- opening a gift immediately after receiving it – after you accepted a gift, in many Asian countries, such as India and China, it is a sign of greediness to open a gift a few seconds after receiving it;
- slicing or biting into a baguette – according to the French etiquette rules, it’s considered impolite to use utensils to cut the bread or to bite straight into it. Instead of that, you should tear up the bread with your hands, because just like French people say, “On ne coupe pas le pain, on le rompt” (We don’t cut the bread, we break it).
- smiling at strangers – in Russia, smiling is seen as an intimate gesture of affection and if you smile at people that you don’t know, they will find it insincere;
- honking – in Norway, drivers only honk when it is an emergency, not because of the traffic. This is why unnecessary honking could make the other drivers around you panicked and angry.
7 thoughts on “22 Ways You Are Being Rude Without Realizing It”
I can’t believe that I’ve survived without any of this information. This is excellent stuff. Thanks for all the research that went into this article.
Italians may not like to get a cappuccino after lunch, but if you do it is not considered rude, maybe just slightly strange, cause it’s a heavy drink usually consumed for breakfast or late afternoon snack.
I am left-handed. I know it’s considered worse than rude to eat with that hand in much of Asia, especially when you’re using your fingers and not a utensil.
So…my strategy to avoid giving offense was to place my left thumb into a belt loop on my pants and keep it there throughout the meal.
It was awkward…but it worked.
When you are driving and you let another car go first,, The other driver should wave and say THANK YOU.. If you (the driver) let someone cross the street in front of you, That person should say thank you..
I always used to buy a book about travel in a specific country that I would go to. I always would get great tips that would help me a lot in my travels. Like which stand cheated on a certain market, or where I could get a cheap clean hotel, or where they had customer government services sitting there on the corner just to help you with everything. Reading those books before I left I always would help other foreigners in need. I often became a “leader” of “tourist groups”. I usually traveled with my mom.
These are fantastic. Think I’ll make a short list, even though I’m sure I won’t get to most countries LOL. These are things people from 90day fiance should be aware of.
Very interesting and educational, I really like this item. I have traveled to many different Countries and never thought of many of these rules, I am busy getting the language so I can commutate.