just as new, with the same empty box until the drawing arrives. It takes five skin tones where it shows at all. Emoji 18.0.
๐ซบRightwards thumb signU+1FAFA. A closed hand with the thumb out sideways. CLDR lists point, this and that. New in Emoji 18.0: a device shows an empty box until its maker adds the drawing. Emoji 18.0.
Hands that direct without a finger 8
๐EyesU+1F440. Pointing with no hands at all. CLDR lists look, looking and see. Emoji 0.6.
๐ซฒLeftwards handU+1FAF2. The left-hand half of the pair. Put Rightwards hand before it and the two look about to shake. Emoji 14.0.
๐ซทLeftwards pushing handU+1FAF7. The matching hand. CLDR also lists high and five, which needs one of each. Emoji 15.0.
๐ซณPalm down handU+1FAF3. Points at the floor with a whole hand. CLDR lists drop, dismiss and shoo. Emoji 14.0.
๐ซดPalm up handU+1FAF4. The presenter's hand, for showing rather than pointing. CLDR lists beckon, come and offer. Emoji 14.0.
๐Person raising handU+1F64B. Pointing at yourself, with the whole arm. CLDR lists here, me and pick. Emoji 0.6.
๐ซฑRightwards handU+1FAF1. An open hand reaching right, with no finger singled out. Unicode cross-references it with the right-pointing backhand index. CLDR lists reach, hold and shake. Emoji 14.0.
๐ซธRightwards pushing handU+1FAF8. Less over there, more stay there. CLDR lists stop, wait, halt and refuse. Emoji 15.0.
Arrows, for pointing with no hand at all 8
โฌ๏ธDown arrowU+2B07 U+FE0F. CLDR lists down and south. It does the same job as the downward finger, with less personality. Emoji 0.6.
โ๏ธDown-left arrowU+2199 U+FE0F. South west. CLDR lists direction and intercardinal. Emoji 0.6.
โ๏ธDown-right arrowU+2198 U+FE0F. South east, formally. There is no diagonal pointing finger, so this is the only way to point at a corner. Emoji 0.6.
โฌ ๏ธLeft arrowU+2B05 U+FE0F. U+2B05, first of the three neighbours. CLDR lists left, west and cardinal. Emoji 0.6.
โก๏ธRight arrowU+27A1 U+FE0F. Formally Black rightwards arrow, from the Dingbats block. The other three main arrows live in a different block, Miscellaneous Symbols and Arrows. It has a plain text form. Emoji 0.6.
โฌ๏ธUp arrowU+2B06 U+FE0F. CLDR lists up and north. Like all eight arrows here, it has a plain text form. Emoji 0.6.
โ๏ธUp-left arrowU+2196 U+FE0F. North west, formally. CLDR lists northwest and up-left. Emoji 0.6.
โ๏ธUp-right arrowU+2197 U+FE0F. Formally North east arrow. CLDR calls the diagonals intercardinal. Emoji 0.6.
Pointers in plain text 15
(โ๏พใฎ๏พ)โTwo pointing hands and a grin: do it
->Hyphen, greater-than: the arrow on every keyboard
<-Less-than, hyphen: pointing back
^^^Three carets: what the message above said
โLeftwards arrow, U+2190
โUpwards arrow, U+2191
โRightwards arrow: plain text, never an emoji
โDownwards arrow, U+2193
โBlack left pointing index, U+261A
โBlack right pointing index: black means filled in
โWhite left pointing index, U+261C
โ(๏พใฎ๏พโ)The same face, pointing left
โWhite right pointing index: the printer's fist, or manicule
โWhite down pointing index, U+261F
โคBlack rightwards arrowhead: a bullet that points
Pointing at something 12
๐๐๐๐All four waysBackhand index pointing up, then backhand index pointing down, then backhand index pointing left, then backhand index pointing right. Up, down, left, right. All four hands follow the skin tone.
๐ฅบ๐๐Fingertips and big eyesPleading face, then backhand index pointing right, then backhand index pointing left. The same two fingers behind a pleading face, for a favour you are about to ask.
๐๐Fingertips togetherBackhand index pointing right, then backhand index pointing left. Wiktionary files the pair as Internet slang for shyness, nervousness or hesitation. Both hands follow the skin tone.
๐๐๐Link, both sidesBackhand index pointing right, then link, then backhand index pointing left. A link with a hand on each side, in case one was not enough.
๐๐Look over thereEyes, then backhand index pointing right. CLDR files the eyes under look. The finger says where.
โ๏ธ๐ฅNumber oneIndex pointing up, then 1st place medal. The foam finger, without the foam.
โ๏ธโณOne momentIndex pointing up, then hourglass not done. The raised finger that means hold on, with the reason beside it.
๐๐๐Pun deliveredSmiling face with sunglasses, then backhand index pointing right 2 times. Sunglasses and two points, which is how a pun is signed off.
๐๐๐Read onBackhand index pointing down 3 times. For the line above a link, a thread or a caption.
๐๐What they saidBackhand index pointing up 2 times. Agreement with the message above, in two characters.
๐๐Who, meSmiling face with halo, then backhand index pointing left. The finger turned on its owner, with a halo for the defence.
๐ซต๐You are itIndex pointing at the viewer, then person running. Tag, played by text. Both the finger and the runner follow the skin tone.
How this list was compiled: Built by script on 2026-09-19, not typed by hand. Names, code points, skin tone sequences and Emoji version numbers come from Unicode's emoji-test.txt, version 18.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/emoji/emoji-test.txt); item names are the CLDR short names in sentence case. The first group follows a stated rule: every emoji whose search words in the CLDR English annotations (https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/blob/main/common/annotations/en.xml, main branch) include pointing, which is six; they are also the whole hand-single-finger subgroup of emoji-test.txt apart from Middle finger, which is left out on purpose. The second group is the other four emoji CLDR files under point. The words quoted in the notes are CLDR's, and each only-one claim was checked by the script against the whole file. Formal character names come from UnicodeData.txt, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/UnicodeData.txt); the age of U+261A to U+261F and of the plain arrows (Unicode 1.1) and of the two thumb signs (18.0) comes from DerivedAge.txt (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/DerivedAge.txt); block names come from Blocks.txt (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/Blocks.txt); the alias fist for U+261E and the cross-references from the backhand fingers to the older pointing indexes and to Rightwards and Leftwards hand come from NamesList.txt (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/NamesList.txt). That a character name never changes is the Name Stability rule of the Unicode Character Encoding Stability Policies (https://www.unicode.org/policies/stability_policy.html); DerivedAge.txt also dates the backhand fingers to Unicode 6.0 and the skin tone modifiers to 8.0. Text forms come from emoji-variation-sequences.txt, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/emoji/emoji-variation-sequences.txt), which lists the five older fingers and none for U+1FAF5 or the thumb signs. The manicule's names, its Latin root, the meaning of black and white in Unicode names and the Domesday Book note in the page copy are from Wikipedia's article Manicule (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manicule); the two do-it faces are rows of its List of emoticons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emoticons), read from the wikitext and not retyped. The meaning of the two fingers set tip to tip (shyness, nervousness or hesitation), the list-marker and see senses of the printed hand and the you sense of the viewer finger are from Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%F0%9F%91%89%F0%9F%91%88, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E2%98%9E, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%F0%9F%AB%B5). The plain arrows and pointing hands of the text group are built from code points whose names the script checks, and none of them is an emoji. The 12 combos and their names are this site's own; nobody has standardised them. All sources were checked on 2026-09-19. Fixer pass, 2026-09-20: in the second group Hundred points and Hook now come before the two thumb signs, which are new in Emoji 18.0. On that day Unicode's page for version 18.0 was still marked a preliminary draft (https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode18.0.0/), so the notes say only that a device shows an empty box until its maker adds the drawing. Licence: own work (the selection, the combo names and the wording are ours; emoji names, sequences and search words come from Unicode's data files and CLDR, under the Unicode License v3; facts from Wikipedia and Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0, restated in our own words and credited in source)