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Life Talk!

How to insult people around the world:

gkisseberth

Germany

I'm not sure how accurate these are, because #10 is not really correct.

 

How to insult people around the world:

Mirror.co.uk's Top 10 insults

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By George Kiley, Mirror.co.uk 16/12/2008

George Bush had two shoes hurled at him by an Iraqi journalist who wanted to make an example of the outgoing President by paying him the highest insult in Baghdad yesterday.

While in Iraq the act of throwing your shoes at someone is a sign of contempt. In other countries there are many weird and wonderful ways to cast an insult to those who you dislike.

Here's Mirror.co.uk's guide on how not to make friends around the world.

1. If you are handed a business card in Japan you can cause maximum offence by throwing it down on your desk or stuffing it in your back pocket as the exchange of business card here is meant to be a well thought out practice.

2. In the Philippines a curled beckoning forefinger isn’t used to summon someone over but rather to call them a dog. But the insult is punishable by arrest and even breaking the finger that committed the offense so use with caution.

3. In India and Africa where people use their hands to eat, it is considered an insult to use your left hand as this is thought to be ‘unclean’ and used only for a related function which follows several hours later.

4 .In Scandinavia to show distaste keep your chin down during a bottoms-up because it is understood as highly offensive to look down at your feet while drinking a toast.

  

5. If you blow your nose into a hankerchief in Japan you’ll insult those around you because the Japanese word for snot literally means ‘nose shit’ and the idea of carrying this around all day is thought to be digusting.

6. To insult someone in Korea you simply have to smile because smiling at a stranger is thought to be very rude and a clear indication that you believe them to be stupid.

7. While the thumb and forefinger forming the letter ‘O’ is a western sign for OK in Russia it is understood to be an insult with sexual connotations. This could come in handy if you need to show your unhappiness with the service in a Russian hotel when on holiday.

8. In Buddhist countries the most offensive thing somone can do is pat a person on the head as the head is thought to be the seat of the soul.

9. In Argentina it is considered an insult if you turn up for a dinner date on time because this is thought to be a sign of greed rather than politeness. To keep everyone happy you should turn up a little late but if you want to make a point get their early and tuck-in.

10.In North America you're sure to cause an uproar if you mistake an American for a Canadian or vice versa as both neighbours are very senstive about this confusion.

 

01:29 AM Dec 17 2008 |

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LIFE2FAST

LIFE2FAST

Ukraine

Very interesting article. But i’m not sure about Russia. If you’ll put a forefinger of the other hand into that “0”-that would be an insult with sexual connotations.

08:18 AM Dec 17 2008 |

chenhonglady

China

 

hmm,really quite unacceptable for some insults.

08:29 AM Dec 17 2008 |

Dissipator

Dissipator

Ukraine

Well…
1) And where is a recommendation what one should do with a business card not to insult Japanese? Pray on it?
2) As far as I know this gesture is considered a bad form in many countries. But possibly fingers are cracked for that action only in the Philippines, dunno…
3) Someone should say them they don't need to use their left hand for that function any more, because there is a great invention of the mankind named toilet paper.
4) Has the author tried to keep his chin straight let's say after the fifth toast?
5) Again the Japanese… You guys really have to make efforts to look polite when in Japan.
6) Oh, those Koreans are so serious.
7) Bullshit.
8) Hard to say anything on this. You'd really better not touch them at all. Who knows what chackra you'll disturb.
9) My girl always do it… always late on dates. I thought it was simply her unpunctuality and it appears that it's just the highest level of politness. Next time gonna ask her if she's ever been in Argentina.
10) Oh, you are so vulnerable down there in North America. In the country where the president doesn't know the differences between Slovenia and Slovakia. You know whom I'm implying…

Wink

11:02 AM Dec 17 2008 |

gkisseberth

Germany

10) Oh, you are so vulnerable down there in North America.

 

As I said, number 10 is not accurate at all. The russian one seems not to be either.

 

So, in your country, what is considered insulting. In Colombia, if you want to imply that someone is cheap (not willing to spend money) you touch your elbow.

02:02 PM Dec 17 2008 |

Dissipator

Dissipator

Ukraine

 So, in your country, what is considered insulting.

Oh, Gkiss, there are so many ways to insult a person. They are all up to you and your imagination. The easiest way is to name someone a rude word. I'm sure it works everywhere. But the most important is not what you said or did, but HOW you said or did it. I think that everyone can differ insulting words and actions from empty meaningless ones.

02:58 PM Dec 17 2008 |

LIFE2FAST

LIFE2FAST

Ukraine

In Western Ukraine you can insult someone by calling him “moskal”(Russian)

04:47 PM Dec 17 2008 |

Nasim

Nasim

India

Gr8 job gkisse. Btw Indians dont use toilet paper, albeit mostly. They way be used in metros, but people here think that a toilet paper does not clean the s* properly. So in fact we consider the westerners dirty in this matter. Lol
there is an old and famous song here “Mera juta hai Japani…” (that means my shoe is Japanese) now I think Bush would be singing “Mera juta hai Iraqi”

01:06 PM Dec 31 2008 |

devindernagpal

India

I don't like to insult anyone,

But we recive whatever we give.

06:29 PM Dec 31 2008 |