Friday, August 26, 2011

Japanese Gestures: "Girlfriend", "Boyfriend"


"girlfriend"

For life in Japan,  they have gestures for "girlfriend" or "boyfriend". Girlfriend is made by extending the pinky finger. It's sometimes used in a slightly lewd way to indicate a mistress or secret lover. I've seen this gesture many times.

My wife tells me there is a similar gesture for boyfriend by extending the thumb. I've never really seen this, though I'm not a girl. I suspect it's not as common because it might be confused with "Thumbs up".


"Boyfriend"

The origin of these gestures might be the meaning or names of the finger "family". There is a member of the family associated with each finger of the hand:

Thumb- "Otosan yubi" Father finger. (Also known as the Parent finger)

Index Finger- "Okasan yubi" Mother finger

Middle Finger- "Onisan yubi" Brother finger

Ring Finger- "Onesan yubi" Sister finger

Pinky- "Akachan yubi" Baby Finger


There are superstitions associated with the thumb or parent finger. For example, if you see a hearse, you should hide your thumb or you won't see your parents when they die. To read more, check out my article on Japanese Superstitions.



No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...