Someone Asked “What’s Offensive In Your Country That Tourists Might Not Know”, 30 People Delivered
Traveling is a beloved part of many people’s lives and a way of discovering new things regarding landscape, people, and culture. Yet, speaking of culture, sometimes it might be a good idea to research a thing or two before getting to a location, to avoid some major misunderstandings due to certain things having a very different meaning to people from other parts of the world compared to one’s own country. People were addressing their local rules of etiquette, answering one Redditor’s question: “What’s extremely offensive in your country, that tourists might not know about beforehand?”
Do you have something to add from your own country? Please share in the comment section below!
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In France hearing "praying for you" after hearing about someone having trouble is pretty much like hearing "I won't move a finger to help you in any way but it would be rude to say it like that". We mostly are not very religious people (clergy were seen as the accomplices of tyranny during the revolution and kept this image afterwards) and most people think that praying is a convenient way to not be helpful while pretending you do something.
U.S.:
Dear Asian and a very small selection of European tourist,
Do not approach me and ask if you can touch my hair, and, No, you can not take a picture of you and your friends touching my hair.
What the hell is the matter with you?
Thanks,
A black guy
I am not black, but I have extremely long blonde hair (1.20m approximately), and sometimes Asian tourists come up behind me to touch it. I wouldn't mind it too much if they would ask, but usually they just pop up behind me and grab it. It's such a weird thing to do.
Do not call Scots English unless you want to be stabbed.
Nonsense! They wouldn't stab you. You might get a Glasgow kiss, but not a stabbing.
Canada here. It's not offensive... but very annoying when people raise a fuss about not being able to pay in US currency.... or if stores do accept it they accept it at par. Stores are not banks, and you are in another country. You have no idea how often I had to deal with this working at a gas station near a camp ground like 200 miles north of the border.
I never understood this one and I haven’t been to the US or Canada, but you see it on reality tv a lot and it’s just so stupid to assume your money is worth anything outside your country in that manner
U.K. Don't try to antoganize the Queens guards, they're not decoration they're serving soldiers. Have a good gawp but leave them be.
Every time I see a picture of a person trying to catch the guard's attention for "fun," I just want to punch them. Does this make me a very bad Panda?
Mexico here: We get this a lot with spring breakers, more people in Mexico speak english than most tourists realize. When you go on your Fox News/ CNN spiel on the state of affairs in our country, make comments or jokes about the narcos, getting kidnapped, mugged etc. or poke fun at Mexican stereotypes, more people than you think can understand you, and it makes you look like an a*s.
Whether they can understand you or not, just aspect as if they do, and DON’T go around saying such insulting things about the country you’re just a visitor in. You’re in THEIR country, not yours, so act like a good guest and not an a*****e. It really pains me that I feel the need to say that.
Swedes have a HUGE sphere of personal space. If you're American, and you're talking to me, you are standing WAY too close to me. Shields up.
and if you're in Finland or Estonia, those spheres of personal space are even bigger.
A Hongkonger here.
Many of us really hate people treating Hong Kong as China, some of us even loath being addressed as a Chinese.
Though Hong Kong is being ruled (in some eyes, colonized) by China, we have different lifestyle, local culture, language, political and law system than China.
And for the foreigners who speak or are learning Mandarin/Putonghua, though we appreciate the effort you try to speak in one of the spoken Chinese languages, Cantonese is the mother tongue of most of us. Though many of us understand Mandarin, I'd say you better off speak in English instead.
*Edit: firstly thanks for all the upvotes. Just want to clarify a bit, we, most of us to be precise, do not reject being a "Chinese" in cultural sense, and I personally am proud to be a "Chinese" BUT "Chinese" here has nothing to do with the nation "People's Republic of China".
Agreed. Hong Kong is entirely different to PRC even though you have been coerced into accepting their 'rules'
In France:
Talking about your god or religion without being invited to... Because a lot of people are angry atheists and it can go loud very quickly.
They don't care if you just ask innocent questions by curiosity, but people don't want to hear others talking about their religious beliefs like they are the truth.
"If Jesus came back and saw what was being done in his name, he'd never stop throwing up." - Woody ALLEN. jesus1-653...93cce1.jpg 
In Canada, please take your shoes off before entering someones home.
At a pub in the UK there is a precise queue. It might not look like it but the barman or lady knows exactly what order to serve people in, based upon when they arrived at the bar. You will not be served quicker by trying to catch their attention or fluttering money, that will actually move you to the back of the unknown queue.
However, they may serve a local before you. That is their prerogative and you should not kick up a fuss. Maybe old Derek has seen some s**t or maybe he once saved the bar from robbery. Either way, it's their choice.
N.B. this rule does not apply so much in bars and certainly not in clubs where the traditional 'girls with cleavage' amendment applies.
"N.B. this rule does not apply so much in bars and certainly not in clubs where the traditional 'girls with cleavage' amendment applies." Is there a way to find out where pubs like these are so I can avoid them?
Canadian here, don't feed the wild animals. No matter how cute that seal looks, don't feed it because you're changing its natural behaviour and that can mean an untimely death. Also, that moose calf is ugly/cute but it's mom will stomp your head in if you get too close. If you see a bear, stay far away from it. If you're hiking please stay on the trail, and for the love of god if you go into the woods please be prepared to spend the night because you stand a good chance of dying if you get lost.
USA here. Couple things:
Unless you are at a flea market, garage sale,car dealership, or coupon matching, we don't haggle with prices. What you see is what you get. Indians and certain middle eastern countries don't get this and will try and haggle over a purse in Target. It makes the sales associate uncomfortable and no, the manager cannot haggle either.
South Koreans: while we respect our grandparents, they cannot elbow their way to the front of the line, insult our youth, or demand our seat on the bus or in a restaurant. Please tell your grandparents that it is not acceptable to be a bully even in old age.
Edit: Yes, we americans respect and love our elderly. I'm talking about the high strung gangs of old Korean people who demand special treatment while treating others like s**t.
Old old Asians are so freaking funny 😂 I’ve been treated so hilariously bad by particularly the old Chinese women in restaurants, but my fave one was in an op shop/thrift shop, I found a giant seahorse that could use as a sand mold at the beach between photo shoots etc and as I’m lining up to pay two very old Chinese women start talking in canton and then one approaches me from behind 😆 and tries to grab the seahorse out of my arms cos she wants it, and I’m like wtf at this point, not letting go. She keeps trying to pull it out of my arms and I’m politely trying to resist, my bff walks up and in her bogan Aussie accent says ‘ oi b***h, can you not see that she’s trying to buy that!’ And the old lady still tries 😂 I struggled all the way to the counter, check out lady is so confused, I got my seahorse. Being raised by Asians I couldn’t bring myself to say anything or be mean cos it’s just not how we are raised, so kinda glad my bff was there even if she’s harsh.
Saying F**k. Serously I've had a Japanese student staying with us say "That's f*****g weird." in public loudly. In Japanese there is no equivalent to the word f**k, so many people just take it to mean an extremely intense version of "very". For example my brother when he was in Japan saw a banner outside a shopping center that read "F*****G HUGE SALE!" because they wanted to express that they were having a "VERY HUGE SALE!" The fact that it's trendy to speak English in Japan mixed with people not always understanding what they're saying can lead to... interesting results.
The Netherlands, lots of tourists think we can smoke weed everywhere we want. This is not the case, you can only smoke it in the coffee shops or at home. So don't smoke on the street.
The V for Victory (or 2) sign where the palm is facing towards you, so the back of the hand is facing everyone else. That's pretty offensive in Britain...
Hungary: please try to start the conversation other than the Hungary/hungry joke. Every English-speaking Hungarian has heard it a million times. It's not offensive, we're just really tired of it.
Brazil here;
The "OK" thing americans do with their hands means ~~'f**k you'~~ 'Shove it up your a*s'. So don't do it.
Ronald Reagan committed the same mistake.
I found this out the hard way in graduate school. My Brasilian friend had me over for dinner and I thanked the cook by making this sign, putting it to my lips, making a kiss, and pulling it away, while saying "thank you." The cook turned red, ran out of the room giggling, and my hostess had to explain my fatal social blunder. 🤭 🙄 😩
Ireland; if you're in a pub/at a bar DO NOT order a 'Black and Tan' or an 'Irish Car Bomb'.
The former was the common name for the Royal Irish Constabulary Special Reserve during the Irish war of independence. They're infamous for their violent and extreme treatment towards the Irish people. Order a 'half and half' instead.
The latter is because we don't want to be associated with terrorists and people tend to make a mess drinking them.
There are a few places where it is okay to order these but they're more of an exception rather than the rule.
GERMANY: There are some parts of the autobahn with no speedlimit. But mostly there is a speedlimit on the German highways.
What most don't know it's and advised speed limit on some parts. Which means you won't be insured in the case something happens at a higher speed
I'm going to go against the other Aussie in this thread and say *don't call people c***s*. It's still an offensive word here, maybe not so much as in other countries but it definitely is. I could count the number of times I've used it on one hand (ok, maybe two).
I thinks is more of a case of 'we can do it because we understand the [unwritten] rules'. I can call my friends c**t, but if you did it, even in jest, I'd land you one.
Canadian here. Calling the Inuit, Inuvialuit (or any of the other far north aboriginal nations) Eskimos is seen as really ignorant and offensive if not downright racist. It means "eater of raw meat" and was a name given to them by non-Inuit people.
EDIT: This applies mainly to the inhabitants of Nunavut/NWT. (TIL!) Okay, "extremely offensive" might be an overstatement, "Ignorant and politically incorrect" is probably closer to the mark. Also, inaccurate terminology (thanks u/anarchybabe101!)
Here in the United States, it's extremely offensive to play music on your f*****g cell phone without headphones.
Unfortunately, plenty of people didn't get that memo.
Load More Replies... That goes for the entire planet earth. If you have a phone call, use plugs if you can and don't yell at the phone like a madman. And if you listen to music, use the damn plugs!
Seen a couple of people who just walk down the road carrying a huge radio or speaker and blasting their music. It's so rude and annoying
Worst offenders are white American men from the late Boomer years. They're the ones who started with transistor radios and graduated to boom boxes. Really annoying when they play their super right wing talk radio. I had a new box of ear jacks that I handed a guy. He looked at it like it was gonna bite him. Told him I know his mama taught him better and that I'd call the gym manager if he didn't use them. He got mad and walked out (with the jacks). A week later I saw him with the jacks in his ears while doing reps. I think he might have been surprised at how good the sound is. Ear jacks have made a lot of progress in the last 50 years.
In Canada, only certain people who are possibly out for violence and egging fights play their music on blast. If you're on the bus, don't try telling them to turn it down. There's a high chance they will attack you.
Then why do so many do it? Agree with Roan, it's offensive everywhere.
Music, movies, games, being on speakerphone in public....if you do any of those things, you're a selfish, entitled piece of $hit and everyone hates you.
I get around this by putting my phone up to my ear and listening to it at 1 volume. If I'm near someone that could possibly hear it, I ask if they can hear it, and if if they say "yes" then I either move to a different spot or put it away, with the immediate idea it is probably annoying them.
But Americans often do it! Or have conversations on their phones while shopping. Rude behavior.
In wish it was Illegal to do that AND argue withn your caller(Spouse/Boss) out loud.I am Not interested in your problems!
I find it offensive when anyone uses speaker phone in public places. I really have no interest in your "private" conversions and I do not think you are as news worthy as you do
And yet having it blast out of your closed-window automobile and ear-splitting, earth-shaking volume is somehow okay. Sigh…..
I confess, I do this sometimes when walking my dog. I need music to prevent misery, but my headphones block out all the noise, which is good but I need to be able to hear my surroundings. However, I go fast and not that loud, so I’m not audible for long, and when I’m walking him people aren’t out on the streets, nor is it a time when people are typically sleeping or reading at home.
This is dumb. It's not "offensive," it's just rude and annoying. It has nothing to do with culture.
My family is middle eastern, but I see this as a on trait in Mediterranean people in general as well.
Eat the food we offer you. All of it. Eat the seconds the matriarch of the house is putting on your plate. Eat the fruit they give you, drink the tea, eat more. Eat it all.
If you refuse more food, the matriarch will assume you are lying and either hate the food, or lying because you're shy. And if you annoy the matriarch of the household, everyone In the family is obligated to take her side, even if they don't really give a s**t.
So if you are ever visiting an Arab (or Italian, or Greek) family, be as hungry as possible.
Thailand, Don't touch people on their heads, it is the highest point of the body so therefore it's the most respectful part.
Also never point your feet at a Buddha statue, it's considered very rude.
Also, if you step on money, you'll be thrown in jail, it has the king's face on it and disrespecting him in anyway (like stepping on his image or saying you hate him) will get you a 1 way ticket to a not very nice prison.
Romania: do not give someone an even number of flowers. That's reserved for funerals.
That's pretty common belief in Europe, I think. Although here in Finland it's said to just bring bad luck.
America is a very diverse country, with a diverse culture and people's political mindset. I would really warn people not from America from just launching into politics and our problems as a country as a open discussion, especially if you don't know the person. Sure some Americans might love to talk about it, but for many including me it's just not polite conversation to talk about Trump, Clinton, Guns, and what the Beeb said about the latest school shooing when you first meet someone. Many (not all!) of us know our country has flaws, and we really do know that we aren't perfect, but it's quite rude to point this out without provocation and with lots of pontification of your home country. Sure there are exceptions to this, and yes some love to talk politics, but I think a silent majority in America really doesn't care about it, and having an outsider bring it up can come off as rude and negative towards them. Trust me, I have been outside my own country for many years, and I don't think you can get a big picture of what America is by reading sensationalist news items about our culture or what you might think is a lack thereof. Sometimes it's laughably absurd, but sometimes it's just plain offensive.
A special note that maybe in your country you love talking politics, and think it's important to have this conversation, but for many (not all!) Americans you'll come off as boastful and rude. Also we don't have the sense of sarcasm and irony you might have in your own country.
When I lived in the Middle East showing the bottom of your feet (like when your legs are crossed) was offensive, saw expats do it all the time though
Everything there is offensive. Examples being, a woman, a child, a foreigner, etc.
Well, in Turkey my suggestion is that tourists should avoid hand gestures. Especially the one about stealing somebody's nose (like kids), the very same gesture means something like "f**k off" and people will not understand or try to listen your explanation. Also, asking if we are Arabs or riding camels etc. will offend a lot of people and not the best way to comunicate if you require some sort help or advice from them.
And yet ironically my friends from Brasil wore this symbol on their necklaces as a religious symbol.
Dutch here: Taking the last cookie/snack from the plate.
So imagine this. You are at a typical [dutch birthday party] and you are sitting on your spot where you will SPENT THE REST OF YOUR LIFE (or evening) and the host has brought a bowl or plate full of delicious snacks. Go ahead and eat away, because that's the only way we enjoy the party. But beware... if there's only one snack left, god forbid anyone takes it. Because that would be impolite for the potential other person that would like to have it. There's a word for it, but it escapes me **-edit-** Apparently it's actually pretty common in most places.... who knew
Note: this post originally had 36 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Italy: we have some very old, very precious work of arts around our cities. Don’t bathe in centuries old fountains, don't climb statues, don't take scooters down marble stairs that are centuries old, but most of all DON’T SCRATCH YOUR STUPID NAMES ON ANY MONUMENT! Nobody cares you were there, nobody ever will. Basically just try to behave like proper human beings and not apes
There should be a fine of €1000000 for destroying any old monument in europe. Imagine the cash EU would make on idiot turists while protecting art.
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Indian here... dont talk about religion, beef and appreciate the language & food differences.
I've got no beef with anyone from India. And no matter how hard I try, I can't replicate the food of the locals.
Load More Replies... Thank you. These are a good starting place for exploring cultures that are different than yours.
I'm hoping better times will come your way so you can jet off to any place you like
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In Japan, avoid giving a gift that includes 4 of something. The Japanese word for 4 can be the same as the Japanese word for death. Also, if you have white rice, don't put anything on the rice. Eat it just as white rice. If you have a bowl of white rice, don't stick your chopsticks in the rice bowl, because it looks like incense for the dead.
Since BP isn't done beating this already very dead horse: we know, American waitstaff SHOULD be paid a living wage. In case you hadn't noticed, there's kind of a 'thing' going on in the US where a lot of people are striking and protesting demanding wages more closely match the cost of living. HOWEVER. Until those living wages arrive, the only ones you're hurting by refusing to tip are those same waitstaff; if bad tipping was what it took to 'inspire' businesses to pay their employees more, they would have done it already.
Call me an uncultured stump for what it's worth, but every time I read an article on that topic, it just makes me not want to see anything of the world more.
Canada here: stop standing on our toilet seats to go to the bathroom. Certain ethnic visitors stand on the seats to go #1 and 2. You make a mess, ruin the seat and leave shoe marks. Also toilet paper goes in the toilet.
We have the same problem in Australia. Many tourist places now have big signs up saying no squatting and a picture of a person seated on the toilet.
Load More Replies... Canada is so diverse you can easily offend one person in one way but would not offend another person at all. Canadians in general are not super easily offended. We get annoyed. One thing we do not like to put up with are visitors complaining about the cold like they're so shocked. If you're in the prairies, we get heavy winds in already dangerously cold temperatures, which brings the temperature down even more. That "feels like" temperature? Yeah, you're best paying more attention to that than the general temperature in the bigger font. But don't rant out loud to us about how under prepared you are, or just complain. We live it every winter. We know it's cold. Many of us hate it, too, often. We would rather think about something else to take our minds off our numbing digits and stinging cheeks.
What I didn't realise before I went to Canada was how different the temperatures are across the country. Sounds silly to me now, since Australia is the same, but when I landed in Vancouver I rugged up with thermals, coats etc and was sweating so much!
Load More Replies...
The Dutch live in the Netherlands, also known as Holland. It's OK to call all of them 'Nederlanders' but you can't call all of them 'Hollanders'. People who aren't born on the west coast, might be offended if you do so.
Likewise, don't call all Americans "Yanks". You just p**s off the southerners.
Load More Replies... When in The Netherlands, don't say 'n**ken in de keuken', which is a rhyme in Dutch for 'f**king in the kitchen'. In the early 00's it was the epitome of humor for young people to teach to foreign students who didn't speak Dutch, and even funnier if you could get them to believe it meant hello or whatever. It's stopped being funny (it wasn't even really funny then), it's not clever, so stop.
We can just all stay home and be quiet, but we probably won't hate each other any less for it.
if you're going to a Dutch birthdayparty, you HAVE to congratulate EVERYONE in the room. You have to say "congratulations on - name of birthday person" no matter the relationship with them. (This doesnt translate well i guess) You can get away with saying "congrats!" to everyone, but you HAVE to shake everyone's hand. Every new person that comes in has to do the same, no matter how many people there are in the room. Some younger people these days would just go "congratulations everyone!" and wave, esp when the room is so crammed with sitting people you'll have to climb over them. But there will be boomers that will never look at you again, for doing that.
Italy: we have some very old, very precious work of arts around our cities. Don’t bathe in centuries old fountains, don't climb statues, don't take scooters down marble stairs that are centuries old, but most of all DON’T SCRATCH YOUR STUPID NAMES ON ANY MONUMENT! Nobody cares you were there, nobody ever will. Basically just try to behave like proper human beings and not apes
There should be a fine of €1000000 for destroying any old monument in europe. Imagine the cash EU would make on idiot turists while protecting art.
Load More Replies... Indian here... dont talk about religion, beef and appreciate the language & food differences.
I've got no beef with anyone from India. And no matter how hard I try, I can't replicate the food of the locals.
Load More Replies... Thank you. These are a good starting place for exploring cultures that are different than yours.
I'm hoping better times will come your way so you can jet off to any place you like
Load More Replies... In Japan, avoid giving a gift that includes 4 of something. The Japanese word for 4 can be the same as the Japanese word for death. Also, if you have white rice, don't put anything on the rice. Eat it just as white rice. If you have a bowl of white rice, don't stick your chopsticks in the rice bowl, because it looks like incense for the dead.
Since BP isn't done beating this already very dead horse: we know, American waitstaff SHOULD be paid a living wage. In case you hadn't noticed, there's kind of a 'thing' going on in the US where a lot of people are striking and protesting demanding wages more closely match the cost of living. HOWEVER. Until those living wages arrive, the only ones you're hurting by refusing to tip are those same waitstaff; if bad tipping was what it took to 'inspire' businesses to pay their employees more, they would have done it already.
Call me an uncultured stump for what it's worth, but every time I read an article on that topic, it just makes me not want to see anything of the world more.
Canada here: stop standing on our toilet seats to go to the bathroom. Certain ethnic visitors stand on the seats to go #1 and 2. You make a mess, ruin the seat and leave shoe marks. Also toilet paper goes in the toilet.
We have the same problem in Australia. Many tourist places now have big signs up saying no squatting and a picture of a person seated on the toilet.
Load More Replies... Canada is so diverse you can easily offend one person in one way but would not offend another person at all. Canadians in general are not super easily offended. We get annoyed. One thing we do not like to put up with are visitors complaining about the cold like they're so shocked. If you're in the prairies, we get heavy winds in already dangerously cold temperatures, which brings the temperature down even more. That "feels like" temperature? Yeah, you're best paying more attention to that than the general temperature in the bigger font. But don't rant out loud to us about how under prepared you are, or just complain. We live it every winter. We know it's cold. Many of us hate it, too, often. We would rather think about something else to take our minds off our numbing digits and stinging cheeks.
What I didn't realise before I went to Canada was how different the temperatures are across the country. Sounds silly to me now, since Australia is the same, but when I landed in Vancouver I rugged up with thermals, coats etc and was sweating so much!
Load More Replies... The Dutch live in the Netherlands, also known as Holland. It's OK to call all of them 'Nederlanders' but you can't call all of them 'Hollanders'. People who aren't born on the west coast, might be offended if you do so.
Likewise, don't call all Americans "Yanks". You just p**s off the southerners.
Load More Replies... When in The Netherlands, don't say 'n**ken in de keuken', which is a rhyme in Dutch for 'f**king in the kitchen'. In the early 00's it was the epitome of humor for young people to teach to foreign students who didn't speak Dutch, and even funnier if you could get them to believe it meant hello or whatever. It's stopped being funny (it wasn't even really funny then), it's not clever, so stop.
We can just all stay home and be quiet, but we probably won't hate each other any less for it.
if you're going to a Dutch birthdayparty, you HAVE to congratulate EVERYONE in the room. You have to say "congratulations on - name of birthday person" no matter the relationship with them. (This doesnt translate well i guess) You can get away with saying "congrats!" to everyone, but you HAVE to shake everyone's hand. Every new person that comes in has to do the same, no matter how many people there are in the room. Some younger people these days would just go "congratulations everyone!" and wave, esp when the room is so crammed with sitting people you'll have to climb over them. But there will be boomers that will never look at you again, for doing that.
