非礼勿言

The speak no evil monkey, called Iwazaru (Japanese for “say not”), one of the Three Wise Monkeys. Depicted as the brown 🐵 Monkey Face with hands covering its mouth.

The Three Wise Monkeys represent the proverb see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, frequently interpreted as a call for discretion or willful ignorance.

Often used as a playful way to convey I can’t believe what I just said!, express a mischievous Oops!, or communicate a secret-keeping I won’t say a word. May be used to similar effect as 🤭 Face With Hand Over Mouth or 🤐 Zipper Mouth.

See also 🙈 See-No-Evil Monkey and 🙉 Hear-No-Evil Monkey.

This emoji is considered racist in some contexts, particularly when used to disparage, insult, and abuse people with dark skin, especially Black people.