“In Your Country, Is There Any Situation That Foreigners Would Completely Misunderstand?” (47 Answers)

In Iran, there’s a custom called ta’arof. It’s when people insist on offering things like food, drinks, or even to pay for a meal. The “rule” is to politely refuse once or twice before finally accepting. Basically, if someone offers you anything, you say no a couple of times, and then if they insist, you accept.

In the Netherlands if people tell you they are going to eat (especially dinner), it is not an invitation for you to join, but a sign you should leave.

People being quiet, for example when they are sitting at the same table at a workplace lunch doesn't mean they are angry or dislike you. They probably don't have anything to say. .

In Australia, when you’re having a party where people bring food to share you say “bring a plate”. I’ve heard of international people who bring empty plates thinking the host doesn’t have enough dishes for everyone. Which I can totally understand, especially as we also often tell people to “bring a chair” and that really does mean to bring your own chair (usually a camping chair) because they don’t have enough seats.

Apologising to a person/animal/inanimate object if your feet touches them by mistake.

Majority of the Hindu population in India believes that God exists in everyday things and people. So stepping on them or touching them with your feet is a sign of disrespect and if it happens by mistake we “apologise” to the thing by first touching it with our hands and then touching our hand to our forehead and then chest (somewhat similar to how Christians make the holy cross symbol).
I didn’t realise how weird this might look to an outsider until I did it by muscle memory to a white friend of mine and saw genuine fear in his eyes as if I just casted a spell on him XD.

We have a pasalubong culture here. Whenever you travel, you buy souvenirs for your family and friends. Now if that was a work trip, include the folks in the office who didn’t get to go. It’s usually something small like a keychain or a shirt or a local delicacy. It’s just to tell someone you’re thinking of them. It’s also a way to gauge how close you are with someone or if someone is chill with you. You can easily offend an auntie you forgot to get a pasalubong for. You could also tell someone that you’re relationship with them is not as close as they think by not getting them one or tell them that you’re friends, at least on your end, by getting them something. Some folks use this as a way to butter up their boss too.

It doesn’t even need to be a big trip either. Sometimes I brought something home when I came home for the week in college.

The Swedish Spring Sun Ceremony.

Winters in Sweden are long, dark and miserable, and spring, and the return of the sun, are a Big Deal. As soon as the sun comes back and you can actually feel its warmth, everyone wants a piece of that.

When I was at uni I guided an Indian exchange student, who was very confused about why everyone, undergrads, grad students and faculty alike, spent their lunch break sitting outside, faces turned towards the sun. She asked if it was a religious ceremony of some kind, and... I mean, no, but not far from it. But how do you explain the importance to someone who has never seen snow or the sun set at 3 pm?

Military exercises or other military activities in cities are not at all uncommon.Just yesterday, the city center was full of troops and tanks. During my studies, exchange students of one of My course thought there was a coup in Finland. It was just a regular military exercise.

Often, when a casual encounter or conversation ends( on the street or at work, for example ) we invite the other person to visit us at home for a drink or a meal. If you are from the Middle East (Arab, Turkish, or Iranian), you will understand this as a friendly phrase used at the end of a conversation, not a serious invitation. Surprisingly, some Europeans may consider it a firm invitation.


Perhaps we have not yet learned the appropriate tone in European languages for a casual invitation😅.

Welp. Then hit the legs and get up.

Very midwestern way of saying it’s time to go home.

In Japan, specifically Kyoto, if you’re visiting a private residence and they ask if you want tea, it’s time for you to *leave*.

Non Nepali people call every huge hills as mountains. In Nepal, we call snowy hills as mountains and green hills=hills only.

My area in Canada growing up would have alarms that would sound if there was a fire somewhere, to alert the firefighters nearby to attend. I had a family member from Europe come stay with us one time and she panicked when it went off because she thought it meant Tornado or Air Raid 😂.

This may be more well known now, but just how big our country is. People think they can fly into Toronto and take a day trip to see friends in Vancouver. Unless you have 2 extra weeks, I would not recommend. Even within my own province, it'll take 20+ hours to drive from one end to the other.

Also, not sure if it counts, but I've befriend people while visiting other countries, and when we move onto messaging each other, I use exclamation marks to convey excitement, but I'm always asked why I'm so angry.

Groundhog day (Canada and the USA) On February 2nd, a bunch of people in top hats wake up a very confused, chubby squirrel-rat (a groundhog) to ask it about the weather. If the groundhog sees its own shadow, it gets scared and goes back to sleep, which apparently means we have to deal with six more weeks of winter. If it doesn't see its shadow, it means it's sunny, but somehow spring is coming early.

If your coworkers give you a name, that is your name at work forever. Given enough time, the boss will call you this name, it will be your email address. If you don't like it, object immediately. Effective_Space might get Eff, Effie, Spacie or Ess.

In Taiwan, you will see green bags of chips in various places: car dashboards, taped to computers, sitting on air conditioners, etc. This snack is called kuaikuai 乖乖. It has to be the green butter coconut flavor. The reason is that 乖 means well-behaved, so the snack bag ensures the device will work property.

It’s half serious superstition/religious belief, half ironic. I feel many people take it more seriously than they’d admit.

The pub queue.

1. There is a queue.
People gather along the bar and mentally keep track of who arrived before them. Your job is to notice who was already waiting and respect that order.

2. Eye contact.
When the bartender looks up, make eye contact and maybe give a small nod or smile.
No waving, whistling, snapping fingers, or yelling your order.

3. Never jump the queue
If the bartender comes to you, but someone was clearly waiting longer, you give them their turn.

4. Know your order before it’s your turn
You'll annoy a lot of people if you're sat there dithering.

5. Don’t lean all over the bar
Stand close enough to be seen, but don’t sprawl across the counter. Mostly because the bar mats are gross.

6. Tipping isn’t expected

7. Last orders bell means last orders
At some point in most pubs, a bell will ring; this is your opportunity to get your last drinks in. Don't be a jerk and order 12 cocktails, but most people won't fault you for 2 pints just for you.

Every year the state of Victoria stops everything for a day to go punt on horses, punters with enough money show up in person while the average punter watches on tv. About 65% of tickets last year came from interstate and international punters.

It’s pretty normal for strangers to wish each other “Buen provecho” (bon appétit) after finishing the meal and leaving the restaurant or diner, even food trucks!