What Are These Asian Gestures?

[nigel]

I believe the girls in this picture are Chinese, but I've seen Filipina's make gestures like this aswell...it seems unique to Asian/Oriental women...what do the gestures mean? :rolleyes:

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And do Filipino's know that this two finger gesture is rude in Britain?


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[maria_and_matt]

peace! well i think thats what it means..! not sure as i dont do them:icon_lol: after having been inthis country for 17 years next month i have learnt that i shoudlnt be making that kind of hand gestures here:icon_lol::icon_lol:

[pennybarry]

The first one on the left means peace to us. Sometimes, we use that in taking group pictures and put on the top of other's head as joke. After photo's being developed, you'll see you have horn:bigcry:

The other one sign is I don't really know. It's like money sign:D
as a diver, it looks like OK:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[Mrs.JMajor]

Nigel the second pic I can say peace its not rude for us filipinos,

The upper picture left woman is I dont know but I always saw that to my daughter when she taking picture herself, lol

[nigel]

The English two finger V shape is an insult gesture that started in England in the fourteenth century. It was started by the Battle Of Agincourt, (a joint English and Welsh battle against the French..)

***I've copied and pasted this bit from a website***

The longbows (bow and arrow/archery) were drawn using the first and second fingers of the right hand. And so feared were the English Longbowmen that, when captured, the French would cut those two fingers off to render the bowman useless should he escape.

When the English archers held up those fingers upright and apart to taunt the French before a battle they were actually saying "See! I still have them!" and the "V" sign rapidly became a very insulting gesture.

On the other hand, the "crossed fingers" was a sign of hope and good luck exchanged between Englishmen before a battle. ***End of copy/paste***

It sounds like the Battle Of Agincourt was really something, it's thought that there were so many arrows fired that the feathers from the arrows made the ground look like it was covered in snow!":omg:

youtube vid about different cultural gestures..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxoB6MhmbIg&feature=related

[MarBell379]

The second pic is peace if the fingers face forward, and rude if they face the way its shown in the pic.
Almost every pic of my finacee's brother shows him making signs and I think its supposed to be 'cool', like american gangsigns, but without the significance.

[Florge]

actually, these hand gestures are done when japs and koreans would like their picture taken... filipinas are doing it as sort of a "joke".. imitating them (koreans actually) as our wacky pose/shot... hehehe...

[nigel]

actually, these hand gestures are done when japs and koreans would like their picture taken... filipinas are doing it as sort of a "joke".. imitating them (koreans actually) as our wacky pose/shot... hehehe... I've noticed that it seems to be Japanese and Korean girls that do it the most...and maybe Taiwan girls?:Erm: Does nobody know what they mean? It seems only women make the gesture aswell..:Erm:

[angel1231]

dont use ur finger when you take your picture as you dont know who will look at it and find it so wrong.......:NoNo::NoNo::NoNo::NoNo::xxgrinning--00xx3::xxgrinning--00xx3:

[somebody]

I remeber as Kids we all used to do it mainly sticking the hands behind someones head so they look like they had horns or big ears. i guess it was from all the hippies doing there peace signs:Erm:

As far as i know im not from Asia or a Girl.

[Arthur Little]

[FONT="Verdana"][SIZE="4"]The English two finger V shape is an insult gesture that started in England in the fourteenth century. It was started by the Battle Of Agincourt ...
... When the English archers held up those fingers upright and apart to taunt the French before a battle they were actually saying "See! I still have them!" and the "V" sign rapidly became a very insulting gesture.

:ARsurrender:Well, well, that's something new I've learnt! :rolleyes: Like [almost] everyone else in the UK, I'd always known that the 'V-sign' was a rudely contemptuous gesticulation ... God knows, I have used it many times myself! ... an unspoken way of conveying the message: "Stuff YOU, mate!". Being of a certain age, I was equally aware that it had been famously attributed to much-publicised photographs of a cigar-smoking Winston Churchill holding up the third and fourth fingers of his (I think) right hand in a V-shaped formation to denote 'Victory in Europe' towards the end of the last World War.

But apart from THAT ... ??? :NoNo: Anyway, thanks Nigel for your informative post.

[somebody]

:ARsurrender:Well, well, that's something new I've learnt! :rolleyes: Like [almost] everyone else in the UK, I'd always known that the 'V-sign' was a rudely contemptuous gesticulation ... God knows, I have used it many times myself! ... an unspoken way of conveying the message: "Stuff YOU, mate!". Being of a certain age, I was equally aware that it had been famously attributed to much-publicised photographs of a cigar-smoking Winston Churchill holding up the third and fourth fingers of his (I think) right hand in a V-shaped formation to denote 'Victory in Europe' towards the end of the last World War.

But apart from THAT ... ??? :NoNo: Anyway, thanks Nigel for your informative post.

I guess many of the scot and welsh readers on this forum avoid english archers as i belive (all though they may have repealed the laws recently) it was legal to kill scots/welsh people (depending on which border the town was near):D

[estherboaz]

according to wikipedia:

One account of the V sign's use in portrait photographs claims that during the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, figure skater Janet Lynn stumbled into Japanese pop culture when she fell during a free-skate period—but continued to smile even as she sat on the ice. Though she placed only third in the actual competition, her cheerful diligence and indefatigability resonated with many Japanese viewers, making her an overnight celebrity in Japan. Afterwards, Lynn (a peace activist) was repeatedly seen flashing the V sign in the Japanese media. Though the V sign was known of in Japan prior to Lynn's use of it there (from the post-WWII Allied occupation of Japan), she is credited by some Japanese for having popularized its use in amateur photographs.[24] According to another theory, the V sign was popularized by the actor and singer Jun Inoue, who showed it in a Konica photo camera commercial in 1972.


The V sign has current usage: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/V_sign


back of the hand facing the signer
Two – nonverbal communication of quantity
Victory – in a setting of wartime or competition. It was first popularized by Winston Churchill, and sometimes is made using both hands, or upraised arms as Richard Nixon used to do.
Peace or Friend – used around the world by peace and counter-culture groups
Bunny ears – used behind the head of a subject of a photograph.



Palm facing the signer
Two – indicating quantity although more common with palm turned around.
Insulting – largely restricted to the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
Peace – in the USA without respect to the direction.


Used with other movement:
Air quotesAir quotes
Air quotes, also called fingerquotes, dick fingers or Ersatz quotes refers to using one's fingers to make virtual quotation marks in the air when speaking....
– flexing fingers, palm out, both hands.
The letter V, in ASLAmerican Sign Language
American Sign Language is the dominant sign language of the Deaf community in the United States, in the anglophone parts of Canada, and in parts of Mexico....
– used when spelling. This handshape is also used in a number of signs, including "to see/look" done in a similar manner to the military use.


Since we are talking about gestures, let me add this: http://listoftheday.blogspot.com/2008/03/foreign-fingers.html


1. The Forearm Jerk (Bras D'Honneur)
A bad idea in: France, southern Europe, the Mideast, the U.S.

You know this one: slap a hand down on the opposite bicep, then raise that arm into a fist. This macho combination of a gigantic erect penis and a threatening fist says, "**** off!" or "Up yours!" In France it is called the bras d'honneur, or arm of honor, which I suspect is meant to be sarcastic. Call me intuitive.

2. The Corna
A bad idea in: Spain, Portugal, the Baltics, Brazil, Colombia

"Rock 'n roll!"
"Hook 'em, Horns!"
"Your wife is a whore!"

Guess which one is the international translation? So even if you're a Texas Longhorn at a Dokken concert in Barcelona, you'd best keep your digits to yourself.


3. Moutza ("Eat ****")
A bad idea in: Greece, Pakistan and parts of Africa

An offensive display of an open palm, the moutza recalls the ancient Byzantine practice of thrusting **** in the faces of chained criminals as they were paraded around town. In modern Greece, any outward hand motion is deemed extremely offensive. They go as far as waving goodbye inwardly toward themselves like a beauty pageant queen in order to avoid an ass-whupping.


4. The Palm-Back V
A bad idea in: The UK, Australia, New Zealand, Italy

Like a peace sign, but backwards, in both execution and meaning. Raise two fingers in a "V" with your palm facing you to say, "up your ass" or "**** off." George Bush, Sr. famously gave the sign to Australians in 1992, thinking he was giving the peace sign. The "V" is also considered rude in Italy, especially if you place your nose between the two fingers to resemble a crude vagina... or your vagina between the two fingers to resemble a crude nose.

5. Donkey Ride
A bad idea in: Saudi Arabia

Not quite as simple as most obscene gestures, but if you are interested in losing your hands, here's how you do it: form an inverted V with your right index finger and thumb, then place them over your extended left index finger to say, "I'll ride you like a donkey." Here's hoping that is not meant in a sexual sense, because donkeys kick. Hard.

6. Thumbs-Up
A bad idea in: The Middle East, Russia, Greece, Sardinia, Western Africa, Latin America

It might mean "nice job" or "way to go" in America, but in many places abroad, the gesture invites the recipient(s) to "sit on my erect penis," which, believe it or not, many people find insulting. In southern Sardinia, where the gesture is particularly obscene, hitchhiking is discouraged. And in the Middle East, don't try any Fonzie impressions, since the double thumbs-up will unleash a jihad on your ass.


7. Concha
A bad idea in: Chile

Another delight from the Southern Hemisphere. Hold up a palm towards you and slightly curl the fingers to form the shape of a shell. Then say, "Concha de tu madre," which literally means, "Your mother's shell," but figuratively means, "Your mama's dried up, nasty cooch." Try it at a soccer game or protest rally, and let us know what happens.


8. The Fig
A bad idea in: India, Turkey, Italy

Once a positive gesture wishing luck and fertility to the recipient, the Fig -- a fist with the thumb sticking up between the index and middle finger -- is now the equivalent of a bird in many fun countries like Turkey, where Midnight Express takes place.


9. Up The Ass
A bad idea in: France

Take your middle finger and thrust it up into the curled up fist of your other hand, and you'll discover yet another way for the French to tell each other, "You take it up the ass," something they seem to say a lot over there. Hopefully they don't really take it up the ass as much as they say it.



10. Closed Fist
A bad idea in: Pakistan

A single raised, closed fist in Pakistan, like the bras d'honneur in France, means that the sender invites you take a hard phallus up into your rectum. You then have every right to raise both your closed fists and beat that person like a rented mule.


11.The "OK"
A bad idea in: Brazil, Germany, some areas around the Mediterranean

What is "ok" to Americans is just "o" in some other countries, and that "o" represents an anus, which means you are calling the recipient an asshole. If you're trying to say, "Ok, asshole," then your message works just about anywhere in the world.


12. The Dog Call
A bad idea in: The Philippines

Know how in America we might signal someone to "come here" by curling an index finger toward ourselves repeatedly? Yeah. Don't do that in the Philippines, where it's a gesture fit only for dogs (who probably aren't wild about it, either) and can get you arrested at best and beaten like a dog at worst.

13. Cutis
A bad idea in: India, Pakistan

The next time you're in India or Pakistan, take a fist with the thumb sticking out, then flick the thumbnail off your two front teeth as you say, "Cutta!" You've just told someone, "screw you and your family." Well done. Now run, mother****er.

14. Animal
A bad idea in: Japan

Japanese don't like Koreans. They call them "animals" by extending four fingers of one hand in another person's face. If I'm Korean, I'm grabbing those fingers with my fingers and bending them backwards until they snap, so that person won't be giving any animals for a while.

15. Tapita
A bad idea in: Chile

If you know the "Little Bunny Foo-Foo" song, you can do the tapita. It's the same thing you do when you pick up field mice and bop them on the head: make an O with one hand and tap the top of that O with the other hand. It means "small cover," which doesn't sound all that insulting, but this is Chile, where people disappear for lesser infractions, so you don't want to screw around.

[Arthur Little]

I guess many of the scot and welsh readers on this forum avoid english archers as i belive (all though they may have repealed the laws recently) it was legal to kill scots/welsh people (depending on which border the town was near):D

:omg:!!!

[Arthur Little]

according to wikipedia: ... so you don't want to screw around.

:eek: Wow ... someone's been doing her homework! Good girl, Esther, and thanks for the time and effort you've evidently put into this exercise. :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[estherboaz]

your welcome arthur little...

[aryM]

Nigel the second pic I can say peace its not rude for us filipinos,

The upper picture left woman is I dont know but I always saw that to my daughter when she taking picture herself, lol


We call it "wacky pose" Mrs. JM or "wacky shot"

[adam&chryss]

the first pic is korean style, the second pic is japanese style and the third ??? sorry, no idea :D

[Mrs.JMajor]

:eek: Wow ... someone's been doing her homework! Good girl, Esther, and thanks for the time and effort you've evidently put into this exercise. :xxgrinning--00xx3:

Your right, she amaze me with that :icon_lol:

[nigel]

Hey!:Erm: estherboaz! :Erm: You totally dominated my thread! :icon_lol:

Excellent post you did! Salamat! :xxgrinning--00xx3:

You might like the work of Desmond Morris.?