What Does the 🦍 Gorilla Emoji Mean?

Co-authored by Dan Hickey

Last Updated: March 28, 2022

Curious about the 🦍 (gorilla) emoji? It looks like a simple gorilla, but this playful primate can mean different things depending on the context you find it in. Never fear—we’ve put together a thorough list of all the 🦍 (gorilla) emoji’s possible meanings and how to use them in your own messages and posts. If you’re ready to start monkeying around, read on!

Section 1 of 3:

🦍 (Gorilla) Emoji Meanings

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The 🦍 emoji is a symbol for the animal gorilla. It refers to a gorilla specifically, but can also be used to describe primates or African wildlife in general. In this context, the 🦍 emoji will usually be paired with a message or post about animals.^{[1]
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- “Let’s check out the new 🦍 enclosure at the zoo!”
- “Just got my proposal to study 🦍s in Cameroon approved!”
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A 🦍 emoji symbolizes strength and power. It might pop up when someone’s describing a really buff person or an amazing feat of strength. It can also describe a person with a tough-guy attitude who’s a little rough around the edges.^{[2]
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- “Did you see that guy lift a car with his bare hands!? 🦍”
- “No one’s gonna mess with you when Johnny’s around 🦍”
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The gorilla emoji also refers to someone unintelligent or ill-mannered. Chances are this is the meaning when someone’s complaining about another person’s behavior or bad decisions. It usually implies that someone prefers to use brute force or willpower to problem solve rather than come up with a thoughtful solution.^{[3]
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- “I can’t take him anywhere, he’s a total 🦍 lol”
- “Yeah, he’s always been more brawn than brains 🦍”
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The 🦍 emoji means "Apes together strong." This is a quote from the 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The quote was adopted on Reddit as a motto for ordinary people who band together to make money off the stock market. The 🦍 emoji can often be found in tweets and message boards about stocks and is a symbol of solidarity.^{[4]
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- “Time to buy some stocks 🦍”
- “Apes together strong! 🦍”

Section 2 of 3:

How to Use the 🦍 (Gorilla) Emoji

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Use 🦍 to talk about primates. Why spell out “gorilla” when you can insert a cute emoji instead? Use 🦍 to talk about gorillas, monkeys, the zoo, or wildlife.
- “My favorite animal is 🦍 hands down!”
- “Jackie took some awesome 🦍 pics on her zoo field trip yesterday”
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Use a 🦍 to tell someone about gorillas on the silver screen. There’s no shortage of gorilla-inspired movies and TV shows. Use the 🦍 emoji to let someone know you’re watching King Kong, Planet of the Apes, Mighty Joe Young, Tarzan, a nature documentary, or any other movie with notable gorillas!
- “Movie night? I haven’t seen Godzilla vs. Kong yet! 🦖🦍”
- “We just showed Billy Tarzan for the first time. His fav character is Terk the 🦍”
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Send a gorilla emoji to compliment someone’s strength or muscles. Congratulate someone on a new PR or an impressive power lift at the gym with the 🦍 emoji. You can even use it to give yourself a pat on the back, too.
- “Nice bench press! Beast mode activated 🦍”
- “Just did my heaviest squat ever! 🦵 🦍”
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Poke fun at someone’s unruly behavior with a 🦍 emoji. Playfully tell someone to put forward their best manners by comparing them to a rowdy animal or cracking a joke about how they’d fit right in at the zoo. Remember, emojis are meant to be lighthearted—if you need to have a serious chat with someone about their actions, a phone call or in-person talk is more appropriate.
- “Keep it down! You’re acting like a 🦍”
- “Whoa there, I thought we were going to dinner, not the zoo 🐻 🦍 🦙”

Section 3 of 3:

Other Primate Emojis

Need more variety in your monkey emojis? There’s a whole family of primates available to choose from! Use any of these emojis in conversations about primates, the zoo, wildlife, or just monkeying around:
- 🦧 = Orangutan
- 🐵 or 🐒 = Monkey
- 🙈 = See-No-Evil Monkey
- 🙉 = Hear-No-Evil Monkey
- 🙊 = Speak-No-Evil Monkey
- 🦁🐆🦓🦒🐘 = African Wildlife

Warnings

Images of gorillas, apes, or monkeys are historically racist when they’re used to disparage or insult Black and African people. Be cautious when you use the 🦍 (gorilla) emoji to avoid unintentionally offending someone.

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