Italians are well famous for their hand gestures. We can go on and on talking only by using our hands and perfectly understand each other. It’s our “Trademark”, we don’t even realize it until someone starts emulating us (see my boyfriend when I talk to my parents on the phone).
Italians are well famous for their hand gestures.
. It’s our “Trademark”, we don’t even realize it until someone starts emulating us (see my boyfriend when I talk to my parents on the phone).
For every picture I will put a headline with the meaning and a quick explanation at the bottom. Note that to fully understand the meaning of an Italian hand gesture, you always need to pay attention to the face! Enjoy the silliness…
Now you are officially ready to conquer the world!
ITALIAN HAND GESTURE N.2: WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! (New Online Emoji!)
Hold on to your horses! There is a new pinched fingers emoji included and it has a strictly Italian meaning! Everyone is tagging me to tell me so hey, could I have leaved out of this article?! Certainly not!
Let’s say that you are on vacation in Italy, being in
Sardinia,
Tuscany,
Rome…whatever! And you meet an Italian person. Yes, that strange creature, half-human, and half cartoon, who would be probably able to send you to jail for eating a pineapple pizza or drinking a cappuccino after midday (but I’m digressing!)
Let’s say that you are on vacation in Italy, being in
Sardinia,
Tuscany,
Rome…whatever! And you meet an Italian person. Yes, that strange creature, half-human, and half cartoon, who would be probably able to send you to jail for eating a pineapple pizza or drinking a cappuccino after midday (but I’m digressing!)
Let’s say that you are on vacation in Italy, being in
Sardinia,
Tuscany,
Rome…whatever! And you meet an Italian person. Yes, that strange creature, half-human, and half cartoon, who would be probably able to send you to jail for eating a pineapple pizza or drinking a cappuccino after midday (but I’m digressing!)
When should you use it:
ITALIAN HAND GESTURE N. 9: I DON’T CARE, I DON’T GIVE A DAMN!
Oh, and if you didn’t like my post…
ITALIAN GESTURE N.13: SILLY ME I FORGOT!!
Read in:
Italian German
When to use it: You finally signed up for the scuba diving course with your friend. The morning of your first lesson, you woke up at 10, and you suddenly realize that you just missed the 6 am immersion. That’s the face you will show to the world (if you are Italian of course) 🙂
ITALIAN GESTURE N. 14: SILLY ME! I REMEMBER NOW!!
When to use it: After all your lectures about Piranhas and attend the scuba diving course, your friend is really pissed off at you. He reminds you that you told him to get ready by 5:50 am for the first class.
Not really! Italians are famous for using their hands a lot but not all these gestures are either specific for a situation or offensive! Let’s say that we truly like to gesticulate a lot even if it doesn’t have a proper meaning.
ITALIAN GESTURE N. 15: HE/SHE THINKS IT’S SMART!!!
When should you use it?
When to Use it: Your friend believe your innocent face, you turn your face to your other friends and make this face as to say : ” He think he’s smart”. You can also use this gesture when you genuinely think that someone said something smart. Italians don’t always fake it! 🙂
ITALIAN GESTURE N. 16: COME HERE YOU!
LATEST UPDATE FEBRUARY 2020
Where to use it : You want to have a private chat with your friend before he goes swimming with the sharks. You can call him just waving your hand up and down. If you make little, almost invisible movements, it means that you need to tell him some sort of secret.
ITALIAN GESTURE N. 17: BE CAREFUL, WATCH OUT!
Contents – Open To Read
When to use it: Your friend comes closer to you and, after you performed the superstitious gesture for good luck, you add this sign, to warn him about the danger and to incite him to be extremely careful in his adventure. After all the lies and mocking, you still care about your friend!
Your friend finally decides to go swimming with the damn piranhas by himself. He comes back, alive, with a half eaten bloody foot. This sign is perfect to tell him that you don’t give a damn.
So let’s get started with our
Italian hand gestures crash course. After reading this article, you will finally understand what’s going on when two Italians are around.
No more secret codes, I promise! You will even able to join the conversation and add some very deep meaning to it 😉
When should you use it: After sending your friend to hell with the previous gesture, unbelievably he is still trying to convince you about the Piranhas. You don’t want to argue with him anymore and want to drop the subject. This sign is perfect for the occasion! It also means the classic and straightforward: WHATEVER!
(If your girlfriend is Italian and she uses this hand gesture, combined with a spiteful or poker face… RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! 😀
So…Your friend starts mocking you because you refuse to go swimming with the Piranhas with him. He says you are a coward, and you don’t know how to have fun in life. Feel free to use this sign! Avoid using this hand gesture with your girlfriend, especially if she’s Italian. Don’t tell me I haven’t warned you!!
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When should you use it?
You even sent me numerous emails asking me whether or not he truly performed an obscene gesture. So what’s the answer?