Crying Wojak

2014reaction imageclassic

Crying Wojak is a variation of the Wojak face drawn with clenched teeth, red eyes, and blue tears streaming down. It came out of a 2014 4chan comic and became a go-to reaction image on 4chan and later Reddit for mocking anyone the poster thought was overreacting.

wojakreaction memes4chan memesfrustration memesms paint memes

Overview

Crying Wojak, also called Frustrated Wojak or Angry Crying Wojak, is an edit of the bald Wojak character where he is drawn mid-sob with teeth bared, a furrowed brow, and blue tears running down his cheeks1. The original neutral Wojak face gets a grimacing mouth, extra frown lines, reddened eyes, and streams of tears and snot pouring from his nose1. People post it to mock someone they think is getting too upset over politics, fandoms, or life in general, and to hold up a calm counterpart as the ideal1.

The drawing keeps the same crude MS Paint look as the rest of the Wojak family, which is part of why it reads so quickly at thumbnail size3. Because the base face is so recognizable, artists have taken the crying edit and layered it onto every Wojak subtype, giving each one its own tearful version4. That flexibility is a big reason Crying Wojak turned into a template rather than a one-off image.

How It Spread

The Frustrated Wojak spread through 4chan's boards captioned with the screamed line 'IT'S NOT FAAAAAIIIIIIR,' aimed at anyone the poster thought was whining. One of its earliest recurring uses paired it with Smug Pepe in fan drawings known as Pepe x Wojak, with the smug frog cast as the winner and the tearful Wojak as the defeated foil. The pairing really picked up steam around 2016, often tied to Donald Trump content and that year's US election cycle.

From 4chan the crying face traveled to Reddit, Twitter, and general meme sites as a reaction image. Because the crying edit could be dropped onto any Wojak subtype, the format multiplied fast: NPC Wojak, Soyjak, Chudjak, Poljak, and Zoomer Wojak all picked up their own crying versions. The Crying Soyjak in particular was one of the main exploitables on 4chan's /qa/ board.

A related variation called the Crying Wojak Mask appeared around 2016, showing the sad Wojak wearing a smiling or Chad-face mask over his tears, and it took hold in posts about mental health and pretending to be fine online. In late 2019, the Crying Wojak vs. Chad two-panel template appeared, pitting a tearful Wojak against a confident Chad to poke at insecurity and masculinity.

How to Use This Meme

Users typically drop the Crying Wojak face into a single or two-panel image to react to a situation the poster thinks is being blown out of proportion. A common convention is captioning the face with a first-person complaint the poster is mocking, so the reader understands the 'crying' person is the target of the joke rather than the poster. Another common setup pairs Crying Wojak with a calm counterpart, often Smug Pepe or a Chad Wojak, to stage a defeat-versus-confidence contrast. Anyone editing their own version usually keeps the blue tears, red eyes, and clenched teeth as the anchor features, then swaps in different hair, glasses, or a mask to signal a specific group being mocked.

Cultural Impact

The Wojak family, Crying Wojak included, hit mainstream awareness through explainer coverage aimed at people outside 4chan. Lifehacker ran an 'Out of Touch Adults' Guide' describing the crying variant as 'a wojak in tears' who 'represents someone who isn't getting their way,' pitched at parents trying to keep up with kid internet culture. The Daily Dot cataloged it as one of the core Wojak types worth documenting alongside NPC, Doomer, and Chad.

Frequently Asked Questions

Crying Wojak

2014reaction imageclassic

Crying Wojak is a variation of the Wojak face drawn with clenched teeth, red eyes, and blue tears streaming down. It came out of a 2014 4chan comic and became a go-to reaction image on 4chan and later Reddit for mocking anyone the poster thought was overreacting.

wojak reaction memes 4chan memes frustration memes ms paint memes

Overview

Crying Wojak, also called Frustrated Wojak or Angry Crying Wojak, is an edit of the bald Wojak character where he is drawn mid-sob with teeth bared, a furrowed brow, and blue tears running down his cheeks. The original neutral Wojak face gets a grimacing mouth, extra frown lines, reddened eyes, and streams of tears and snot pouring from his nose. People post it to mock someone they think is getting too upset over politics, fandoms, or life in general, and to hold up a calm counterpart as the ideal.

The drawing keeps the same crude MS Paint look as the rest of the Wojak family, which is part of why it reads so quickly at thumbnail size. Because the base face is so recognizable, artists have taken the crying edit and layered it onto every Wojak subtype, giving each one its own tearful version. That flexibility is a big reason Crying Wojak turned into a template rather than a one-off image.

How It Spread

The Frustrated Wojak spread through 4chan's boards captioned with the screamed line 'IT'S NOT FAAAAAIIIIIIR,' aimed at anyone the poster thought was whining. One of its earliest recurring uses paired it with Smug Pepe in fan drawings known as Pepe x Wojak, with the smug frog cast as the winner and the tearful Wojak as the defeated foil. The pairing really picked up steam around 2016, often tied to Donald Trump content and that year's US election cycle.

From 4chan the crying face traveled to Reddit, Twitter, and general meme sites as a reaction image. Because the crying edit could be dropped onto any Wojak subtype, the format multiplied fast: NPC Wojak, Soyjak, Chudjak, Poljak, and Zoomer Wojak all picked up their own crying versions. The Crying Soyjak in particular was one of the main exploitables on 4chan's /qa/ board.

A related variation called the Crying Wojak Mask appeared around 2016, showing the sad Wojak wearing a smiling or Chad-face mask over his tears, and it took hold in posts about mental health and pretending to be fine online. In late 2019, the Crying Wojak vs. Chad two-panel template appeared, pitting a tearful Wojak against a confident Chad to poke at insecurity and masculinity.

How to Use This Meme

Users typically drop the Crying Wojak face into a single or two-panel image to react to a situation the poster thinks is being blown out of proportion. A common convention is captioning the face with a first-person complaint the poster is mocking, so the reader understands the 'crying' person is the target of the joke rather than the poster. Another common setup pairs Crying Wojak with a calm counterpart, often Smug Pepe or a Chad Wojak, to stage a defeat-versus-confidence contrast. Anyone editing their own version usually keeps the blue tears, red eyes, and clenched teeth as the anchor features, then swaps in different hair, glasses, or a mask to signal a specific group being mocked.

Cultural Impact

The Wojak family, Crying Wojak included, hit mainstream awareness through explainer coverage aimed at people outside 4chan. Lifehacker ran an 'Out of Touch Adults' Guide' describing the crying variant as 'a wojak in tears' who 'represents someone who isn't getting their way,' pitched at parents trying to keep up with kid internet culture. The Daily Dot cataloged it as one of the core Wojak types worth documenting alongside NPC, Doomer, and Chad.

Frequently Asked Questions