Everywhere in the world it is customary to leave a good first impression. The surest way to do this is to express your respect for the interlocutor with the traditional greeting of his native country. However, the gestures and words of all the peoples of the world are different, therefore, when going somewhere, it is important to know how people greet people in different countries so as not to lose face and win over others.
What does greeting mean
Even when humanity was developing and growing all over the earth, when continents opened up, and people from different shores of the seas and oceans got to know each other, they had to somehow designate what is most important to them. The greeting personifies the mentality, outlook on life, when meeting people pay attention to each other with various gestures and facial expressions, and sometimes words carry a deeper meaning than it might seem at first glance.
Over time, the inhabitants of the earth gathered into peoples, created their own countries, and keep traditions and customs to this day. A sign of good manners is knowing how people greet each other in differentcountries, because to greet a foreigner according to his customs is nothing but the deepest respect.
Popular countries and greetings
Traditions are not always preserved. In the modern world, where everything is subject to certain standards, it is not at all necessary to ask questions "how do they greet in different countries" or "what are the customs of this or that people." For example, in most European countries, a business handshake will be enough to negotiate with another person and not run into a conflict. Condescending Germans, French, Italians, Spaniards, Norwegians and Greeks will be pleased even if the stranger cannot choke out greetings in their own language, but say something in their own. However, if we are talking about more distant inhabitants of the planet, then knowing how it is customary to say hello in different countries will be more than useful.
Words that are said at a meeting
The culture and logic of other peoples is sometimes so fascinating and interesting that it is difficult to resist inadvertently starting to greet like other people. What are only the words of greeting that people say to each other when they meet. Some are interested exclusively in business, others in he alth, and others are not at all interested in anything other than how their pets are doing. Meanwhile, incorrectly answering such questions is considered a kind of huge disrespect, at least it is tactless. Even not the most inveterate traveler is interested in how they say hello in different countries of the world. In this case, words, of course, play one ofthe most important roles. Now we will find out. What should they be?
What Europeans say when they meet
If, during a fleeting meeting with people of a different nationality, you can get off with a simple handshake, then, when paying a visit, it is still customary to greet in the language of the country in which the tourist was lucky enough to be.
The French say the famous Bonjour when they meet, and then add: “How does it go?” In order not to be considered a fool, you need to answer this question as neutrally and politely as possible. Hanging your problems on other people in Europe is not accepted at all.
The German, by the way, will also be very interested to know how everything is going in your life, so in addition to the remade Hallo in your own way, you will also have to answer that everything is fine.
Italians differ from other Europeans. They are much more interested in whether your fulcrum is good enough, so they ask: “How is it worth?”, Which also needs to be answered in a positive tone. The beginning and end of the meeting are similar, because there is one word for all this - “Chao!”
In England, things are not considered to be independent of human intervention, and therefore they are interested in how, in fact, you do them: "How do you do?" But before that, the Englishman will smile fervently and shout: “Hello!” or "Hey!" Which, in fact, is similar to how people greet each other in different countries. Greeting "Hey" - the simplest, most understandable, friendly and universal, like Englishlanguage.
Asian greetings
Asian countries are inhabited by people who are most respectful of their traditions, and therefore greetings for them are an important ritual that must be observed.
Japan - Land of the Rising Sun. As befits a place with such a name, the Japanese often rejoice at the new day. "Konnichiva" - it seems that this is a word of greeting, but in fact its literal translation is "The day has come." The Japanese are most happy that the sun has risen over their land today. In this case, any greeting is accompanied by a bow. The lower and slower a person bows, the more he respects the interlocutor.
The Chinese, having heard a short greeting “Nihao” addressed to them, will respond just as friendly. And, by the way, they are more interested in whether you ate today than in what you do. This is not an invitation at all, but a simple courtesy!
In Thailand, the greeting ritual is a little more complicated, and instead of words, gestures are used to indicate the degree of respect for the interlocutor. The greeting word “Wai”, which can be drawn for a very long time, is also part of the ritual familiar to Thais.
In Romania and Spain, they prefer to praise certain times of the day: "Good day", "Good night", "Good morning".
Many Australian, African times, instead of repeating after the rest of the world and saying hello the way they say hello in different countries (in words), they prefer to perform their ritual dances, which are unlikely to be understood by someone very far from themculture man.
Traveling around India is a real pleasure - people are always doing well there, which they share.
Greetings in Russia
A huge country, spread over almost half of the hemisphere, prefers to greet in different ways. In Russia, they do not like fake smiles when meeting people. With a close friend, you can allow an informal “hello”, but older acquaintances wish he alth: “Hello!” In Russia, it was customary to bow, but over time this custom disappeared, so a Russian person just needs words. Men, wanting to remain gallant, on occasion can kiss the lady's hand, and the girls, in turn, will bow in a modest curtsy.
There are many cases in history when the rulers of Russia tried to teach people to greet people in the European manner, but one primordial Russian tradition still remained: to welcome a guest with bread and s alt at the doorstep is the highest degree of hospitality. The Russian people immediately seat the guest at the table, feed him delicious food and pour drinks.
Welcome gestures
Many rituals are accompanied in some countries by special gestures. Others, when meeting, are completely silent, preferring to express their intentions through gestures or touches.
Loving French people lightly kiss each other on the cheeks, send air kisses. It doesn't cost anything for an American to hug someone they barely know and pat them on the back.
Tibetans, fearing the reincarnation of an evil king with a black tongue who does not recognizeBuddhism, even before verbal communication, they prefer to first protect themselves and … show their tongue by removing their headgear. After making sure that the spirit of the evil king did not move into the person, they continue their acquaintance.
In Japan, every greeting is accompanied by a bow. In China and Korea, the tradition of bowing is still alive, but since these countries are now the most developed, then a simple handshake will not be an insult to them. Unlike the residents of Tajikistan, who grab both hands when they meet. Giving one hand is considered a gross mistake and disrespect.
In Thailand, the palms are folded together in front of the face so that the thumbs touch the lips, and the index fingers touch the nose. If the person is respected, the hand is raised even higher, to the forehead.
Mongols at a meeting are interested first of all in the he alth of livestock. Say, if everything is fine with him, then the owners will not die of hunger. It's a kind of care level.
Arriving to the Arabs, you can see the hands clenched into a fist, crossed on the chest. Do not be afraid - this is also a kind of greeting gesture. Well, the most inventive were the peoples of the Maori tribe in New Zealand, who rub their noses against each other. For a Russian person, such a gesture is very intimate, but knowing how it is customary to greet in different countries of the world, you can adapt to everything.
World Hello Day
It is known from history that peoples did not always get along with each other, and therefore did not greet each other often, completely forgetting about various traditions. Now the knowledge of howgreetings around the world is a must.
However, this was not the case during the Cold War: countries lived their lives in proud silence. In order to somehow solve the problems of mistrust between peoples, the World Hello Day was invented.
November 21, do not forget to send greetings to distant countries. For such an idea, two people should be thanked, who for many years achieved the loy alty of peoples to each other. The McCorman brothers - Brian and Michael - decided in 1973 to unite the nations through simple letters, and this tradition continues to this day.