If, when traveling to another country, you decided to break the language barrier by gestures, be careful with it – not all the usual gestures mean the same in other countries.
So, we are going to introduce you some of such gestures which should be taken into consideration while traveling to other countries.
Raised thumb
In some parts of Latin America and West Africa, in Iran and Sardinia, this gesture, which is habitual for us, has a negative connotation. Instead of “Hey! Good work “or” Super!”, it is perceived as an insult.
Children can be teased with such a gesture, just the same way as we show the tongue, and in the Middle East, a thumb raised up in general can be sent to a person in a very indecent manner. So if you hitchhike around these countries, better think of some other way to stop the car.
“OK” sign
We are used to understand this sign as “everything is all right”, but the ring of fingers does not always mean the same. In the Middle East, the gesture will be perceived as a threat, in Turkey and Germany, as a hint of a similar natural hole of the body or even homosexuality. In extreme cases, with such a gesture you can call someone a jerk. In Brazil, the sign “OK” is similar to the raised middle finger, that is not good.
Sign of peace or “horns”
If you show this sign in England or Australia, make sure that the palm is turned outward. Otherwise, “peace” turns into an insult equal in strength to the middle finger. So, if you order two beers in an English pub, do not make a mistake, or you can get a body injury instead of beer.
The open palm
In many countries, an outstretched hand with an open palm means a greeting, but in Greece this gesture can offend a person, it can mean “go away” in a very rude way. This tradition has been going on since the Byzantine Empire, when criminals were punished, spreading their faces with a mixture of dirt, ash and dung. Today, to show the open hand in the direction of the interlocutor means symbolically to smear his face with this rubbish, that is, insult.
“Goat” horns
“Goat” became a sign of heavy music, but it is not perceived that way everywhere. In the Caucasus, Italy, Spain and Greece, this sign can say that your spouse or loved one is cheating you. This is due to the well-known expression “to cuckold.”