I want to list some of the gestures used by Turkish people here. If you have anything to add, please do so and I will then sum up whatever we can accumulate here in a page of the web site.

- Kissing each other on both cheeks (actually this is touching the cheeks). This is done to greet each other, and can be done man to man, wonam to woman or man to woman. Shaking hands is also used but if you just shake hands this means you are not very close to that person. When you meet a friend, you generally kiss on both cheeks. When you se two guys hugging and kissing each other in both cheeks in Turkey, don't think they are gays
Some very religious people, hovewer, avoid any contact with the opposite sex.

- In Turkey, you can see guys (who are close friends) in more physical contact than in the western countries. It is normal to hold the hand of a friend or walk with your arm over your friend's shoulder. This does not mean you are gays, this is a sign of close friendship.

- Shaking your head to sides means "I don't get it" or "I don't know"

- Nodding your head to the front means "yes".

- Throwing your head slightly to the back while raising your eyebrows up and clicking your tongue at the same time means "no".

- Waving your hand up and down to somebody, with inside of your palm looking down means "come here"

There are many more, but I'd like you to tell the ones you know or I'll continue later

There are also these offensive gestures that can be included here. One example:

- Place your thumb between your index finger and middle finger, then close your fist. If you show your fist like this to someone from Turkey, this is offensive It is almost the same as showing the middle finger.

Hand kissing is also a very important and traditional gesture in Turkish culture. It is a way of greeting a person significantly older or than you. In religious holidays, for instance, children kiss the hands of their grandparents. It is also a tradition to give children kissing your hands some money on these special days. The action can be described as follows:

- The grandparent (or let's say the older person) puts his hand slightly forward, with the palm facing down. The child (if necessary, bends a little and) kisses the hand offered.

In response, the older person kisses the child on both cheeks. But this time, it is not simply touching the cheeks as you do with a friend. He kisses both cheeks with his lips

Which hand do they kiss? Left or right?

I don't think it makes a difference which hand you kiss, you actually kiss whichever is handed to you But it's generally the right hand.

In Turkish culture, while you are together with the older family members, putting one leg over the other when sitting is regarded as manner that is generally disrespectful and contemptuous. Depending on how traditional the family is, this might be a life saving hint for those who are planning to visit a Turkish friend's family especially if they want to impress them.

People must remember that when learning a language you should also learn something about the culture to fully understand what you saying. hakiki mu?

I completely agree with you on that. You cannot think of a language independent of the culture that shapes it, fills the words with more meaning than they could have alone.

For the question phrase "hakiki mu?" you used, the correct for is "hakiki mi?" meaning "is that correct(right)?". This is an old language phrase though. People no longer use this word (hakiki = correct) any more. Instead you can use "doğru" which has the same meaning. To ask "is that right?" you can say "doğru mu?"

tesekkùrler. I'm only starting to learn Turkish so obviously I make lots of mistakes. Iyi gùnler

Gùnaydin! Ben Italyasyorum, ama ben Irlandadanim. In Italy, I often see foreign people use gestures which are normal in their country but in Italy are offensive. Some of these people have lived in Italy for a few years but have never really learned the Italian culture. These same people then say that they don't understand Italians!!!

merhaba!turkce gercekten guzel bir dil.evet gercekten yasadıgın ulkenın kulturunu ogrenmek cok onemlı.
denısas

Raising your chin, moving your eyebrows up and simultaneously clicking your tongue means "NO." (Try it. It is fun ! ). This one is one of the most different gestures of the Turkish body language.Please check the picture at the right hand side showing this gesture. A sharp downward nod means yes.

I like the picture iyi bayramlar to everyone

Funny, but that's exactly the same body language that the greeks use when saying no (ochi) as well! I assume that it was a gesture they assimilated from the turks (ottomans).

That's nothing, there are actually a lot of common things between two cultures. You can even undersstand this when you watch a few Turkish movie and a few Greek movie. Deserts, many dishes, songs, the way people dress, and may other things. Good observation though. You have a point there!

Some Italians use the same gestures as well, especially in the south of the country and in Sicily, where there is a strong Greek community.

I also agree to what Irishdon said about knowing the country`s culture,better,too.If you visit a country and you know nothing about people`s costumes, you can be unpolite or even in an embarassing situation.

Hi to all
soo gald to write u too
you know i agree with most what you write there
u want to know the country you must know the pole how thye think how do thye eat all this will make u underestand them well
for me as i am from bahrain and olmost have the same what you are talking in Turky
so when i whent there first time i really didnt feel i am starnge cus most of there culture it is our too

it is because of that both countries have Muslims in their majority of population...I mean it is because of the religion,not because of the culture...Actually,there are some differences between the understanding of religion by the people of these two countries....

Salam..Ben Azeribaycandanim..Neden Burda Turkce konushmak bu kadar az?

yes is very interesting , but did you all knows how many common words we have Bosnian-Turkish Language ...

Hi or maybe Merhaba, I found all this notes amusing and informative. I agree I would not wish to visit Turkey and offend anyone. I did not think beyond the language but now you made me think. I am very new at learning Turkish I just hope I can grasp the language and the culture well.

merhaba im from istanbul and mmm im happy to find dis site..its great especially moderators we adore them...they leave much space for us...we open topics everywer and mmmmm yes many cute friends here...many of them have bf or gf like miss-c and bod.....we r all happy....thx....


about body language........ yes we should all learn that language it has great word stock and its spelling strange...we use dis language much..im fluent in it...

Men walking arm in arm or holding hands is a common in most Arabic contries, hence a familiar sight, say in Saudi Arabia...definitely not typical Turkish behaviour

If it were only in Southeast Turkiye, could it be a Kurdish thing? Or just that that part of Turkiye is closer to Syria, Iraq and other Arabic countries?

Americans in upstate NY, Michigan, or Wisconsin are much more likely to enjoy (and have played) ice hockey than someone in Texas. Aside from the weather differences, it's mainly a cultural bleed-over from Canada. People from the upper peninsula of Michigan have a decidedly Canadian accent as well.

I don't see many men arm to arm around me, but rather I see young males, usually under 30, wrap their friends' shoulder with one arm (ehehe I don't know hot it can be described in english). It's common and noone would think bad. And I find it very sincere. I don't understand why men shouldn't have warm physical contact with each other.

I found this website that may be useful to saome people. It has different situations and how to respond in Turkey using etiquette. It also has some phrases and how to pronounce them.

Here it is http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/turkey-country-profile.html

Hope this works