Impolite Things That Should Not be Done in European Countries

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The American style hand waving is obscene in Greece to say hello. Instead a closed palm with a raised index finger is used. It is an offensive gesture by holding up five fingers, with the palm of the hand facing the listener, especially when the palm is vertical to signify “five” or “stop”. To signify “five” palm of the hand should be faced to speaker and for “stop” closed fingers should be used.

Placing the thumb between the middle and index fingers to make a fist is an offensive gesture in Greece. Eating the spoon sweets in fast manner is also rude as it indicates you can’t wait to leave. When saying “Goodbye” palm should be faced towards yourself with fingers raised and moving up and down. This is exactly equal to the American version of “come here”. Nodding is performed by moving the head only once to say yes or no. Shaking the head several times is considered uncivilized.

In Bulgaria money should not be kept in the person’s hands directly. Rather it should be placed on a table or similar place close to the person. Look at the person in the eyes when saying cheers and clinking your mug with him.

Clinking their mugs when drinking beer is impolite in Hungary.

When called for dinner it is impolite to attend without a token gift in Poland. Calling somebody with their first name before they introduce themselves, asking unfamiliar women their age and giving cigarette out by hand when offering to someone instead of allowing him to take it out are also impolite.

Shaking hands with gloves and sitting while women are standing is considered impolite in Romania. This is applied to men only. Making a phone call after 10 pm, keeping the head covered indoors particularly while eating and sitting down to eat without removing the outer garments are also impolite.

Prolonged direct eye contact especially with the opposite sex is aggressive in Russia. It is rude to pass the people with your back especially when passing in a theater row.