Hand Gestures

Our Hand Gestures May Send the Wrong Signal to Foreigners

Destinations to foreign countries where the customs are different than here in the United States require you to take time to read about these common hand gestures we see and often use here, but never give them a second thought. We could easily make a big mistake giving the wrong hand signals to foreigners if we don’t know right from wrong for hand signals.

Here’s a great chart we found on http://www.pimsleurapproach.com.

There you have it. A brief summary of hand gestures we are quite familiar with, even if we use few if them ourselves. We’ve seen them used an untold number of times and take them for granted. Now you know that what we take for granted here is not necessarily the same in other countries. In fact some well-meaning gestures we routine use here may mean just the opposite in other countries. Knowing this will make you a smarter traveler and bring you more respect from the people in the country when you honor their customs even the “little” things like simple hand gestures you don’t use or those that show respect to those you meet.