Strange Japanese Gestures & Body Language 

well to be fair kids in America when making promise say "I cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye". so kids saying disturbing things when making a promise is universal lol

The constant bowing is something I picked up quickly on my first trip to Japan. By the end of the 2 week trip, it became almost automatic. So much so that when I returned to Hawaii, I went to Starbucks for a coffee at the airport before heading home, and I instinctively bowed to the barista before ordering. The barista was apparently bilingual as we host many Japanese tourists, and asked me in Japanese what I wanted! 😄

When speaking with Japanese people, I highly highly recommend getting into the habit of doing the head nodding and the little confirming noises/phrases (look up あいづち for more info) Misa shows in this video. To you, it will feel awkward at first, like you're interrupting, but to the Japanese person it will make you feel less cold and less like a weird foreigner. Of course, many Japanese people know that some foreigners don't do this, but it still feels subconsciously like the person you're talking to isn't paying attention if they don't. To be honest, once you get used to it, it's kind of fun. It's like you get to add your own little live commentary track on top of what the other person is saying. Of course, the real challenge is then breaking the habit when you speak with non-Japanese people...still haven't figured that one out.

The "peace" sign actually originated during WW2 as a hand signal code for the word "victory"

Cultural differences in gestures are fascinating. 25:25 was my biggest misunderstanding: the Japanese palm-down wave that means "come here" -- When my teacher did it to me, I thought it meant "back up." And I did. I backed up against the wall of the teachers' conference room.

The way Japanese casually nod, change eye contact, and make a noise when they're listening is 1000% better than the way they do it here in the US. Here, people either space out or they burn a hole through you with their eyes. Also, that girl was indeed extremely mean to you, Misa. Your laugh is adorable!

The beckoning gesture actually confused me the first time I saw it. I was headed to eat lunch with a friend, back in college, and I thought when I saw him using the gesture to call me over, that he was telling me to go away. I started to leave, slightly bummed but thinking he had arranged to meet someone else for lunch that day, and he ran up to me saying "Wait! Where are you going??" We got into a bit of a similar lesson to what みさ先生 is giving, only from both sides. I taught him some American gestures, he taught me some Japanese gestures, and we were both surprised to see how many we have in common.

I'm living in Germany and I once stopped at a crosswalk and the asian-looking kids I was about to let across actually bowed to thank me. Totally unexpected, and somewhat cute.

When a child in brazil, I also used the 小指 to promise things, as well as to "make peace" with other children :D .. (and to "break the friendship" we used the 親指..).. now the bowing and nodding gestures are so interesting, they really feel like something natural and polite we should do.. I loved this lesson, thank you みさ先生！

Coming from the US, the "come here" / "go away" gesture confusion was real. I don't know if I ever saw the gesture in Japan, but in Thailand, "come here" is exactly how we in the US would signal "go away, get out of here." I nodded apologetically (having no idea what offense I might have made) and walked away at least a couple times before I figured it out. 😅

Also the "Wink", at least in the US, can mean you're fooling around or kidding. In a group of people, if you are addressing one individual and putting on your best acting skills to lay the way for the sickest joke, you would wink at the others in the group when your target is not looking, to let them know you're kidding. :P

The “sumimasen hand” is a powerful way to get through a crowd! It helped so much when getting off a crowded train at your stop 😂

Honestly the amount of laughter that spawned due to my wifes poses! I'm British & wife Japanese, I thought she was winding me up, i was so sure she was just taking all the rude and offensive british gestures and creating some nice Japanese meaning behind it so she could do it to me XD!

Speaking for Italiens, Portuguese and Germans bowing if a car let's you pass is relatively normal. Or even if you want to thank somebody, but its more like a small bow (maybe 15° or less) with a subtile nod at the same time . It's like a more extended and polite form of tthe nod. It's also either used to express "thank you" or "you are welcome". It not like everybody does this but you will mostly see for example waiter do this gesture.✌ Great video by the way. I learned a lot 😁

Misa is back!!! I'm so glad she's looking so healthy and happy

It is interesting how, in Japan, the sign that someone is listening to you is exactly the opposite from what it would be in the US, and I'm sure most other western nations. When we're not listening we tend to nod our head and give the occasional uh-huh, yes, sure, and so on. Our minds could be a million miles away but we not our heads and make small verbal interjections to pretend we are listening. The polite way to show you are listening is eye contact and silence, allowing the speaker to speak without interruption, unless they prompt you for a response.

If I recall correctly, the reasoning why the v sign with the palm facing you is considered offensive to some is because back in the medieval era, English longbowmen would use that gesture as a taunt towards the French because the French would have supposedly cut off those 2 fingers of any archers they captured so they wouldn't be able to use their bows anymore because of how dangerous and effective they were. Don't know if this is entirely true or not, but thought it was interesting enough to share

In Sweden instead of crossing our fingers we hold our thumbs with a fist. The phrase "hold one's thumbs" ("hålla tummarna") basically means the same thing as "fingers crossed" in English. Crossing your fingers to me means that you're lying.

A lot of these gestures are very gendered. And also age-dependent. I still, 35 years after leaving Japan, do the chopping/bowing motion as I'm moving through crowds. Occasionally I still find myself covering my mouth as I laugh, too.

The fist gesture is called the Monteursfaust in Germany. In our company the technicians greet each other by showing the IRON Fist. Which is a song by Motorhead.

First of all, congratulations on your manga translation! It’s amazing to think that a lot of these gestures came from or at least were inspired by the West. The peace sign is an obvious one. I think the holding the bicep pose gesture is from the “Rosie the Riveter” poster from World War II. And the pinky promise is of course a western custom. I wonder if yubikiri (finger cutting) might be a reference to Yakuza because they cut off a finger to show loyalty. Winking in the West is used to hint at something, kind of like offering a suggestion. Hands together 🙏 is used in religion as showing a prayer to God but had come to be understood as begging. In the West or at least in America, we show money by rubbing the thumb on the index finger and middle finger simultaneously, especially when asking for money. And the sign for come here is curling upward the index finger.

I'm a first-time viewer located in the USA. Wonderfully done! You are wise beyond your years. Thank you for making me smile with your well worded explanations -- especially when it comes to sensitive topics. I will now have a better idea of what some Anime characters are expression when they make certain motions and hand gestures.

Your channel/this video just got recommended to me…perhaps because I’ve been learning Japanese. With that being said… I appreciate the words at the bottom & how you show how to pronounce them! It’s really a good tool for folks like myself being brand new to the language & culture! 😊 Thanks 🙏🏻 & hellur from ‘MURICA 👋🏻🇺🇸🦅

This lesson is so interesting that I will follow you all the time.

Looks like you had a lot of fun filming this video Misa sensei. Thanks it was very informative. Until the next lesson then! ✌️

you have a beautiful smile and laugh! I'm sad that anyone would ever say something like that, especially to someone so sweet. I thank you for teaching us!!

I taught my friends in highschool the "money/rich" gesture, so we used to throw it to each other to secretly say a guy was attractive and it led to our entire friends group using "money" as an adjective for beauty 😂😂😂 We'd be like "ayo that dude is M O N EY" "gurl that dress is m o n e y" Or "i love your hair. Straight up money" 😂

Wow you really went in depth with the gestures! Unlike any other channel I saw! Misa is 一番！

When you mentioned pinching cheeks it got me wondering why it's such a common form of a sort of playful punishment in anime and if people actually ever do that irl

I appreciate your very informative videos. Whenever I am not mentally up for extra study, I feel like I’m not totally slacking off as I always learn something new. いつもみささんのビデオが好きだ。ありがとうございます😊

Misa-sensei always coming out with great content! 💜 I loved the culture lesson. 💖

This is the first time I've seen you Misa...your English is great....and you describe so well many things about Japanese gestures that I always wondered about and never knew. Love your channel...thank you!

I've gotten into Japanese music the last few years as well as movies and this tutorial on gestures was very helpful. I figured some of these out from context but your explanations helped fill in what I hadn't understood yet. Great video and I found your down to earth style made it more enjoyable too!

The nodding/random noises thing is quite funny. I think a lot of Americans would find it annoying or unpleasant bc it looks like you’re getting them to hurry up and stop talking (almost kind of interrupting when making all those nosies) 😂 I nod a lot and go “mhm mhm mhm” when I’m not interested and want them to shut up. Guess I have to keep that in mind.

相変わらずいい動画、ありがとう！

This was very helpful. Thank you

super helpful as someone who just moved to japan! thank you!

Your laugh is wonderful!!! Thanks for the great content, as always :D

OMG thank you! I am glad you made this video!

Finally!!! New video!! You are so funnyy and a great teacherrr

your hair colours are always so pretty 💖

Your explanations are so charming! Thank you.

So charming and nice. You deserve every view, thank you for your incredible, in-depth free content!

さすがみさ先生！Another great video!

oh man 3min into the video and she already cheered me up. thanks Misa, your just great.

❤️ This was interesting and fun. Thank you very much.

Super informative. Thank you! You are great!!!!

so informative! you are so cute, pretty, adorable and a great teacher to learn from. Every time I take the time to watch your videos, I am entertained and educated! thank you. keep smiling and sharing that awesome laugh! :)

Thank you so much Misa! You are inspiring me to learn Japanese and enjoy the culture too :) ありがとうございます

I loved this lesson a lot ! Thank you for another great lesson , was very useful, interesting, and cute !!!!! 😁😆✨👍

Well done and very informative! Thsnks!

very delightful to see, much informative, TY :)

First, your laugh is infectiously great. I absolutely love it! Second, in America, べー is akin to "nana nana boo boo" (which is often followed by "stick your head in poo poo" and then sticking the tongue out straight).

omg i love this channel already you are very charismatic :D

That blanket on the back of your chair is sooo cute!

This is fascinating and very informative!

Very informative. Please keep up the good works! Thumbs up. 👍

"Not licking any cats" 😆 It was very funny) Прямо насмешила, еще такой интерпретации не слышал😁

When I was a kid I watched a baseball anime called Big Windup! (おおきく振りかぶって), and the protagonist team's catcher used the middle finger gesture as a legit sign for the pitcher. Made me think that most Japanese people didn't know what that meant to most Western cultures. Interesting to hear that most Japanese people know what it means even though they don't use it.

OMG, This chick is such a WEALTh of knowledge. I wish I have the time to watch more. I want to live in Japan part-time but I don't have the time to hear all of Misa's lessons. I've studied Pinsleurs for almost 2 years but it's gonna take a LOT more. Much love Misa! I need some discipline.

I feel, as an English, because I know this is pretty unique to us, I should let people know that the "palm towards you" two fingers gesture is considered offensive in the UK. The story is that, ~600-700 years ago, the French would cut the fingers off of English archers (there's no actual evidence of this), so English longbowmen would do this to taunt their enemies by showing those fingers (because "I still have my shooting fingers"). Outside of the UK, as I understand it, it's no different than an 'outwards palm' gesture, i.e. no harm to anyone. (Personally, I wouldn't normally consider it offensive - it's usually only odd when others don't pose, and we're quite desensitised to it in current times. But some people may be highly offended; it can be seen worse than flipping someone off or saying "fuck you").

You are wonderful! Thank you for sharing so much!

On the arm polishing stance, it's still used in the US but mostly in reference to Rosie the Riveter. It was a way to say "I can do it" by showing off muscles. A variant of this that you might see more, but still rarely, is where the elbow is pointed more downwards.

Its funny that you mentioned someone said when you laughed it was ugly because all this time I was thinking its one of your most attractive qualities. And that Japanese childrens song sounds like they are prepping themselves to join the Yakuza later on in life.

Wow, you have so much knowledge of different languages, cultures and their gestures. Great job. It is amazing how much you know and understand. Many of the things you talk about are very correct, but not seen so often, yet you knew about them anyway. Simply amazing. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge and teaching it here. It really shows just how hard working you are by observing all of the details that you put into the making and editing of this video. Have a great day and cheers.

Three more gestures I could think of that could be added to the list are: 1. "Batsu" - either crossing your fingers (separate hands), to tell someone "NO". This is an opposite to "Maru" which is "YES". Now both the "batsu" and the "maru" could be done with only the fingers, but at a distance you could use your whole arms to signal it from afar. Or to extenuate the feeling or response even at close range. Doing the full body "maru" you would make a circle with your arms over your head, touching the tips of your fingers. When doing the full body "batsu" you would cross your entire arms in front of your torso. 2. "Iya ya ya" - Basically the "no no no", saying that "that praise, gratitude, or apology is not needed or called for". What you do is you simply shake your hand in front of you from left to right in a fast motion. 3. "Hazukashii/Tereru" Putting your hand behind your head - especially as a guy is a way to tell the other person that you are embarrassed or that you are getting way too much praise. I've understood this is considered a sign of humility among Japanese, which is thought of as either cute or conscientious. Great video Misa, I liked hearing about all the Japanese mannerisms. It was a blast to the past for me as I lived in Japan 20 years ago.

I just saw the eye lid and tounge thing in anime and I had no idea. Looked cute/funny. 😆 As soon as I saw your thumbnail pic for video I had to find out what it meant.

I’m not sure why I didn’t subscribe earlier, but your videos are nice. The lessons are good and entertaining at the same time.

The gesture at 06:05 i remember my teacher do to us when we were kids. if we said "noo that is too much homework to give us" then he would just do that face nd say "well too bad!" it was kind of fun. this was in norway. i like how many countries have things that overlap in culture even if we are far away

Very enriching lesson as always

本当便利ですねえ！ありがとうございました！

Just came across your page and you were very informative as I have come across many Japanese tourist where I live so this will help me when I interact with. I do have some knowledge of Japanese custom when interacting with others, but this help even more. Though I don't get as much as i use to. Thanks for sharing.

The way how lights reflects in Your eyes is gorgeous! Intentionally or not but you got my attention to say the least. Content is overhelmingly good, saturated and precented in a cute manner, need to check other Your videos!

I'm impressed with your communication skills, you handled the delicate expressions very well. In short, I learned a lot and was not offended in the least, thank you.

“Up yours” killed me 🤣🤣 Misa killing with the jokes!! Also Misa you have a great smile!

みさちゃん、I love this video especially this part 23:16, you are so funny. Thank you for explaining these gestures.♡

Misaの笑顔は本当にきれいだと思います

Awesome video. Well done ! 😀👍

Fascinating! I think you did a very good job explaining some of the more difficult to understand gestures most western people may have never seen or seen only in anime. Thank you for sharing.

love your videos and your hair looks super cute! very interesting points here. i didnt know a lot of these. im a bit confused about the leg crossing part but cultural differences i guess

that thing with the promise-song has its roots back in *kojiki* I feel. There was a thread a Kami gave, Yomotsu Okami, I think to bring death upon 1000 people a day, whereas another Kami vowed to bring life to 10.000 more

love the vids and kansha your openness.

Thanks for these videos. I'm trying to learning Japanese and to find such good explanations and sweet person doing the teaching is a blessing. . As for talking to someone we, in America, look at the person eye to eye. In some countries people talks looking everywhere else and that seems that a person doesn't give a damn about.

What a precious little lady, so glad I stumbled upon this. ☺️

Oh Hell Yea!! Wow, fantastic tutorial Misa-chan. I was surprised coming across this video. Your English is perfect, excellent pronunciation and sentence structuring is very good. It is very easy to understand what you are conveying for thoughts and ideas. To my surprise, I actually remembered more Japanese language than I thought I had forgotten. The language and the hand signals that were commonly every day used in the Tokyo region of my two year stay were just as you presented them. I learned the train system pretty early on and would go on expeditions All over Honshu Island, just to see what there was to be seen. Learned enough language that I could ask for directions and understand what was given back to me for instructions and directions. I'm not sure I could do that today, it was many years ago that I was in Japan. Keep up the great videos you have created, they are perfect for learning the Every Day language used by Nippon people.

This was actually interesting thanks.

11:35 wise decision Truthfully, your sense of humor is such a nice addition when teaching this language (japanese sometimes is hard..) どうもありがとう😊

☆thank you, very helpful, definitely subbed up! ☆

The money gesture in canada means that if u look at it, the person that did the sign can punch you on the shoulder. Before we had to do it on the knee but now we dont really care anymore and do it in the air.

First time watching your channel, I think I'm in love 🥰. Anyway, thank you for explaining the gestures, I had always been curious about some of them. You did an excellent job of explaining so that even someone like me could understand 🤣. I liked and subscribed and I can't wait to see more of your videos. Take care and stay safe 🙏 ❤️.

Making the peace sign backwards is like a cheeky/provocative thing in Australia. I find people do it to pretend to be mad more than actually use it to display anger.

My wife has photos from her school days in Asaka in the '80s and she's always doing the peace sign with her friends! One thing I'd never seen before I saw her do it, is tapping the forefinger tips together, like a pleading. I've seen it in anime too.

Great video!

I did martial arts for 10 years growing up, and I still instinctively do the little bows when greeting people, letting people go past, or thanking people! Also, so interesting to hear that 🙏🏼 is primarily used in Japan for apologies and “please”! As an American, I mostly use it for “thank you”-so 🙏🏼 thank you for your amazing, thorough videos!

My Army buddy married a girl from Japan. I only spent a few days with them when they stayed over while on a trip, but one thing I really thought was cool was when she said goodbye she would stay where we said goodbye and wave until the person was out of sight. I thought that was a really nice gesture that means a little more than just waving/hugging and then turning around and leaving as the person drives off.

I'm not a very expressive person, so I imagine I would come off badly in Japan. That being said I'm pretty shy, so things like bowing might be easier to pick up and I already apologize when anyone does anything for me lol. I also have a habit of thanking people when I've done something for them. Probably not a Japanese thing, but who knows? lol

This was pretty interesting. What I want to know is if there's some gesture equivalent to the "fingers crossed" and "knock on wood" ones. Like is there some gesture to communicate wanting good luck or hoping you didn't just say something too soon? I second guess myself a lot so I like those gestures lol

Great explanations!

This was good!! Another good one is the double blink when you don’t understand someone. The slower and more exaggerated, the more passive aggressive!

Great video. Thank you.