Skip Navigation

YSK: When traveling abroad, hand gestures can mean different things in different cultures.

Why YSK: No sense in making the locals mad unless you mean to. In some Middle Eastern countries, a thumbs-up is comparable to the middle finger. A peace sign in the UK is OK if your palm is facing away from you; otherwise, it's an insult. Pointing with your index finger is offensive in Malaysia. An OK symbol is not OK in Brazil, it's that smelly hole you normally sit upon.

Reader's Digest did an entire article on these gestures: https://www.rd.com/article/common-hand-gestures-rude-in-other-countries/

16

You're viewing a single thread.

16 comments
16 comments