🥜
The Emoji
Peanuts
U+1F95C · :peanuts:
Trend 65
Meaning layers
- interpretation
- Used to call something or someone 'small,' 'irrelevant,' or 'broke.' Also used to refer to something tiny, a tiny salary, or dismissing someone as unimportant. Can mean 'peanut brain' or low intelligence.
- tiktok usage
- Often used in comments to mock low pay, small amounts of money, or to roast someone's tiny effort. 'They paid me 🥜 for that shift' is a common format.
- irony level
- 7 / 10
Platform meanings
- meaning
- Represents being underpaid, working for nothing, or something embarrassingly small in quantity or quality.
- trend usage
- Used in 'POV: your paycheck' videos, job rant content, and hustle culture critiques. Duet reactions to low salaries often feature 🥜.
- hashtags
- #WorkingForPeanuts#PeanutSalary#BreakingBroke#PeanutBudget#ThatPay
- virality score
- 62 / 100
Cultural meanings
🇺🇸
Western / Gen-Z
Predominantly used to signal being broke, underpaid, or dismissing something as worthless. A staple of wage-gap humor and anti-work sentiment online.
🇵🇰
Pakistan & India
Used literally for the beloved roasted peanut snack (moongphali), which is deeply embedded in street food culture. Also increasingly used in meme contexts to signal small earnings.
🌍
Middle East
Peanuts are a popular snack food; the emoji is used in food contexts and cooking discussions. Less commonly used in the 'broke' meme sense compared to Western platforms.
🌐
Global Neutral
Universally understood as representing the peanut food item. The metaphorical 'working for peanuts' meaning translates across most English-speaking internet communities.
🇧🇩
Bangladesh
Used mainly in food and agricultural contexts, as peanuts (চিনাবাদাম) are a common crop and snack. The Western meme usage is gaining traction among younger internet users.
🇱🇰
Sri Lanka
Peanuts are a widely consumed snack (kadala); the emoji appears in food and recipe content. Younger users are adopting its internet meme usage via TikTok and Instagram.
🇨🇳
China
Used primarily for food-related content, as peanuts (花生) are central to Chinese cuisine. Also carries a playful association with small things; the 'broke' meme usage is present on platforms like Weibo.
🇯🇵
Japan
Used in food contexts, particularly in recipes and snack content. The playful 'small/cheap' connotation is understood online but less dominant than the literal food meaning.
🇰🇷
South Korea
Peanuts are popular in Korean snack culture; the emoji is used in food content. Younger Koreans on platforms like Twitter use it in the 'broke/underpaid' meme context.
🇹🇼
Taiwan
Used in food and agricultural contexts. The metaphorical usage around small earnings is understood by younger, Western-internet-connected users.
🇭🇰
Hong Kong
Used in food discussions and increasingly in meme culture to signal low pay or small effort, especially among bilingual internet users.
🇵🇭
Philippines
Peanuts are a beloved Filipino snack (mani); the emoji is warmly used in food content. The 'working for peanuts' meme usage is widely understood among Filipino Gen Z.
🇮🇩
Indonesia
Used in food contexts (kacang) and increasingly in meme culture. Popular in TikTok and Twitter content about low wages and hustle culture.
🇹🇭
Thailand
Peanuts are integral to Thai cuisine (ถั่วลิสง). The emoji is used in food content and cooking tutorials, with meme usage growing among younger users.
🇻🇳
Vietnam
Peanuts (đậu phộng) are a staple ingredient in Vietnamese cooking. The emoji appears in recipe content; the wage-humor usage is gaining traction with Gen Z on TikTok.
🇲🇾
Malaysia
Used in food culture contexts (kacang). Both the literal snack meaning and the 'small salary' meme usage are well understood, especially in English-speaking online spaces.
🇸🇦
Saudi Arabia
Used in food and snack contexts. The metaphorical 'working for peanuts' usage is less common but understood among Saudi youth active on Western platforms.
🇦🇪
UAE
Used in diverse food content given the UAE's multicultural population. The meme usage about low salaries resonates particularly among expat communities on social media.
🇪🇬
Egypt
Peanuts (فول سوداني) are a common street snack. The emoji is used in food contexts; younger Egyptians use the 'broke' meme usage on Twitter and TikTok.
🇹🇷
Turkey
Peanuts (fıstık) are popular in Turkish snack culture. The emoji appears in food content and is increasingly used by younger Turks to signal small amounts of money.
🇮🇷
Iran
Peanuts are a popular snack (بادام زمینی). The emoji is used in food and recipe content; meme usage around small earnings is understood by younger, internet-savvy Iranians.
🇳🇬
Nigeria
Peanuts (groundnuts) are a core part of Nigerian cuisine and culture. The emoji is used warmly in food contexts and is widely understood in its meme 'broke' usage among Nigerian Twitter.
🇿🇦
South Africa
Peanuts are a common snack; the emoji is used in food content. The 'working for peanuts' expression and its emoji equivalent are well understood in South African English online spaces.
🇬🇧
UK & Ireland
The phrase 'working for peanuts' is a well-established British English idiom, making the emoji's meme usage very natural. Used in food content and wage-debate discourse equally.
🇫🇷
France
Peanuts (cacahuètes) are popular in French snack culture. The emoji is used in food contexts; the 'small/cheap' meme usage is understood among younger French internet users.
🇩🇪
Germany
Peanuts (Erdnüsse) are a popular snack. The emoji is used in food content; the expression 'für einen Apfel und ein Ei' (for peanuts) maps well to the meme usage, which is understood online.
🇪🇸
Spain & Italy
Peanuts are common snack foods in both cultures. The emoji is used primarily in food contexts, with the meme usage about low pay growing in popularity among Gen Z.
🇧🇷
Brazil
Peanuts (amendoim) are iconic in Brazilian culture, especially at Festa Junina celebrations. The emoji is used warmly in food/cultural contexts and increasingly in 'salário de amendoim' meme discourse.
🇲🇽
Mexico
Cacahuates are a beloved Mexican snack and street food staple. The emoji is used enthusiastically in food content, and the 'paid in peanuts' humor resonates strongly with younger Mexican internet users.
🌎
Latin America
Peanuts are culturally significant across Latin America as a food crop and popular snack. The emoji is used widely in food content and increasingly in humor about economic hardship.
🇦🇺
Australia & NZ
Peanuts and peanut butter are popular staples. The emoji is used in food content and in the meme context of being underpaid, with 'working for peanuts' being a well-understood idiom.
How its meaning shifted
- 2010
Peanut emojis didn't exist yet (pre-Unicode 9.0). The concept was represented with text like '(peanut)' or food emojis as substitutes. The phrase 'working for peanuts' was text-only.
- 2015
Still pre-peanut emoji. Users relied on 🌰 (chestnut) or generic food emojis as the closest substitute. The metaphorical 'peanuts = tiny money' meaning existed only in text form.
- 2020
By 2020, the 🥜 emoji had been adopted into mainstream wage-meme culture. The 'working for peanuts' format was well-established on Twitter and TikTok, aligned with the surge in anti-work and labor discourse.
- 2026
Fully entrenched as a symbol of underpayment and dismissal in internet culture. Used across all major platforms with universal Gen Z recognition. Its literal food meaning coexists with its ironic economic commentary meaning.
See it on every platform
Compare with
Emoji combinations
Adjacent emojis
- Opposite
- money with wingsgem stonetrophy
- Often confused with
- chestnutear of cornfallen leaf
Share & embed
Frequently asked
01What does the 🥜 Peanuts emoji mean?
Depicts two peanuts (groundnuts) in their shell, typically shown as a beige/brown legume pod. Represents the peanut food item, peanut butter, snacks, or small/cheap things.
02What does 🥜 mean on TikTok?
Represents being underpaid, working for nothing, or something embarrassingly small in quantity or quality.
03What does 🥜 mean on WhatsApp?
Shorthand for 'this is nothing' or 'I got paid very little.' Also used literally in food-related conversations.
04What does 🥜 mean in Gen-Z slang?
Used to call something or someone 'small,' 'irrelevant,' or 'broke.' Also used to refer to something tiny, a tiny salary, or dismissing someone as unimportant. Can mean 'peanut brain' or low intelligence.
05Is the 🥜 emoji safe to use?
A fun, harmless food emoji representing peanuts, peanut butter, snacking, and humble/small things. Widely used in food content and gentle humor.
06What does 🥜 mean in texting?
The peanut emoji triggers associations with smallness and insignificance, often deployed when someone feels underpaid, overlooked, or undervalued, serving as a self-deprecating or dismissive emotional outlet.
07What is the shortcode for 🥜?
The shortcode for Peanuts is :peanuts:
08What does 🥜 mean in dating?
Rarely used as a direct flirt tool; occasionally used humorously to say 'you mean the world to me, even if I'm just a little peanut.' Can be used endearingly for a cute, small partner.
Safety & usage
- Safe meaning
- A fun, harmless food emoji representing peanuts, peanut butter, snacking, and humble/small things. Widely used in food content and gentle humor.
- Caution
- Can be used dismissively to demean someone's work, salary, or worth. In rare cases, weaponized in online harassment to belittle someone's achievements or livelihood.
Peanut allergies are a serious health concern; using this emoji flippantly in contexts involving food allergies could be insensitive. Otherwise, no significant safety concerns. Not used as a coded hate symbol.
How it looks across platforms
Appearance varies by platform and device. Google Noto, Twemoji, and OpenMoji are open-source.