Ten gestures that are misunderstood abroad

Did you actually just give a friendly wave, but the locals look at you grimly? Even prominent heads of state have underestimated how quickly you can put your foot in your mouth with a gesture abroad. TÜV NORD presents the ‘gesture etiquette’.

We are born with the ability to gesticulate. Even people who are blind from birth use their arms and hands when speaking. Although they have never had a model for this in front of their eyes, they gesticulate in the same way as people with healthy sight. Many linguists even believe that our spoken language has its roots in gestures.

In addition to innate gestures, there are also ritualized gestures that we copy from other people. They can differ from culture to culture. This is no different among great apes! The well-known behavioral scientist Frans de Waal discovered this when he studied our closest relatives. He observed that bonobos and chimpanzees were similar in their facial expressions, but not in their gestures. The repertoire of the bonobos even differed from group to group.

It is the same for the human species: in foreign cultures, the gestures we are familiar with often have a different meaning. Trying to communicate with your hands and feet abroad therefore involves risks. With a well-intentioned gesture, we could offend locals and maneuver ourselves into unpleasant situations. The following TÜV NORD gesture etiquette guide warns against some of these pitfalls.

(1) Victory
The "V" sign has stood for "Victory" in Germany ever since British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made the victory known after the Second World War. In alternative circles, however, it also means “Peace”. And in pubs and beer gardens, the two fingers are often used to order two more beers.

The V-sign is therefore rarely seen in road traffic. However, if you come across it in Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand or Australia, for example, when you snatch a parking space from under someone's nose, the driver will neither make peace nor drink two beers with you. Instead, he will hurl a hearty “f*** you!” at you. The key distinguishing feature: the back of the hand, not the palm, is facing the other person.

Former US President George W. Bush obviously didn't know this when he used the peace sign upside down during a visit to Australia. His lapse is in keeping with tradition: former British Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher also once accidentally pointed the “V” towards the audience with the back of her hand.

(2) Ambiguous circle
When thumb and index finger form a circle, it can mean half a dictionary. In the USA it means: “Ok, great!” In Germany it means “spitze” or “1a”. The French and Belgians use it to describe a thing or a person as worthless. The Japanese use it to allude to money.

In a few countries such as Thailand and Brazil, the circle symbol is associated with something obscene. In Mexico, it can be used to invite sexual activity. And if you are confronted with it in Russia or some Mediterranean countries, your counterpart will probably not consider you worthless or well-off, but will assume that you have a preference for their own sex.

(3) Thumbs up!
Everything is fine. Well done! That's what most Europeans think when they see this. But in some countries, including Russia, Greece and Australia, it is an obscene, rude gesture.

In German-speaking countries, you can hitchhike with your thumbs up or order exactly one piece (of anything). Caution: In Japan, the same gesture buys five pieces.

And while we're at it: If you use your thumb and forefinger to indicate a 2 as we understand it, the Chinese see it as the number 8. This is because they use their fingers to reproduce the characters for numbers. If you are not familiar with this, it is better not to negotiate with your hands when shopping in China.

(4) The waggle hand
This gesture is as familiar to us as the waggle hand in a car. Although it is not at home in the German-speaking world, it is very common among Italian and Turkish citizens. Turks use it to express their pleasure: great thing! In Italy, on the other hand, this is a way of asking: "What are you doing? What do you want?"

In Egypt, on the other hand, they ask for a little patience. And if the fingers are opened and closed in this position, there is a further risk of confusion. “Are you scared?” would be asked with this gesture in Mexico, among other places - an insinuation that can provoke unpleasant rebuttals depending on the situation.

(5) Two horns just in case
Originally, the superstition in Italy was that the horns could keep bad luck away. To refer to this original meaning, the horns are now turned towards the ground. In Italy and some other Mediterranean countries as well as South America, horns pointing towards the sky often mean something else: “You are horned!” Meaning: Your wife is cheating on you.

But that's not all. Heavy metal fans pay homage to Satan with this gesture, and rock fans in general celebrate their music in this way. Jenna Bush, daughter of former President George W. Bush, wanted to greet her home university, whose athletes call themselves the “Texas Longhorns”, on a trip to Scandinavia. The Scandinavian audience were more familiar with heavy metal symbols than with US university sport and were very surprised to see the president's daughter's horns.

(6) Holding your nose between your fingers
Even if you like to joke around with children, this gesture is best left out of your repertoire abroad. The majority of Germans, Americans, British, Spanish and French know it as a harmless game with children - you grab a nose and then hold it between your fingers.

In Eastern Europe, however, the thumb sticking out of the hand rejects annoying supplicants. And the gesture loses any innocent charm in Italy, Greece, Turkey or the Netherlands, where it is used to allude to female genitalia. Whoever the joke was intended for: In some countries, you'd better keep your hands off your nose!

(7) The bird in the head
Caution: Those who flip the bird to others are well understood in many places. The universal symbol for crazy people exists in numerous variations: In some countries you tap your temples with your finger, in others you turn your finger or hand on your head.

However, a finger on the head sometimes also indicates that someone is particularly clever. And if a motorcyclist in the USA lets his finger circulate at head height, he is not accusing other road users of insanity. Rather, it is a warning: Police nearby!

(8) The lure
Waving someone over can be a highly delicate matter abroad. In the USA and other Western countries such as Germany, we sometimes playfully beckon someone to us with a finger. In parts of Asia and Oceania, this is considered rude - only done to dogs or other lower-ranking creatures. Pointing a finger can also come across as rude. In an emergency, point with your whole hand, and if in doubt, don't point in the direction of a person!

Conversely, you should not hold it against a Japanese person if he seems to be saying goodbye to you abruptly. If he waves to you by bending his hand forwards several times, he is not trying to get rid of you, but on the contrary: he is beckoning to you.

(9) Moutza
The fingers are spread apart, the hand moves away from the body towards the addressee: Anyone who receives this gesture from a Greek has made a big mistake. It expresses the deepest contempt; the only thing worse is the same gesture with both hands. This form of ostracism is also used in Pakistan, Armenia and parts of West Africa, and in Mexico and parts of Central America it is considered a threat.

Less dramatic, but also rude, is the hand pointing away from the body in the USA. “Shut up!” (because you only speak with my hand), is what the American wants to say. Here at home, we usually make this gesture with both hands to scare someone: We jump out from a hiding place while shouting “boo!” loudly This certainly doesn't happen that often on vacation. But we need to be careful with similar gestures, for example when we move our hand or hands up and down to calm someone down. This can backfire!

(10) The greeting
Would you like to wave goodbye to your host? No problem in the USA, Germany and most European countries. But in Southeast Asia and Turkey, it's an insult if you're face to face. What's more, waving can be reminiscent of moutza (see above). Even if you raise your arm in thanks or want to stop someone in this way: The devil is in the detail. If you do, then please raise your arm vertically! Because there is not only a risk of confusion with Moutza. The Hitler salute can still be recognized abroad.

Conclusion
What's the best way to avoid potential pitfalls? First of all, you should refrain from all known obscenities: The outstretched middle finger, for example, is common around the globe. The bent arm with a clenched fist also leaves no questions unanswered in many places. However, there are many more variations that are typical of the country. Latin American countries are particularly rich in obscene gestures, as the Californian psychologist and gesture researcher Dane Archer, who died in 2016, observed in field studies. In Scandinavia and Switzerland, on the other hand, we encounter fewer variants.

It becomes difficult when gestures have become second nature to us. Nodding, for example: we use it as a sign of agreement and understanding or simply as a non-verbal greeting. But if you raise your head once and then lower it again, this means “no” in parts of south-eastern Europe. In India, on the other hand, shaking the head can express agreement, understanding and respect. The head shakes back and forth in a small arc over the shoulders. A single nod, on the other hand, is used to summon someone.

We automatically assess the meaning of such gestures in fractions of a second, as German researchers have discovered. They recorded the brain activity of test subjects while they alternately showed them the raised thumb or the stinky finger. After just 150 milliseconds, the brain had decoded the emotional meaning! All that remains is to correct misunderstandings retrospectively.