Celebrate With Our πŸ™ High Five Emoji List πŸ™Œ

Written by: Ortega
Modified: Nov 27, 2022

Today’s world is undeniably digital. New technologies, ranging from social media to artificial intelligence, make the planet we inhabit unrecognizable from even 20 years ago. As this goes on, building real relationships in the virtual world is now more important than ever. Be that as it may, it’s something easy to say but hard to do. It’s more difficult to connect on a human level with people when they exist in two dimensions on your mobile device or computer screen. But it’s not impossible! There are ways to make it better. For instance, positive emojis like a high five emoji can instantly uplift the tone of any digital message.

Happy Indian man doing the high five gesture in front of his laptop

Photo from Adobe Stock

 

Build Relationships Through High Five Emojis

The most popular 🙏 High Five emoji, sometimes called the 🙏 Praying Hands emoji, isn’t the only one you can use. There are other empowering and encouraging emojis that do the same thing. After all, it’s in their nature! They were originally created as a symbolic representation of human emotions. In other words, they bring “the feels” to the virtual world!

Some are made with the intention of displaying how happy you are, while others are designed to demonstrate your surprise at something or your desire to do something different. Most of the time, you will see that every situation that requires emoji will have an emotion behind it.

Therefore, if you would like to build genuine, meaningful relationships with important people online, adding appreciation emojis to messages would make any individual feel happy and valued. And there are so many of them to choose from, which means

To get things off to a nice start, let’s begin with the popular high five emoji and its origin. Then, we’ll move on to other often-used emojis that have the same high-five representation.

 

Folded Hands Emoji As The High Five Emoji

Everyone, from children to adults, has heard of the high five. It is a hand gesture performed when two people raise one hand above their heads at the same time and then push, slide, or slap the flat of each other’s palms. When done, it inevitably brings a smile and something to celebrate if only for a second. No matter who you are, no matter what country you’re from, it means the same thing.

When two people do the high five, they create a moment where, even if they have nothing in common, they can, for a moment, share the same space and revel in it. It always brings a smile and something to celebrate, even if only for a split second.

Apple version of the High Five emoji

The 🙏 Folded Hands emoji shows the same action of the flat of one palm against the flat portion of another palm. This high five emoji appears in various skin tone variants: 🙏🏻 Light Skin Tone Folded Hands emoji, 🙏🏼 Medium-Light Skin Tone Folded Hands emoji, 🙏🏽 Medium Skin Tone Folded Hands emoji, 🙏🏾 Medium-Dark Skin Tone Folded Hands emoji, and 🙏🏿 Dark Skin Tone Folded Hands emoji. It’s used the same way the high five action is done online, as a gesture of welcome or agreement amongst close friends.

The Origin Story Of The High Five Emoji

Unlike most of the other emojis, the high five emoji came about through secondary usage. Due to the complexity of human expressions, emoji meanings evolve, and stay that way. This is what happened to the high five emoji.

High Five emoji meme

Photo from Know Your Meme

A few years back, a viral meme suggested that the praying hands emoji is definitely a “high five.” The origin of the meme is not clear, but it made the rounds on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Eventually, people began to use it in that way. The rest, as they say, is history.

Used the high five symbol one too many times? In search of more variety? Here are 15 other hand gesture emojis to represent the same high five action.

 

Waving Hand Emoji 

Waving Hand Emoji, Hand Wave Emoji

Use the 👋 Waving Hand emoji to greet someone in a cute, friendly, and casual way! This emoji shows a human hand in a waving motion. Two little motion lines, to the left and right side of the hand, represent the action of waving. The waving hand emoji signifies greeting someone, think of it as an online version of “hi,” “what’s up,” or “long time, no see!” It is similar to the high five emoji in a certain way. Like the high five emoji, the waving hand emoji is an introductory greeting that conveys a warm and positive tone.

Use the waving hand as a high five, if you like! After all, it can act as a cute high five with a little wave.

 

Raised Hand Emoji 

Raised Hand Emoji

One should be extra careful when using the ✋ Raised Hand emoji, in view of the fact, out of all the body emojis, this emoji is one of the most meanings. You never want to be misinterpreted for your actions. In order to avoid confusion, the raised hand emoji should be used the same way we raise our hands in real life.

For instance, we raise our hand when we want to high-five someone. This makes it a good alternative to the high five emoji. If you see someone you know online, you can send the raised hand emoji and when they raise their hand back, it’s as if you are high-fiving each other.

The same gesture can be applied if you agree or stand by someone’s opinion posted on social media. When that happens, you may use the raised hand emoji as a reaction to that particular post. Moreover, if your friends are taking a vote on something very important and you like the plan, you may use the raised hand emoji as well, as a way of saying you’re showing your support. Finally, this raised hand may also mean “Stop” in some context. So always make sure you make yourself clear when using this emoji!

 

Raised Back Hand Emoji 

Raised Back Of Hand Emoji

Sending the same high five emoji can get boring after a while. Soon, the one you’re sending the high five to, might even begin to get tired of you! This is where you got to be a little creative. Why not add some attitude into the conversation by making your own high five emoji combo?

Add the ✋ Raised Hand emoji and the 🤚 Raised Back Hand emoji to create a new high five gesture. To make your post more realistic, you can even pick the best skin tone modifier for your emoji as the raised back hand emoji comes in five choices of skin tone as well.

If you’re planning to do this, you need to be clear with your intention though. In the traditional sense, the raised back hand is used to substitute the phrase “talk to the hand,” or “whatever.” In other words, it is not the friendliest of emojis. But that does not mean it can’t be used in a fresh and new way! Your out-of-the-box execution might even impress the person you’re speaking with.

 

Hand With Fingers Splayed Emoji

Hand with Fingers Splayed Emoji, Mic Drop Emoji

A picture of a raised hand with five fingers spread apart, the 🖐️ Hand with Fingers Splayed emoji is often used to say “hi,” or “hello” minus the waving. It’s similar in design to the raised hand emoji. What makes it different, though, are the distances between the fingers. This feature makes the emoji seem friendlier.

With that in mind, it’s not at all surprising then, that the hands with fingers splayed emoji is also used by netizens to send a high five to friends and family. In group chats, it can be used to say “I’m present,” or “I’m in here,” too.

 

Vulcan Hand Salute Emoji

Vulcan Salute Emoji, Vulcan Salute Apple version

This one is for the Trekkies, and by that we mean the Star Trek fans! When the 🖖 Vulcan Salute emoji appeared on emoji keyboards, fans of the popular show couldn’t be happier. Any Trekkie worth their salt knows that the Vulcan Salute serves as the main greeting between Vulcans (an alien race) in the show. The gesture has become so popular Star Trek fans now use it as a standard greeting.

Online, fans of the show followed suit and eventually made the Vulcan Salute emoji their own personal high five emoji. Like the high-five, it signifies the act of wishing well for others. When friends share great news, send the emoji to show you’re wishing them all the best.

If you’ve got a new friend, potential client, or business partner who is a Star Trek fan, why not send the emoji to make a connection with them? For a more personal touch, choose the skin tone variant closest to you, and to the person you’re talking to. Before you go ahead and do it, you’ll need to brush up on your Star Trek knowledge too, or you might look like a poser!

 

Man Raising Hand Emoji

Man Raising Hand emoji, Apple version of the Man Raising Hand emoji

Need a breather from all the hand emojis? Why not mix up your usual high fives by sending a people emoji or two? There are two distinct emojis that fit this, the 🙋‍♂️ Man Raising Hand emoji and 🙋‍♀️ Woman Raising Hand emoji. The first features a man with hair parted to one side and a smile on his face. He is raising his right hand upwards as if to give someone a high five! Not too sweet or too formal, the man with raising hand emoji works best with friends and in informal chats.

If someone in your favorite group chat states something you completely agree with, send the emoji to show you are high-fiving him or her, and agreeing with him or her. Design-wise, like all other body gesture emojis, the man with the raising hand emoji appears in five skin tone variations available on multiple devices, apps, and platforms.

 

Woman Raising Hand Emoji

Woman Raising Hand emoji, Apple version of the Woman Raising Hand emoji

Women, don’t be afraid to show love and support! Use the 🙋‍♀️ Woman Raising Hand emoji to send someone a nice high five! The emoji, which is basically a female version of the Person Raising Hand emoji, shows a woman with her hand in the air. She has neck-length hair and a smile on her face.

Most women use this emoji as a gesture of support and excitement. It conveys a friendly and welcoming atmosphere online. This explains why it’s used in much the same way as the standard high five emoji. In addition, high fives are done to establish a greeting or agreement at a statement that was said. Because the woman raising hand symbol looks like it’s waiting on the receiving end of a high five, it becomes attached to the meaning.

 

Raising Hands Emoji

Raising Hands Emoji, Hands Up Emoji, Apple version of the Raising Hands Emoji,

Why high five with only one hand when you can use both? You can definitely do that with the 🙌 Raising Hands emoji! This emoji, featuring two hands held up in the air, can be used as a double whammy high five emoji. So, instead of giving them five, you’re giving them 10! The hands even have motion lines in between them to represent movement.

When it’s used as a high five emoji (times two), it has the same meaning as the high five emoji, to show support, and as a sign of celebration or success. It is also known as the “yay or yes emoji” because one of the most common phrases uttered when throwing one’s hands in the air is either a “yay” or a “yes.”

 

Open Hands Emoji 

Open Hands Emoji

Imagine hugging and high-fiving someone at the same time… use the 👐 Open Hands emoji! This emoji features two open human hands, palms facing forward and placed side by side. Five skin tone options are available for this particular hand gesture emoji.

Due to its simple details, the emoji depicts different meanings when used. At first glance, it looks like a double high five emoji done at a particular angle. Sometimes it’s used to symbolize hugs, which makes it similar to the 🤗 Hugging Face emoji. If your friend told you something fantastic and you’re extremely delighted for them, slide in the open hands emoji at the end of your message. Additionally, if you’re deepening ties with particular people, the open hands emoji can be used to demonstrate honesty, transparency, and openness.

 

Palms Up Together Emoji 

Palms Up Together Emoji, Palms Up Emoji

The 🤲 Palms Up Together emoji shows two open palms, cupped together. Some netizens compare it to a low-key version of the high five emoji because of the way the hands are placed. If you’d like to quietly and subtly high-five someone, you can definitely send this. It’s as if the hands are validating the person they’re talking to, showing support, and asking for help at the same time. Expect to see this emoji in personal conversations, sales pitches, and online campaigns that have donation drives or charity events. The palms up emoji is available in five different skin tone variants across almost every platform.

 

Oncoming Fist Emoji

Apple version of the Oncoming Fist emoji

Get ready to give your pal a fist bump with the 👊 Oncoming Fist emoji! This emoji shows a hand clasp into a fist facing front. It is popularly depicted as the fist bump. Like the high five emoji, the fist bump is an informal type of greeting and a symbol of respect and approval. They are both commonly used in sports as a form of celebration, done at the beginning or end of a game. This gesture can be a form of saying hi, and is more hygienic than a high five or handshake.

The oncoming fist emoji is perfect to use as a greeting to your friends and family members who are far from reach, especially when one has achieved something good. The fist bump can also be used to spark motivation and tell someone to continue to fight and move forward. Most users pair it with either the 💯 Hundred Points emoji or 👍 Thumbs Up emoji in order to express success or achievement.

Alternatively, if you’re sitting next to your friend, try sending the 🤜 Right-Facing Fist emoji or the 🤛 Left-Facing Fist emoji as a more real-life high five!

 

Using Emojis As High-Fives

Cheerful siblings giving high five

Image from Adobe Stock

Emojis are honest expressions to help you connect with people. Using emojis in a casual or even in a business environment gives the person you’re talking to the impression that you are honest and approachable. In addition, gesturing with our hands comes naturally to us, be it the high five, or the fist bump. We have been using gestures like these since time began. When done right, they send positive messages and build strong relationships. Many people mistakenly believe that most emojis have only positive meanings behind them. In reality, there are more ways to use them and many connotations or interpretations behind them. Let’s be mindful when using them, and make it a rule of thumb to always use emojis in the right context.