Title: Hand Gestures That Are Rude in Other Countries | Reader's Digest
Headings: 10 Common Hand Gestures That Are Rude in Other Countries
10 Common Hand Gestures That Are Rude in Other Countries
Just as slang words, table manners, and other common customs vary greatly from nation to nation, so do rude gestures. Here are some surprising hand motions you'll want to be careful about making in certain countries.
Some handy precautions
Iran: Thumbs-up
United Kingdom: Backwards peace sign
Malaysia: Pointing with your index finger
Brazil: The “OK” sign
Italy and Spain: “Hang loose” (or the “rock on” sign)
Thailand: Touching someone’s head
India, many Middle Eastern countries: Using your left hand
Italy: The chin flick
Taiwan: Pointing at the moon
The Philippines: A beckoning motion
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Content: Touching someone’s head
In the United States, patting someone’s head (especially that of a baby or little kid) can be a sweet, loving gesture, and ruffling someone’s hair is a playful one (that perhaps could offend a particularly vain person). But in Thailand, it can be a serious offense, Nantes says. The head “is considered the most sacred part of the body,” she explains. So keep your hands away from others’ heads to avoid disrespecting or soiling this cleanliness. Likewise, the feet are considered the dirtiest part of the body, so “pointing with the toe of your foot is insulting in Thailand,” she adds, saying that this rule applies in some other southeastern Asian countries as well. India, many Middle Eastern countries: Using your left hand
While in the United States, you’ll find no shortage of lefty pride, southpaws will want to be careful about using their left hand as they normally would should they travel to India or the Middle East. Why? Well, because there, the right and the left hands have specifically designated tasks. “ The right hand…is used for eating, passing money, or picking up items for purchase,” explains Emily Mosby, intercultural agility trainer and author of Mosby Global LLC.