Having lived all my life in India, I thought this was a universal gesture, until i read about it somewhere. Strange, I am sure I can't communicate without it
Tell me.....as an Indian, why do so many English speaking Indian people start conversations with, 'Tell me...'? It is kind of cute, in an odd way. I was just wondering why so many people say exactly the same thing.... So, tell me! hehe. Thanks.
in our sinful nature, we’re nothing more than wretched, vile sinners in DIRE need of the Savior, but JESUS, the perfect and sinless Lamb of God, came into the world and took the punishment we deserved for our wicked sins and was raised from the dead three days after being buried so that we may have the opportunity of salvation, redemption, adoption, and reconciliation to the Heavenly Father. we ought to repent and believe in the Gospel of our LORD Jesus Christ; we must be born-again!!
@@michaelr.4878 I just realised I do it all the time😂😂. And i have no idea why I use tell me before asking something. But we usually begin with these words with our frnds or closed one but not with our managers or colleagues at work
This was a great explanation. I had an Indian women wobble her head while I was talking to her and I had no idea what she was doing. Now I know. Thanks!
I find it really sweet. It is very nice when you are speaking to someone and they physically acknowledge what you are saying and with a soft smile. Makes for very welcoming feeling.
Hey dude. I'm a travel agent here in Brazil and I got the pleasure to attend 2 girls from India specially from Tamil Nadu hahah. I've a close connection with India because about 3 years ago I started studying English and I have too a great friend in Utar Pradesh specially in "Alahabad" I suppose it's the old name of this city. Anyways during the attediment both girls did it during our great conversation.. and this video made me understand it very well. I'm intending to visit India in next 2 years I want to cross North India to South by train hahaha. My Utar Pradesh friend has shown me a country which has changed me for completely. My Indian "crush" a beautiful Tuticorin friend is sweet amazing and I really like her hahah I use to talk to her everyday hahah.. Thank you so much for this opportunity which I'm having here to express my love for this country.. Namastê.
@@tanishksingh3580 Sorry, I don't know if they meant for that to be offensive, I assume not, the head wobble is completely unheard of among far westerners unless it is someone who knows Indian people... I grew up being good friends with an Indian brother and sister and often had dinner with their family so I got to see the gesture a little bit, not enough to know exactly what it meant or represented, but enough to know that it was a friendly gesture
@@tanishksingh3580 I am from the UK, I assume there are lots of Indians who are not very fond of the British due to our ancestor's poor behaviour, however, there is quite a large population of Indians in the UK, more specifically England, so we are more likely to have been around Indians at one point or another during our lives. I am assuming the person who wrote the comment is American. On the other hand, there are the Americans, I don't think America is a very culturally diverse or accepting country in large, and for this reason, it is unusual to see this kind of behaviour, as it was likely their first and only time witnessing the gesture... I'm sure there are many mannerisms and behaviours that westerners have that would be confusing and bizarre to Indians and people of many other cultures too as people from different places behave differently, and often in ways you are not used to and have never seen before. You just have to be accepting and non-judgmental when in the presence of people from different backgrounds and cultures. In part, I believe that someone's ability to be accepting and non-judgmental of anyone is a key factor in deciding whether you are a good or bad person, but that's just my opinion.
@@tanishksingh3580 not everyone is Indian. Do you know everything about everyone else's culture and why they do what they do? No. You don't. Use your head to think and not just wobble.
So about 11 years ago i worked for an amusement park here in the states. I was working at the popcorn stands we had anlot of tourist there so i gradually got used to the wobble. Being of hispanic descent i had never seen this as we use more hand gestures for non verbal communication. Now when i say i got used to it I dont just mean i just acknowledge it or simply accepted it. I mean that i got to gradually understand what it ment. For instance when someone came to the stand and asked: "May i get a bag of popcorn" while wobbling their head. I knew he was asking respectfully and in a polite manner. It definitely adds that feeling to what they are saying. After i would hand them their bag of popcorn they would simply wobble their head again. This is where i learned it was also as sign of gratitude or a simple way to say thanks. Our world is so beautifully diverse. Thanks for uploading this
I'm in America and was watching a video of a deaf child from, I believe, India. As the child paid attention to his tutor; he wobbled his head and it made me curious. You explained the wobble so well! Thank You.
One of the best descriptions of the wobble that I've heard, thank you. From a non-Indian's observation after enjoying several Indian movies: It was obvious that the wobble had infinite meanings. I was puzzled until I tried to catch the contextual clues. An accompanying smile, as you said, or a word, or certain look in the eyes, facial expression, hand gesture, body language. Some Indian actors are so adept at it (intentionally or not), they can carry an entire conversation in head wobbles, and I love those scenes :D (I'm thinking of Anirban Bhattacharya, for example). IMHO, the wobble is one of the most endearing, versatile, non-verbal forms of expression on the planet. Wobblers have a natural, unique gift of communication that is notoriously difficult for us non-Indians to master convincingly :D
in our sinful nature, we’re nothing more than wretched, vile sinners in DIRE need of the Savior, but JESUS, the perfect and sinless Lamb of God, came into the world and took the punishment we deserved for our wicked sins and was raised from the dead three days after being buried so that we may have the opportunity of salvation, redemption, adoption, and reconciliation to the Heavenly Father. we ought to repent and believe in the Gospel of our LORD Jesus Christ; we must be born-again!!
@@inactiveuser555 oh look at you, a PRETEND AGAIN CHRISTIAN. 🙄 Satan's Greatest achievement is brainwashing you, saying the World needs you, that God called upon you... you are God's chosen... he then says " God works in mysterious ways" when u question hus contradictions. This is why you rape and murder nonbelievers. This is why you worship jerusalem... the very ppl that crucified Jesus christ. Just because you can preach some biblical sounding bs doesn't mean you understand the simple rules laid out by the Bible. Your Hatred of homosexuality, your war on science, and your loyalty to $Money$ is the problem.
Thank you for the explanation. I'm from the USA and was watching an Indian tv show tonight and was confused by/interested in this. Your explanation was thorough and clear.
Conquer British English [Anpu] I don’t know much about Tamil but some Asian languages have “politeness particles” that you can tag into a sentence or just use in isolation as someone speaks to you; Thai is a good example with krap for men and kaa for women. Khmer has them too, and both cultures are very much influenced by India. (Their writing systems are based on Tamil script too.) Do you have words like that in Tamil?
Thanks for this! I just watched an Indian movie where people were doing this gesture and it's good to understand what it's all about. Also FWIW as a westerner seeing it for the first time, I think it's really charming.
THANK YOU! I have been wondering about this for years. But honestly, I didn’t want to unintentionally insult someone by asking why people do this. Now I know! Thank you for this meaningful and educational video.
For a westerner, I thought this was actually a softer way of saying “no”, than the side to side motion, like “I am not sure you are right about that”… interesting that it actually means the opposite
I lived in US and I taught violin lessons for dozen of Indians families. Most of them would do it when I was giving them instructions after the lesson was done. Thank you for the video and hugs from Brazil to the fellow Indian people! I used to be mistakenly recognized as an Indian there and I liked it!
This is the first time I have seen/heard an explanation on head-wobbling. I'm not Asian, but somehow I have always taken for granted that it is an affirmative gesture. I like it.
Thank you for explaining this gesture. I remember being on a plane (South Western) and I asked an Indian man if I could sit beside him as South Western doesn't have assigned seats and he did this exact gesture but was silent. By him moving to the window seat and smiling I realized he was okay w it. The head shaking was another way of saying yes and honoring me I guess. What a nice person 😄
There is one more gesture of head wobbling When someone asks you to do something and you don't want to do that but you have to do, then keeping the eyes closed and wobbling the head will describe your state. (I hope you got what I meant)
I work with a Tamil woman and she wobbles her head a lot. We have to talk about complex and varied things and as a result of our conversations I concluded that the wobbling I saw meant "Yes, I agree", "Ok", "That's fine" and "I understand... carry on talking". The last one is a fast wobble that seems to convey that she's keeping up with my explanation and is indicating that I can continue without having to stop and clarify anything. Watching this video is the first time I have "checked" my interpretation. It doesn't seem like I'm too far wrong, thankfully. I love the head wobble. Great video!
That was a wonderful explanation. As an english person working with many Indian colleagues at work i've found it very confusing having Video conferences where my indian counterparts are shaking their heads but verbally agreeing. I did not realise how prevalent is. You video puts me at ease and allows me confidence in communicating with my colleagues. Such a shame that us westerners are not more communicative and supportive through gestures. its really powerful reinforcement during the conversation without disrupting conversation flow.
Anpu thanks so much for your explanation of the head wobble. I saw an elderly lady wobble her head at me and sort of slowly, and what you said made sense that she saw me as a friend: how encouraging. I also liked the sign of respect by closing the eyes and also for agreement.
OMG i just started a new company, my new boss is named Baburaj i do not know his nationality but would assume Indian, Great guy! the whole meeting he was doin a head wobble... Im as Aussie as they get, and work in mental health and noticed this, i got fast ones and slow ones and ones with laughter, this is good i was curious and NO have never seen the head wobble.... Much respect and gratitude to you, thanks mate for clearing that up. Good on you for recognition to cultural differences and to give information without prejudice to ignorance, Kudos to you.
Thank you for your tutorial. I live in Northern California and recently saw a doctor who was of S. Asian descent. She had a slight head wobble and it made me curious as I had seen it in actors and in documentaries. I didn't ask her about as I didn't want to be rude. Your explanation was great and very interesting. Thank you!
I was confused too but if you think about it we have head movements in the USA that others may not understand too Kind of the same thing.. like if we're in the middle of a conversation and a waiter/waitress brings us a drink refill we just give a cowboy nod to and say thank you..women will accompany it with a smile. Men here also do the cowboy nod to acknowledge strangers and women and some men will accompany it with a slight smile. When we're listening to someone and we want to show that we understand we will do a fast slight up and down vertical nod. We also do the up and down vertical to say yes. When we are listening to someone and don't like what they're saying we will slightly shake our heads left to right about 3 or 4 times and we will do the same to simply say no. When we believe someone is doing or saying something wrong we will do that same back and fourth left right head motion. I was confused by the Indian head movement so I came here but now it makes a lot of sense.
So it´s like a nod. A repeated up-and-down nod means yes. But a nod can also be a greeting if it´s a slight fast upwards nod. Or a sign of respect if it´s a subtle and slow downward nod.
I didn’t realize people would ask about this. Thank you so much for your explanation. I can now know when my Indian friends are wobbling, it’s a good thing^^
I was recently talking to a young Indian women who lives with my girlfriend here in the UK and she suddenly started a very pronounced head wobble. I found it very charming but I did go online to see what it meant.
One of my upper managers was once having a slightly confrontational conversation with my team and he was doing the head wobble afterwards. We'd never seen it before and found it confusing, so several of my work friends joked about him being a "bobblehead" in a private chat afterwards. It was only recently, when I was watching RRR, that I realized it was a cultural thing! And now I feel terrible for making fun of the guy, even in private. 🥺 Thanks for the explainer video!
You're welcome! and thanks for sharing your experience. And thanks for recognising that it's not kind to making fun of cultural gestures. Sending love!!
Sooo funny! I'm an old American from Arizona with less contact with South Asians than most and never really noticed this ...until watching RRR. Now I'm remembering having seen this a number of times in the past when we had Indian guests and I never really took notice. Now, like everybody else here, I'm practicing the gesture just to see what it feels like. I think I have a stiff neck!!!
I used to work at an apartment complex over summers, and the renters were predominately from India, I noticed the headshakes were always when they were agreeing with something I said, or when they understood something I was explaining. I love learning about other's cultures, the wobbles I would always get were very faint/not as 'aggressive' as the ones showed in this video however.
Love it! As a nurse I found this very helpful for communicating with my patients. I suspected this was the gist, but had no idea it could communicate so much. I’ll pay more attention next time and see if I can understand better what is being expressed. Thanks for making the video!
This is helpful! I’m in clinical and the doctor is from India so we have tons of patients from India. I thought I was tripping but I realized the patients were definitely wobbling their heads lol this explains it! Thank you!
When i see them wobble the head after hearing a sentence, i usually presume that the wobble means information processing before answering. Cool to see thier processing power showing
I live in a community of people from South Asia in Morrisville, NC, USA. I am a white lady, but a minority in this part of Raleigh NC by far. Appreciate the info,,because I am often confused, because these wobbles vary. Encountered a fast wobble today as I conversed with a lady whose son was coming to visit my son. Now that I understand what it means, I think she's aware of the accent barrier and wants me to feel like my responses to her are accurate to what she's communicating. We were discussing what time I would bring her son back home after visiting my son. I actually find her English very easy to understand because she talks at a pace I can follow. Some Indian people here speak so fast I can't understand.
Mahalo my friend. I’m late to this post but!!!! In researching how to best understand a couple of my students I ended up learning a lot about my late brother…. Many years before he past he spent close to a year in India and Nepal. When he got back home to Hawaii (which has many different cultures and their non-verbal communication) he continued the head shake. Which at the time obviously didn’t understand it. Sooooo thank you!!!!! Some thing I thought might be a mimic (I feel like an ass) was a lovely sign.
I am reading a book about life in Bombay... First time I have heard about the head wobble. Brought up a big smile. What a great gesture. Western society would greatly benefit from adopting a way to show respect to each other. Thank you for your explanation. I will be on the lookout for it now. 🙏
Thanks Anpu for explain to us this .. I living in India one year .. awesome people really I like them I have alot of Indians friends.From different religious and culture still contact with them until now … I’m Yazeed from saudia Arabia
I live in malaysia, its funny when the malay and chinese talk to indian they also shake thier head like they already know every meaning of their head language.. 😂
Thank you soooooooo much for explaining this. I just moved to a different part of town wear there are predominately Indians and I could not understand why the culture does this. But now I have a greater understanding of this beautiful culture. Thank you
I picked up the wobble after working and becoming friends with many Indians at work. My head wobbles all the time, even when I’m not with them. I 💯 picked up their culture subconsciously
Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge. I needed to understand because an Indian woman was wobbling her head quickly while agreeing to do something for me as a customer. I wasn’t sure if she was upset or agreeable because in African American and American culture, head wobbling/shaking means the opposite of what it means in Indian culture. 😅
I'm not even Indian but it's my very old habit of mine when I talk to person or say yes now I came to UAE and worked with Indian people now it make sense lol
Agreed! I am visiting Dubai for the first time from the US and seen a lot of Indians wobbling their heads, I was curious as hell to know the meaning of this but now it all makes sense and very interesting! 👌🏼
Yes, ((😌)) I live in San Antonio TX and just a few days ago I observed a family group at the Japanese Tea Garden doing just that. Thought to myself, "Wish I knew what that head gesture means." Thanks for clarifying ((😌))
So I’m at this wonderful Vegetarian Indian Cafe in Houston, TX. I have been experienced different facets of the Indian culture through relationships cultivated over 20 years in the hospitality industry. I just noticed a fellow customer doing the “head wobble” and needed to understand the gesture. Thank you so much for this video….I didn’t know how to search for the answer, but your video popped up in anticipation of my request.
Thanks for this video. One of my Indian volleyball mates did this, and then when some of his friends came out to play, I noticed they did this too. I got the sense that it is a sign of respect, and sometimes almost endearing. I really like this gesture ☺️
Next time my Mother In-Law asks if I want her to make her famous chicken pot-pie it'll look like I'm going thru a time warp with how much "understand" I have 😂.
so the wobble is kind of like a respectful "yeah" or "sure thing!" when you're listening to someone or you're in accordance with something that's being told or asked to/of you?
Loved your explanation, thanks. I work with a girl from India and asked a colleague what the head wobble was about as I was concerned, my colleague told me to do a search of the head wobble. Turns out it's apart of non verbal communication.
Thank you for your explanation. I've been a city bus driver in the USA and have many university students passingers coming from India, I always wonder why they were shaking their heads.
I work for cps in texas and the mother grandmother i interviewed on my case made this gesture a lot. I was so curious about it I had to google this as soon as I got home.
Haha, I spent a while in Jaipur, India and subconsciously picked it up. I do it even when I'm alone thinking about something or making a decision lol I catch myself doing it, and all I can do is smile:-)
I’m not Black and I worked in a Indian food restaurant and I noticed Indian people always doing this nod and i always thought it was cool. I tend to do the wobble when I’m not sure if something 🥸😅
Cool thanks! I've seen Indian people do it so frequently that I assumed it had to mean something. As a westerner, it looks very similar to shaking your head 'no,' but people always seemed to verbally express the opposite of 'no' when doing it so it was a bit confusing at first.
When I was in Bangladesh, I would ask a question and get a head wobble. Not hearing an answer, I would ask again. This video explained why I didn't get a verbal response😂 I wish I had known earlier.
*QUESTION!* So I work in pest control, in big apartment complexes I've notice many of the middle easteners SHAKE their head left and right like while we say NO, when I'm explaining something them. Why is that? It's not the wobble it's a shaking head No motion. For example I'll explain "I'm going to put the bait down for the unwanted insects to eat but I won't put any sticky glue boards down because we want them to take the poison back to the nest." Throughout my explanation they shake their heads NO while they're listening. I'm confused! Some times they'll even ask questions and then shake head no when I respond
My dog would wag its tail as a puppy and I would wobble my head to mimic the tail wagging. Then when it was older if I would bobble my head it would respond by wagging its tail. I feel like the bobble is just like how a dog wags to say it's friendly.
I have met people that have done this and realizing they all shared a similar phenotype so it might be cultural. My great grandmother was Indian(I don’t know specifically where she was from)and I know nothing about her or her culture so thank you for this.
in my first time when i met my first indian friend i tougjt he was saying maybe. like can you complete the work unti friday.. he was doing the wobbling. and i was asking over and over but we must do it. he was fastly theb wobbling. it looks like wobbling means "maybe" but its not he was just trying to say of course yes! certainly!
Thank you so much for this video explanation. I just had a meeting with a client and he's from India, it was quite a serious meeting talking about the family needs etc ( I work in the disability industry by the way!) and I was explaining a lot of things to them. I've noticed he wobbled his head a lot, he wasn't smiling so I thought he probably wasnt agreeing to what i said. But as he spoke, it seems like he actually does agree to what I was saying and thanked me! So after watching this video, I think he must have received a lot of useful info from me and therefore lots of head shaking. Now I feel damn good about myself lol! Thank you!
Yes, thank you! I actually did a search on this because I observed the gesture with some of the families whose newborn babies I have photographed, and remembered noticing it on some level with Indian friends over the years. I was pretty sure this was what it meant, but good to confirm. Gestures and body language are such an important part of conversation.
I've been watching a You Tube channel of people in India trying new foods or experiencing new things for a reaction, and I love the show but have been so utterly confused as to why they do this head bobble, and what it means. I had no idea what they were trying to convey. This video explains it well!🙂
I found this video while trying to find the video of the guy who just can't stop wobbling his head... his friends are telling him "okay, we're going to ask you a question. Answer it without wobbling your head." And he wobbles his head while saying "okay." The more he starts realizing he's doing it, it's like it's overpowering him and he starts laughing hysterically while not being able to stop wobbling.
Thank you. I have been recently communicating online with a new friend from India who occasionally wobbles his head at me, and I thought, what the heck does that mean?? This explanation is very helpful!
Everyone is wobbling their heads while watching this
U got me...
lololol (head shaking)
No but I do smell poop
omw yeeees
Still going
Having lived all my life in India, I thought this was a universal gesture, until i read about it somewhere. Strange, I am sure I can't communicate without it
I hear you!
weirdo
Tell me.....as an Indian, why do so many English speaking Indian people start conversations with, 'Tell me...'? It is kind of cute, in an odd way. I was just wondering why so many people say exactly the same thing.... So, tell me! hehe. Thanks.
in our sinful nature, we’re nothing more than wretched, vile sinners in DIRE need of the Savior, but JESUS, the perfect and sinless Lamb of God, came into the world and took the punishment we deserved for our wicked sins and was raised from the dead three days after being buried so that we may have the opportunity of salvation, redemption, adoption, and reconciliation to the Heavenly Father. we ought to repent and believe in the Gospel of our LORD Jesus Christ; we must be born-again!!
@@michaelr.4878 I just realised I do it all the time😂😂. And i have no idea why I use tell me before asking something. But we usually begin with these words with our frnds or closed one but not with our managers or colleagues at work
This was a great explanation. I had an Indian women wobble her head while I was talking to her and I had no idea what she was doing. Now I know. Thanks!
I find it really sweet. It is very nice when you are speaking to someone and they physically acknowledge what you are saying and with a soft smile. Makes for very welcoming feeling.
Hey dude. I'm a travel agent here in Brazil and I got the pleasure to attend 2 girls from India specially from Tamil Nadu hahah. I've a close connection with India because about 3 years ago I started studying English and I have too a great friend in Utar Pradesh specially in "Alahabad" I suppose it's the old name of this city. Anyways during the attediment both girls did it during our great conversation.. and this video made me understand it very well.
I'm intending to visit India in next 2 years I want to cross North India to South by train hahaha.
My Utar Pradesh friend has shown me a country which has changed me for completely.
My Indian "crush" a beautiful Tuticorin friend is sweet amazing and I really like her hahah I use to talk to her everyday hahah..
Thank you so much for this opportunity which I'm having here to express my love for this country..
Namastê.
You are welcome in INDIA 🇮🇳♥️
I met one guy and he was wobbling his head I though maybe he had a medical issue. Thanks for making this video.
Why... For us.. Indians it is common
@@tanishksingh3580 Sorry, I don't know if they meant for that to be offensive, I assume not, the head wobble is completely unheard of among far westerners unless it is someone who knows Indian people... I grew up being good friends with an Indian brother and sister and often had dinner with their family so I got to see the gesture a little bit, not enough to know exactly what it meant or represented, but enough to know that it was a friendly gesture
@@tanishksingh3580 I am from the UK, I assume there are lots of Indians who are not very fond of the British due to our ancestor's poor behaviour, however, there is quite a large population of Indians in the UK, more specifically England, so we are more likely to have been around Indians at one point or another during our lives.
I am assuming the person who wrote the comment is American. On the other hand, there are the Americans, I don't think America is a very culturally diverse or accepting country in large, and for this reason, it is unusual to see this kind of behaviour, as it was likely their first and only time witnessing the gesture...
I'm sure there are many mannerisms and behaviours that westerners have that would be confusing and bizarre to Indians and people of many other cultures too as people from different places behave differently, and often in ways you are not used to and have never seen before.
You just have to be accepting and non-judgmental when in the presence of people from different backgrounds and cultures.
In part, I believe that someone's ability to be accepting and non-judgmental of anyone is a key factor in deciding whether you are a good or bad person, but that's just my opinion.
@@tanishksingh3580 not everyone is Indian. Do you know everything about everyone else's culture and why they do what they do? No. You don't. Use your head to think and not just wobble.
@@tanishksingh3580 bruh read he said he thought
It's very hard to do if it's not something you've learned in an organic way! I can feel my brain hitting my skull even when I do it softly. 😂
hahahahah same "
So about 11 years ago i worked for an amusement park here in the states. I was working at the popcorn stands we had anlot of tourist there so i gradually got used to the wobble. Being of hispanic descent i had never seen this as we use more hand gestures for non verbal communication. Now when i say i got used to it I dont just mean i just acknowledge it or simply accepted it. I mean that i got to gradually understand what it ment. For instance when someone came to the stand and asked: "May i get a bag of popcorn" while wobbling their head. I knew he was asking respectfully and in a polite manner. It definitely adds that feeling to what they are saying. After i would hand them their bag of popcorn they would simply wobble their head again. This is where i learned it was also as sign of gratitude or a simple way to say thanks. Our world is so beautifully diverse. Thanks for uploading this
I'm in America and was watching a video of a deaf child from, I believe, India. As the child paid attention to his tutor; he wobbled his head and it made me curious. You explained the wobble so well! Thank You.
One of the best descriptions of the wobble that I've heard, thank you. From a non-Indian's observation after enjoying several Indian movies: It was obvious that the wobble had infinite meanings. I was puzzled until I tried to catch the contextual clues. An accompanying smile, as you said, or a word, or certain look in the eyes, facial expression, hand gesture, body language. Some Indian actors are so adept at it (intentionally or not), they can carry an entire conversation in head wobbles, and I love those scenes :D (I'm thinking of Anirban Bhattacharya, for example). IMHO, the wobble is one of the most endearing, versatile, non-verbal forms of expression on the planet. Wobblers have a natural, unique gift of communication that is notoriously difficult for us non-Indians to master convincingly :D
in our sinful nature, we’re nothing more than wretched, vile sinners in DIRE need of the Savior, but JESUS, the perfect and sinless Lamb of God, came into the world and took the punishment we deserved for our wicked sins and was raised from the dead three days after being buried so that we may have the opportunity of salvation, redemption, adoption, and reconciliation to the Heavenly Father. we ought to repent and believe in the Gospel of our LORD Jesus Christ; we must be born-again!!
Except that the rest of us are so confused by it.
@@inactiveuser555 oh look at you, a PRETEND AGAIN CHRISTIAN. 🙄 Satan's Greatest achievement is brainwashing you, saying the World needs you, that God called upon you... you are God's chosen... he then says " God works in mysterious ways" when u question hus contradictions. This is why you rape and murder nonbelievers. This is why you worship jerusalem... the very ppl that crucified Jesus christ. Just because you can preach some biblical sounding bs doesn't mean you understand the simple rules laid out by the Bible. Your Hatred of homosexuality, your war on science, and your loyalty to $Money$ is the problem.
Thank you for the explanation. I'm from the USA and was watching an Indian tv show tonight and was confused by/interested in this. Your explanation was thorough and clear.
Ah, body language code-switching! Good explanation! So often it seems like a sort of polite “message received, I’m listening” gesture.
Thank you! It's definitely a polite gesture, yeah :) And yeah, I've never really thought about it that way - you're right!
Conquer British English [Anpu] I don’t know much about Tamil but some Asian languages have “politeness particles” that you can tag into a sentence or just use in isolation as someone speaks to you; Thai is a good example with krap for men and kaa for women. Khmer has them too, and both cultures are very much influenced by India. (Their writing systems are based on Tamil script too.) Do you have words like that in Tamil?
Thanks for this! I just watched an Indian movie where people were doing this gesture and it's good to understand what it's all about. Also FWIW as a westerner seeing it for the first time, I think it's really charming.
THANK YOU! I have been wondering about this for years. But honestly, I didn’t want to unintentionally insult someone by asking why people do this.
Now I know!
Thank you for this meaningful and educational video.
For a westerner, I thought this was actually a softer way of saying “no”, than the side to side motion, like “I am not sure you are right about that”… interesting that it actually means the opposite
I lived in US and I taught violin lessons for dozen of Indians families. Most of them would do it when I was giving them instructions after the lesson was done.
Thank you for the video and hugs from Brazil to the fellow Indian people! I used to be mistakenly recognized as an Indian there and I liked it!
This is the first time I have seen/heard an explanation on head-wobbling. I'm not Asian, but somehow I have always taken for granted that it is an affirmative gesture. I like it.
asians dont wobble their heads
Thank you for explaining this gesture. I remember being on a plane (South Western) and I asked an Indian man if I could sit beside him as South Western doesn't have assigned seats and he did this exact gesture but was silent. By him moving to the window seat and smiling I realized he was okay w it. The head shaking was another way of saying yes and honoring me I guess. What a nice person 😄
There is one more gesture of head wobbling
When someone asks you to do something and you don't want to do that but you have to do, then keeping the eyes closed and wobbling the head will describe your state. (I hope you got what I meant)
Yeah correct!
I work with a Tamil woman and she wobbles her head a lot. We have to talk about complex and varied things and as a result of our conversations I concluded that the wobbling I saw meant "Yes, I agree", "Ok", "That's fine" and "I understand... carry on talking". The last one is a fast wobble that seems to convey that she's keeping up with my explanation and is indicating that I can continue without having to stop and clarify anything. Watching this video is the first time I have "checked" my interpretation. It doesn't seem like I'm too far wrong, thankfully.
I love the head wobble.
Great video!
That was a wonderful explanation. As an english person working with many Indian colleagues at work i've found it very confusing having Video conferences where my indian counterparts are shaking their heads but verbally agreeing. I did not realise how prevalent is. You video puts me at ease and allows me confidence in communicating with my colleagues.
Such a shame that us westerners are not more communicative and supportive through gestures. its really powerful reinforcement during the conversation without disrupting conversation flow.
Now I know what it means... its like when I talk to someone even over the phone I nod my head when I agree to the statement. ❤
Anpu thanks so much for your explanation of the head wobble. I saw an elderly lady wobble her head at me and sort of slowly, and what you said made sense that she saw me as a friend: how encouraging. I also liked the sign of respect by closing the eyes and also for agreement.
You're welcome, and thanks for the comment!
OMG i just started a new company, my new boss is named Baburaj i do not know his nationality but would assume Indian, Great guy! the whole meeting he was doin a head wobble... Im as Aussie as they get, and work in mental health and noticed this, i got fast ones and slow ones and ones with laughter, this is good i was curious and NO have never seen the head wobble.... Much respect and gratitude to you, thanks mate for clearing that up. Good on you for recognition to cultural differences and to give information without prejudice to ignorance, Kudos to you.
Thank you for your tutorial. I live in Northern California and recently saw a doctor who was of S. Asian descent.
She had a slight head wobble and it made me curious as I had seen it in actors and in documentaries. I didn't
ask her about as I didn't want to be rude. Your explanation was great and very interesting. Thank you!
I was confused too but if you think about it we have head movements in the USA that others may not understand too Kind of the same thing.. like if we're in the middle of a conversation and a waiter/waitress brings us a drink refill we just give a cowboy nod to and say thank you..women will accompany it with a smile. Men here also do the cowboy nod to acknowledge strangers and women and some men will accompany it with a slight smile. When we're listening to someone and we want to show that we understand we will do a fast slight up and down vertical nod. We also do the up and down vertical to say yes. When we are listening to someone and don't like what they're saying we will slightly shake our heads left to right about 3 or 4 times and we will do the same to simply say no. When we believe someone is doing or saying something wrong we will do that same back and fourth left right head motion. I was confused by the Indian head movement so I came here but now it makes a lot of sense.
So it´s like a nod. A repeated up-and-down nod means yes. But a nod can also be a greeting if it´s a slight fast upwards nod. Or a sign of respect if it´s a subtle and slow downward nod.
I didn’t realize people would ask about this. Thank you so much for your explanation. I can now know when my Indian friends are wobbling, it’s a good thing^^
I was recently talking to a young Indian women who lives with my girlfriend here in the UK and she suddenly started a very pronounced head wobble. I found it very charming but I did go online to see what it meant.
One of my upper managers was once having a slightly confrontational conversation with my team and he was doing the head wobble afterwards. We'd never seen it before and found it confusing, so several of my work friends joked about him being a "bobblehead" in a private chat afterwards.
It was only recently, when I was watching RRR, that I realized it was a cultural thing! And now I feel terrible for making fun of the guy, even in private. 🥺 Thanks for the explainer video!
You're welcome! and thanks for sharing your experience.
And thanks for recognising that it's not kind to making fun of cultural gestures. Sending love!!
Sooo funny! I'm an old American from Arizona with less contact with South Asians than most and never really noticed this ...until watching RRR. Now I'm remembering having seen this a number of times in the past when we had Indian guests and I never really took notice. Now, like everybody else here, I'm practicing the gesture just to see what it feels like. I think I have a stiff neck!!!
Fascinating. Thanks for making this video. I've often wondered what that head wobble meant. Decided to Google it and found your clip. Thank you!
Yo I'm mexican and love Pakistani and indian people
I used to work at an apartment complex over summers, and the renters were predominately from India, I noticed the headshakes were always when they were agreeing with something I said, or when they understood something I was explaining.
I love learning about other's cultures, the wobbles I would always get were very faint/not as 'aggressive' as the ones showed in this video however.
I have indeed become a huge fan of your British Accent when I accidentally came up on your video.
Subscribed!
Thank you!
Love it! As a nurse I found this very helpful for communicating with my patients. I suspected this was the gist, but had no idea it could communicate so much. I’ll pay more attention next time and see if I can understand better what is being expressed. Thanks for making the video!
Thanks for explaining. I often encounter Indians at my work and been asking this question for awhile. Now I can help people more effectively.
This is helpful! I’m in clinical and the doctor is from India so we have tons of patients from India. I thought I was tripping but I realized the patients were definitely wobbling their heads lol this explains it! Thank you!
Hahaha you're not tripping! Glad the video was helpful.
When i see them wobble the head after hearing a sentence, i usually presume that the wobble means information processing before answering. Cool to see thier processing power showing
The head bobble reminds me of when my cat vibrates it's tail when it's happy
This was very helpful and made me smile as I now better understand the nonverbal communication from past interactions. Thank you
I live in a community of people from South Asia in Morrisville, NC, USA. I am a white lady, but a minority in this part of Raleigh NC by far. Appreciate the info,,because I am often confused, because these wobbles vary. Encountered a fast wobble today as I conversed with a lady whose son was coming to visit my son. Now that I understand what it means, I think she's aware of the accent barrier and wants me to feel like my responses to her are accurate to what she's communicating. We were discussing what time I would bring her son back home after visiting my son. I actually find her English very easy to understand because she talks at a pace I can follow. Some Indian people here speak so fast I can't understand.
Mahalo my friend. I’m late to this post but!!!! In researching how to best understand a couple of my students I ended up learning a lot about my late brother…. Many years before he past he spent close to a year in India and Nepal. When he got back home to Hawaii (which has many different cultures and their non-verbal communication) he continued the head shake. Which at the time obviously didn’t understand it. Sooooo thank you!!!!! Some thing I thought might be a mimic (I feel like an ass) was a lovely sign.
I am reading a book about life in Bombay... First time I have heard about the head wobble. Brought up a big smile. What a great gesture. Western society would greatly benefit from adopting a way to show respect to each other. Thank you for your explanation. I will be on the lookout for it now. 🙏
Thanks for teaching me something new.
my indian teacher does this in class I was trying to figure out what it meant and now I finally know !
Thanks Anpu for explain to us this .. I living in India one year .. awesome people really I like them I have alot of Indians friends.From different religious and culture still contact with them until now … I’m Yazeed from saudia Arabia
I live in malaysia, its funny when the malay and chinese talk to indian they also shake thier head like they already know every meaning of their head language.. 😂
Thank you for this great explanation! Greetings from Poland ❤
Thankyou. Good video. I grew up in West London, never knew the communication that was happening with the wobble. Thankyou. Subscribed. Cheers.
Thank you soooooooo much for explaining this. I just moved to a different part of town wear there are predominately Indians and I could not understand why the culture does this. But now I have a greater understanding of this beautiful culture. Thank you
Usually use it to symbolise "ok(with respect)" and for understanding I sharks my head back and forth not left to right
I picked up the wobble after working and becoming friends with many Indians at work. My head wobbles all the time, even when I’m not with them. I 💯 picked up their culture subconsciously
Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge. I needed to understand because an Indian woman was wobbling her head quickly while agreeing to do something for me as a customer. I wasn’t sure if she was upset or agreeable because in African American and American culture, head wobbling/shaking means the opposite of what it means in Indian culture. 😅
I'm not even Indian but it's my very old habit of mine when I talk to person or say yes now I came to UAE and worked with Indian people now it make sense lol
Agreed! I am visiting Dubai for the first time from the US and seen a lot of Indians wobbling their heads, I was curious as hell to know the meaning of this but now it all makes sense and very interesting! 👌🏼
Yes, ((😌)) I live in San Antonio TX and just a few days ago I observed a family group at the Japanese Tea Garden doing just that. Thought to myself, "Wish I knew what that head gesture means." Thanks for clarifying ((😌))
So I’m at this wonderful Vegetarian Indian Cafe in Houston, TX. I have been experienced different facets of the Indian culture through relationships cultivated over 20 years in the hospitality industry. I just noticed a fellow customer doing the “head wobble” and needed to understand the gesture. Thank you so much for this video….I didn’t know how to search for the answer, but your video popped up in anticipation of my request.
You're so welcome!!
Like shaking our head up and down as approval.
Let's start a new one - move our heads in a circle
After this video i think indians can talk for hours with eachtother just by wobbling their heads :D
It is such a wonderful nonverbal communication method. 🥰🥰🙌🙌
Thank you for your clarity on the matter. My lineage does have southern Asian roots, but I never understood this gesture.
That's awesome!
Thanks Marques Brownlee
Thank you for that! I work with a doctor who does this and I wondered about it. I didn’t want to ask because I didn’t want to come out as rude. 😅
Thank you for sharing that cultural tradition of your country. 🙏
Gives a whole new meaning to give your head a wobble
Thanks for this video. One of my Indian volleyball mates did this, and then when some of his friends came out to play, I noticed they did this too. I got the sense that it is a sign of respect, and sometimes almost endearing. I really like this gesture ☺️
Next time my Mother In-Law asks if I want her to make her famous chicken pot-pie it'll look like I'm going thru a time warp with how much "understand" I have 😂.
so the wobble is kind of like a respectful "yeah" or "sure thing!" when you're listening to someone or you're in accordance with something that's being told or asked to/of you?
Thanks for the explanation. Met a guy and he is wobbling a lot. Probably unknowingly. It was not easy to interpret.
Loved your explanation, thanks.
I work with a girl from India and asked a colleague what the head wobble was about as I was concerned, my colleague told me to do a search of the head wobble. Turns out it's apart of non verbal communication.
You have a good colleague.
Thank you for your explanation. I've been a city bus driver in the USA and have many university students passingers coming from India, I always wonder why they were shaking their heads.
I work for cps in texas and the mother grandmother i interviewed on my case made this gesture a lot. I was so curious about it I had to google this as soon as I got home.
In my opinion, it's connected to their culture of using cloth as a head dress. It's quite heavy and makes your head a little bit shaky.
thats actually absurd cuz if the turban or head dress is heavy you wanna stay still not shake, so the wobble is basically used for communication
Haha, I spent a while in Jaipur, India and subconsciously picked it up. I do it even when I'm alone thinking about something or making a decision lol I catch myself doing it, and all I can do is smile:-)
This video just explained it after years of wondering what it meant. ❤️
As soon as I Type why do UA-cam was on point 😅😅
I’m not Black and I worked in a Indian food restaurant and I noticed Indian people always doing this nod and i always thought it was cool. I tend to do the wobble when I’m not sure if something 🥸😅
Im Portuguese but I love India and everything about their culture. I am obsessed with Indian food it’s so dam good. I really wish I was from their
This is pretty neat... my wife and I noticed this wobble years ago, and we've always been curious about it. Lol leave it to UA-cam for the answer. 👏
Love from India😘
Hats off to your research😂
Good keep doing more research.
Thank you so much - I love to research issues like this! :)
@@AnpuLondon
Alright😊
When I first saw you I thought you are Indian and then🙄 your dramatic turn to British accent gave me goosebumps.
Haha I see :D
@@sangeetaamarkarmath9714 Ooooh ooh
I get those goosebumps every time, yeah, you come around, yeah 🎶🎶
My neck gets really stiff and wobbling my head really helps. I always imagine head wobblers have better neck health.
Probably 😂
Cool thanks! I've seen Indian people do it so frequently that I assumed it had to mean something. As a westerner, it looks very similar to shaking your head 'no,' but people always seemed to verbally express the opposite of 'no' when doing it so it was a bit confusing at first.
Yep!! that's interesting!
When I was in Bangladesh, I would ask a question and get a head wobble. Not hearing an answer, I would ask again. This video explained why I didn't get a verbal response😂 I wish I had known earlier.
I’m very glad I understand this now
*QUESTION!*
So I work in pest control, in big apartment complexes I've notice many of the middle easteners SHAKE their head left and right like while we say NO, when I'm explaining something them. Why is that? It's not the wobble it's a shaking head No motion.
For example I'll explain "I'm going to put the bait down for the unwanted insects to eat but I won't put any sticky glue boards down because we want them to take the poison back to the nest."
Throughout my explanation they shake their heads NO while they're listening. I'm confused!
Some times they'll even ask questions and then shake head no when I respond
And now I know! Thanks for sharing.
I've seen this a lot at my local bodegas and gas stations and always was curious of the significance. Thank you for clearing that up for me
You're very welcome!
My dog would wag its tail as a puppy and I would wobble my head to mimic the tail wagging. Then when it was older if I would bobble my head it would respond by wagging its tail. I feel like the bobble is just like how a dog wags to say it's friendly.
We too wobble our heads while speaking Sinhala. ☺️Great video. Love from SL.
Thanks!!
I have met people that have done this and realizing they all shared a similar phenotype so it might be cultural. My great grandmother was Indian(I don’t know specifically where she was from)and I know nothing about her or her culture so thank you for this.
in my first time when i met my first indian friend i tougjt he was saying maybe. like can you complete the work unti friday.. he was doing the wobbling. and i was asking over and over but we must do it. he was fastly theb wobbling. it looks like wobbling means "maybe" but its not he was just trying to say of course yes! certainly!
Love this video so much. It is so incredible nuanced and wished we used it North America
I'm so impressed with your videos.. Much love from Qatar..💐💐
Thank you very much. That's kind of you to say. Love from the UK!
me too. keep on the good work. much love from indonesia
Your cuts are really good, when you lose track of what you say👌🏽
Thank you so much for this video explanation. I just had a meeting with a client and he's from India, it was quite a serious meeting talking about the family needs etc ( I work in the disability industry by the way!) and I was explaining a lot of things to them. I've noticed he wobbled his head a lot, he wasn't smiling so I thought he probably wasnt agreeing to what i said. But as he spoke, it seems like he actually does agree to what I was saying and thanked me! So after watching this video, I think he must have received a lot of useful info from me and therefore lots of head shaking. Now I feel damn good about myself lol! Thank you!
Yes, thank you!
I actually did a search on this because I observed the gesture with some of the families whose newborn babies I have photographed, and remembered noticing it on some level with Indian friends over the years.
I was pretty sure this was what it meant, but good to confirm.
Gestures and body language are such an important part of conversation.
omg i laugh everytime you do it idk why🤣
I've been watching a You Tube channel of people in India trying new foods or experiencing new things for a reaction, and I love the show but have been so utterly confused as to why they do this head bobble, and what it means. I had no idea what they were trying to convey. This video explains it well!🙂
I noticed in alot of the travel blogs I watched the Indian and South Asian people doing it and always wondered why thanks
Fast head wobble / fast nodding 'yes' in American lol. Was realization for me that we all have the same non-verbal ques just different packages
I found this video while trying to find the video of the guy who just can't stop wobbling his head... his friends are telling him "okay, we're going to ask you a question. Answer it without wobbling your head." And he wobbles his head while saying "okay." The more he starts realizing he's doing it, it's like it's overpowering him and he starts laughing hysterically while not being able to stop wobbling.
Thank you. I have been recently communicating online with a new friend from India who occasionally wobbles his head at me, and I thought, what the heck does that mean?? This explanation is very helpful!
Kota Factory is great for observing the head wobble. Everyone does it.