The kissing of cheek here is called a “beso” and it’s a normal greeting here in the Philippines (mostly for friends and family) but we do it only once and typically the cheeks touch.
Being hafu myself and growing up in Japan. Kisses are definitely a bridge too far for friendship. I remember watching my uncles and aunts sometimes sneaking holding hands. And both of them, pleasantly smiling. I observed growing up in Japan that Japanese people wanted more physical touch to connect with others but it's not part of the cultural practices for most. It's nice to know that some Japanese today are able to accept plutonic physical touch.
As an American, i would say a hand shake is used as a formal greeting normally with business interactions. Used with the initial meeting and upon leaving. We use this in place of bowing. Sometimes a slight bow is even used while shaking hands. Huggs are used with close loved ones and friends in 3 ways: upon meeting, before leaving, and to comfort the other person.
In Belgium it's common to give a kiss on the cheek but usually only with friends. A hugh usually means a deeper friendship here in Belgium because it's so much closer contact.
I never kiss my friends on the cheek though 😭😭 usually don’t hug them either but maybe sometimes! I usually only get greeted with air kisses on the cheek when meeting my parent’s friends that are a bit older, but usually even then it’s just a handshake!
I think there's differences in kissing on the cheek. If it's not someone you're close to you kiss the air, but if it's a friend or family you directly kiss on the cheek.
ye if its like grandma or someone like that you mostly do kiss on cheek, if its for example your brother girlfriend or even some distant family member you mostly you cheek by cheek, but i as a european hate this thing, why cant people just shake their hands or at max hug eachother, kissing was always weird for me and akward
@@novy1198 Maybe you're a germ-a-phobe, and feel a person kissing you as putting their saliva full of germs on you 🤣 It's a weird custom to me to, but the world is full of them, you don't have to agree to those customs, you just have to accept that everyone is different.
In Hawaii it is quite commonplace to hug and kiss on the cheek. It is a part of Native Hawaiian culture. It is how we greet our elders whether they are family or not. We also have a older custom where we touch noses face to face and sniff, culturally this unites us in spirit. The showing of physical affection, hugging and kissing on the cheek is something we are taught from a early age.
In Spain we also meet like that, but changes depending the situation. It's usually a formal way, so only touching cheeks with strangers and actually kissing in family meetings. Here, a hug feels a lot warmer.
I'm in the USA. I don't think kissing on the cheek is at all common here. Maybe among family members, like grandparents with their grandkids; but that would almost certainly be an actual kiss and not an air kiss. A hug as a greeting is pretty common, especially among friends or family.
I'm not American but I know that it's not common practice to "cheek kiss" there. The Japanese in this interview who said America were just confusing with Europe in general (or South America)
In Argentina we greet each other with a kiss if it's not a formal meeting, also it depends of each person, I mean, you kinda feel the ambient so you greet with a kiss or a handshake naturally. • Also, it's not a big deal to greet with a kiss in the first met (always informal meetings) • We usually greet with a kiss between mens too (that's even surprising for other countries with kiss greetings 😂) • In general, it's NOT an actual kiss in the cheek but you touch your cheeks each other while at the same time you kiss to the air (with sound, don't forget the sound! 😂) Maybe some people do kiss your cheek with their lips, but it's pretty rare... • Generally is only one kiss in Argentina (some people do two) ------------ Oh and, *generally,* if I go to a country like Japan and I know the basics of their culture, I won't try to greet them with a kiss, that's common sense and be respectful with them. If a tourist in Japan try to kiss a Japanese it's probably innocent ignorance in the best case 😅
I've never seen people kiss as a greeting in the USA, unless they were family. Maybe it would work for girls, but if guys did it, it would not end well.
Yeah… I’m an American woman and I’ve never done that. Once when I was in Europe a Turkish classmate air kissed me and I totally froze up and didn’t return it and things were awkward after that lol
I watched this video being french and it came to my realisation that since COVID many people stopped "la bise" (the kissing "in the air" as you called it) for greeting. I think it's for the best, then I don't have to get too close of guys I don't really like and to ask myself "how many kisses?" everytime I meet someone, depending on the region it could be up to 4 "bises".
True! In Belgium it's either 1 or 3, def uncomfortable with people you don't know or don't like 😅 I've also only received 1 handshake since covid started and even that felt weird now 😂
in Brazil, depends on the region. Where I live, it's common just one kiss. Once I met a friend from a region where the common is two kisses, and when we greeted each other for the first times it was pretty awkward. I actually prefer just greeting people with a wave from some distance 😅
I remember kissing all the new japanese students when my group and theirs met up for an outing (I'm French and we were in France). It was only far later I realised I just rocked their world haha (and don't worry, many of them became great friends and wanted to greet with kissing on the cheek all the time :) )
Definitely a regional thing, I’m mexican-american born in the usa and have greeted hugged-kiss-on-cheeked and even mouth with people I barely knew. Mostly family, distant family, and family of friends of friends of my family. Even on the first meeting i’ve been kissed by an aunt of my friend with a big embrace. I live in the south (kentucky) tho where stuff like this isnt uncommon.
In Australia, it's usually a hi or g'day mate (or some variation), maybe a hug for people you're closer with or known a long time, a handshake is probably more common for us (especially strangers). One time a woman I just met kissed me on both cheeks when we first met. It really surprised me because that's something we don't do (girls who are close with each other might though). I'm not sure what country she was even from.
Here in brazil is very common greeting with kisses and hug. Even in some formal situations and with unknown people. Not everyone like to do this (me, including), but in general everyone does it
I feel like it REALLY depends on a person's cultural background and what they're comfortable with, even in the States. There are some really good friends that I've never hugged, and there are some distant relatives that I've done the kiss on both cheeks with. It's such an interesting cross-cultural experience, both at home and abroad.
i really love how japanese girls react always. its just so cute and adorable. From my personal experience i know, that ppl in italy or mexico do actually kiss on the cheeks while greeting
(like many europeans country)In france it's common too to give "kiss cheeks" but we do that only with family or friends, I think in the south it's 3, in the north it's 4 and in the east it's only 2. Sometimes when you meet someone like a friend to a friend it can be seen as a "social test" for an integration into a group. But a hug means you're very close to a person.
I love these video because it helps learning Japanese and they are so funny :) Where I leave (Belgium) we usually kiss cheek-to-cheek. Kissing in the air is fine but with no skin contact it feels awkward and fake.
A hug and a kiss are common in Latin America culture, but it's usually just one cheek air kiss. I struggle with not giving a hug when I'm in Japan and see my Japanese friends.
In Japan, touching a stranger is one of the most repugnant acts. If you suddenly hug a stranger or someone with whom you do not have an intimate relationship, you may be accused of harassment or indecent exposure. Please be careful.
In Italy, before covid, we used to lightly touch cheeks while doing the air kiss. One side or both, depends. I've always found it way less intimate than hugging somebody. The two air kisses and light hugs are for someone you met before, but you're not really super friends with, then the big bear hugs and real kisses on the cheeks are for very close people like family, old friends.
Where I'm from, Quebec Canada (a French part of Canada), we do the cheek kissing... some people do one cheek (actually more air next to cheek) and some do 2 and I find I'm always awkward because I don't know if it'll be one or two. In Ontario, where I live now, cheek kissing happens much less frequently. It's more handshakes and hugs and stuff.
In Hawaii, a greeting is a kiss on the cheek, then a hug. This is more true when we give flower leis to people for different occasions whether it is a happy or sad situation. Even when we meet strangers of the opposite sex, we greet them with a kiss and a hug. Sometimes just a kiss and we say Aloha before we kiss them on the cheek.
After following so much culture of japan for so many years this still shocked me the most. Even knowing that it's not a custom way to greet people to see someone not being able to do a kiss cheek (or not feeling comfortable) and seeing an adults first air kiss cheek is a bigger culture shock to me then all of the Japenese things I have ever seen. Just so hard to imagine this reality being half latin and half european since it's so normal in so many latin and european cultures wherever I go.
In Belgium we give kiss on the cheeks to family, friends but also like friends of friends when we meet for first time. A hug for people we know or if we say goodbye to everyone. And ofcourse the "broshake" for close friends!
In Brazil kissing our cheeks is a common greeting even with stranger because it's culturally polite to do so. I guess we do only handshakes as well in some situations, like if it's a really formal setting, or if it's two males greeting, or if that's how that one person usually greets everyone... But we generally opt for kissing the cheeks. Always in "the air" as well, actually kissing the skin is reserved for showing affection towards family, close friends and partners. There can even be some differences on how many kisses (1 or 2) we do depending on where exactly you're from, for e.g people from São Paulo only kiss one cheek when greeting, and in Rio de Janeiro people kiss both cheeks just like Cathy did.
In Russia depending on the region and on the age people kiss directly or just the air around. As you said in your video, grandparents usually kiss directly the cheek. Young people prefer longer hugs rather than kiss but there are some exceptions. Some times when people don't do well with each other but in public they have to be friendly, they kiss the air quiet far from the face))) Depending on the face expression this greeting kiss may show disgust or love and happiness It is common instead of kiss just put your faces very close so your cheek can touch the cheek of the person you are greeting. Hugs are the most popular way to greet people. Hugs between to males and to females are a little bit different. But when a male and a female hugs, they use the "female tipe". It's very common to hug people at the end of your first meeting
A light hug (touching arms and shoulders) and a double half-air half-cheek kiss is the acceptable greeting. A single kiss on the cheek with a hug, is reserved for close friends, family ana partners. In France, it can be up to three kisses on the cheek, which feels like forever to me. Fact: The air kiss is for not ruining makup/creating lipstick marks.
Texas, USA here. Of hispanic descent. My experience has been that the kissing greeting is usually just for older women in the family. Aunts, grandmas, etc, and it will be an actual kiss on the cheek. Guys and girls like siblings or cousins, of similar age group will just hug. Greeting friends doesn't involve any contact usually. Not even a handshake. Maybe if you haven't seen them in a long time.. then a hug is ok. Handshakes when meeting someone for the first time in some situations.
In Chile, with your female family and friends, kiss on the cheek and hug, with your male friends and family, hand shake and hugs, with grandpas and granmas, kiss on the cheek is mandatory. In the work place, hand shake with almost everyone, but if you have a longer time relationship with the collegues, it could evolve to hugs and even kiss on the cheek with the female. But also, with a total stranger female that you just met, it is totally normal to do the kiss on the cheek
I didn't see a comment from Poland so I'll add mine :). In Poland it's very common for people to hug and kiss each other as a greeting, but it's more between family members or good friends. Also, there is shaking hands, "high-five" or "turtle". Shaking hands is both a formal greeting, both with strangers and acquaintances, the others with friends.
In Argentina at least, we greet strangers with a kiss if a woman, friends with hugs, girlfriends with a kiss, sometimes a hug. But the truth is that the most common is to give a kiss directly on the cheek, or sometimes I directly rest my cheek on the other. In formal situations, shaking hands is the most common. But the truth is that we have so many ways of greetings in Argentina, that you can use whichever one you want.
In Venezuela (I think is the same for spain and most countries of latin america) you kiss but usually young people don’t even do the sound, just barely touch the person cheeks with their lips or close to their lips.
In Brazil, kiss on the cheek is basically the norm for informal greetings: men greets women and women greets women like that (well, a lot of gay men I know also greets everyone like that). It happens most in situations with family and friends, but not exclusively - at parties, bars and social events when someone introduces you to other person, the kiss on the cheek is pretty normal as well. In some regions of Brazil, it's just one kiss; in others, a kiss on each cheek. For us, it's not a big deal at all. Oh, and be careful: we hug too.
Hand shaking (shaking hands, greetings, meeting people for the first time, seeing someone, common friend, former co-worker on a past job, etc.) is commom in all parts of america
In latin america it's pretty common to give a kiss in the cheek to girls, and even to boys, I'm chilean and in Argentina even strangers greets you with a kiss in the cheek, it's more common with close friends but usually if a person offers you to join a group, he/she traits you like one more of them. Note that wherever the country is, the kiss is not really a kiss, not the lips touching the skin, it's rather touching both cheeks skin and the kiss to the air...well unless they are very close friends. Something like that.
In Argentina you can kiss directly in the cheek for both, women and men. But only one kiss, both will turn their head towards their right. It could be with strangers if they're women but for men, most likely needs to be from a known group of friends, coworkers, etc and is ok.
as an Austrian, we do all of the greetings mentioned here. Handshake, hug for friends, air kisses for friends and even somewhat strangers (like friends of friends you don’t know), cheek kiss has been seen but never done myself as a 26 year old
In Brazil, we touch cheeks, but not the lip, and also just one kiss, usually the right cheek (but that's not a rule). Girls only hug and kiss with everyone, guy or girl, while guys have the option of shaking hand among ourselves and maybe hugging if they're closer. Almost everytime I give my hand to shake a girl's hand, she's kinda weirded out and we just end up hugging. Hugs don't need to come with kisses and kisses don't need to come with hugs. Kiss only, you can just touch the shoulders for support and touch cheeks with kiss noise. With hugs, what changes is the intensity according to how much you like the person and are intimate. I usually hug tight, when I want to show warmth and come off as friendly, even when I don't quite know the person, and it's always welcommed (I wouldn't do that with a random, complete stranger out of nothing haha. Context matters a little bit). Though, the longer the hug, the more intimacy you have. Long hugs would be awkward if you are not intimate and friendly.
You should have emphasized in your video that there are differences. A kiss on the cheek greeting is usually not with anyone's mouth involved, it's actually just both cheeks touching eachother. In Belgium we mostly do that cheek vs cheek greeting once. My friends and family in France do it on both cheeks and some also do it 3 times. I think it needed to be said that cheek vs cheek isn't the same as kissing on the cheek, obviously, lol.
I would say in Europe it depends on the kisses. In Austria, we would do that within friends and family, but also not directly on the cheek. In the Netherlands you have three kisses instead of two. I have the feeling that in France they are more likely to use that with people they do to know too well. Me, as an Austrian, I would say that hugging and kissing is something that you do with people you know and like. I do not like to hug my co-workers for example, but in Germany this is normal.
It seems like we are all closer with eachother, but not all people are that relaxed on hugging, or other kind of greetings and feel uncomfortable most of the times, if not all, even with people that are close enough. ( I'm such a person, that's why I'm saying that). Also, many people, mostly girls, will do that even if they don't feel so comfortable with theother person, and that's something that shows. Something else that's usually happening, is when a group of friends is going out, but there is also someone who is not as close with everyone. When they are all going to hug each other, or in general greet each other (for example, two of my girlfriends use to hug their friends when they are meeting them, then being both girls and boys), they wont feel like hug the person who they are not close with, or even hug him, but in both situations that's going to be awkward. Furthermore, there are times when the "friends" will stop being that close, but still one of them will still keep trying to hug the other one (for example, my two girlfriends that I mentioned earlier. Even though we all know that out friendship almost doesn't exist anymore, they will keep hugging me. That ends up being hypocritical, and dumb). I personally prefer the greetings that Japanese people have, compared to those that westerners have, while I am also kind of a "westerner" (I'm from Greece). But, that's probably because also an introvert. Really nice videos, and entertaining. They help a lot at understanding the Japanese culture, and how people are used to behave.
Oh yea, I forgot. Here in Greece we also have the kisses, and they are mostly between family, or elders kissing the youth, and between girls. Boys will most likely greet eachother as the man in the video mentioned, or with just a handshake. About the kiss, maybe the kisses between girls be without contact, but the kisses between family will most likely be with contact, but it's not like they will really kiss you, you just let your cheeks touch.
Here in Brazil one time i went to Obon with a friend who's a descendant, there we met some of her older relatives including some native japaneses, i just bowed from a distance but they came close to me and hugged and kissed me lol.
In Chile I had different experiences normally people don't blow kisses in the air but put their cheeks together (while keep talking). But some people really do give big, wet kisses on the cheek (that's what traumatises me everytime 😂). (I'm half chilean - half german. So I only experience this during visits.)
In PR we say hello to friend to each other with kisses but its only to the opposite sex and your checks touch while kissing the air. Double kisses is not common.
In the Philippines, it's quite normal to kiss family and friends on the cheeks both sides, especially on gatherings or meeting up friends. We call it beso beso.
As a swede, I would say kissing on the cheek is more common in the south of Europe, either hugs, hand shack or fist bump is the normal way here, kissing might be more for the girls here, but more of the friends circle.
I am not surprised many of the Japanese people were hesitate to give Cathy a kiss. If something went wrong, Cathy could potentially be their first kiss.
I thought you do the 'kissing of the cheek' by having both persons cheeks touch while kissing the air besides them. This has happened to me only once in my lifetime if I recall correctly and it caught me off guard. Since the most common greeting here is just hugging, whether it's a stranger/friends/family, etc.
I think it depends on the culture. For me being from Spanish background everyone gets a hug but only girls get a kiss on the cheek. As for friends hugs only boy or girl.
In Portugal is very common greeting with two kisses on the cheek and hug. Even in formal situations and with unknown people. Portuguese people are very affectionate. I can't remember a single day in my life when I haven't given and received kisses. 💋
Hello! I love your channel and find it helpful always, I live in America, because our country is so large sometimes different areas have different greetings, formal introduction is usually a handshake, sometimes we will wave to strangers, and hugging is usully only a greeting with those we feel comfortable with, there are cheek kisses here too but it's most common amongst the girls and it's rare, otherwise cheek kissing can be used as a source of gratitude to thank someone or it's a way to show love and affection to those we care about the most or are romantically interested in, I hope this helps answer your question!
In the Philippines. We just say "Oii" while nodding at the same time. 😆 Sometimes we Change "Oii"to "Bay", "Boy", "Kol" for men or "oii" "Te" for Gil and "Gaw " for cousins or even not. 😆
cheek kissing from my family is what men do to women that are typically related, just a small sign of affection, and it is contact. This can expand out to dear friends that you aren't really romantically interested in. girls can (and usually do) kiss other girls on the cheek, and guys will only kiss girls on the cheek...typically. This is the way.
I'm from Chile, South America. We literally do a kiss on the cheek when we meet anyone from the opposite sex for the first time, at least where I live in the south of the country. Girls normally do it to each other too, and as a guy I also do it with my closest male friends as well.
Hugging in the states amongst friends who haven't seen each other for a long while is common. Amongst friends who see each other often hugging is not that common. Air kissing in addition to hugging your friends as a greeting is rarely done in the states at least not among my friends.
all this confusion about greetings is why I stick with either a bow or a knuckle bump. I would be too nervous to hug any stranger let alone try the air cheek kiss.
Lived in the South here in America my whole life and people don't really hug each other unless they are close family or friends. My grandparents would give kisses on the cheek to me and other family members but I don't really see it as much in the younger generation, older generation yes kissing was a greeting. I don't really see men and women hugging much either its mainly same-sex unless they're already somewhat close.
In England we tend to do one kiss on the cheek followed by a hug. I remember instinctively doing it to my American girlfriend's mum the first time we met and she got all flustered. 😂
Here in Latin America we can kiss each other on the cheek both to the right and to the left in my country it is common, in my country unknown men and women can kiss each other, in the case of women they also kiss each other, In Argentina men also kiss each other but in my country they don't
In the 2000's, it was a highschool trend in Germany to greet everyone with an actual kiss on the lips. Like everyone. ... Until people got herpes, then the trend died. lol
Here in Portugal we always do two kisses (from left to right) and it's usually between girl friends or family. My mom also makes me do it with some of her friends even tho I'm not to found of this greeting
My Dutch cousins do the air kissing thingy but American culture is so heavily influenced by British culture that is normally not comfortable with even air kissing. I don't know why Japanese think Americans do it a lot.
Cathy, das war großartig. Mehr zur 'Comfort Zone' der Japaner wäre großartig. Vielen Dank und habe ich mit großem Interesse gesehen, weil ich das auch kenne. Danke 👍👍👍
In Argentina we touch cheek to cheek and kiss the air (on one side only). It's like a quick little cheek pat, and it can be done with strangers too (men do it with each other too). Sometimes a pat on the shoulder or a hand grab is added.
In Mexico we slap our friends behinds as a greeting, They usually hit you back and insult you until they feel better, which usually happens within a few seconds.
In Italy we kiss each other on both kiss, some areas in Italy they kiss 3 times like right cheek, left cheek and back to right cheek again. We do that even with people we meet for the first time (mostly after we meet them when we say goodbye). In fact, during my first trip to Japan I went out with locals and when we tried to kiss them before leaving they were shocked! When we told them that even boys kiss girls on the cheek they all screened: “wooooah lucky lucky!!!” 😅
見知らぬ人とキスしないでください！I hope Nihonjin don't think we kiss as a greeting in America. Americans don't kiss each other as a greeting. We don't hug strangers as a greeting either, because we only hug to show that we feel emotionally close to each other. In America, if anyone tries to hug you as a first meeting then they are definitely trying to get romantic with you. Definitely run away from a stranger that tries to kiss you! edit: OMG Cathy don't be weird! Nobody does that kiss greeting with strangers, that is embarrassing just to watch! 😣🤢
In South America is very common for us to kiss our friends on the cheeks or family members. But, I definitely think is way more common between women... I dont often see men kissing, even if they're close... mm.. probably, only family members but in friends is very rare.
Thanks! This is so funny especially when it’s not people’s culture, really great comments from the people in the video love the reaction
The kissing of cheek here is called a “beso” and it’s a normal greeting here in the Philippines (mostly for friends and family) but we do it only once and typically the cheeks touch.
Same here in Argentina ✨
That sounds like a good way to get acne. Maybe even meningitis. Or lip herpes, hepatitis, you name it. Fleas, lice, poison ivy. Don't do it 😨.
@@keintabakIt's serious?You know that's not how they're transmitted
@@keintabak XDDDDDDDDDDDDD
The first time i did that to one of my Asian friends she froze in place and that's when i found out that its not that common in asian culture. XD
Being hafu myself and growing up in Japan. Kisses are definitely a bridge too far for friendship.
I remember watching my uncles and aunts sometimes sneaking holding hands. And both of them, pleasantly smiling.
I observed growing up in Japan that Japanese people wanted more physical touch to connect with others but it's not part of the cultural practices for most.
It's nice to know that some Japanese today are able to accept plutonic physical touch.
Noooooo! Strangers do not hug, definitely do not kiss, unless they are about to molest you. 見知らぬ人とキスしないでください！Run away!
Platonic
good reason to not befriend japanese.
As an American, i would say a hand shake is used as a formal greeting normally with business interactions. Used with the initial meeting and upon leaving. We use this in place of bowing. Sometimes a slight bow is even used while shaking hands. Huggs are used with close loved ones and friends in 3 ways: upon meeting, before leaving, and to comfort the other person.
In Belgium it's common to give a kiss on the cheek but usually only with friends. A hugh usually means a deeper friendship here in Belgium because it's so much closer contact.
*Beigli-um
Indeed
I never kiss my friends on the cheek though 😭😭 usually don’t hug them either but maybe sometimes! I usually only get greeted with air kisses on the cheek when meeting my parent’s friends that are a bit older, but usually even then it’s just a handshake!
I think there's differences in kissing on the cheek. If it's not someone you're close to you kiss the air, but if it's a friend or family you directly kiss on the cheek.
Yeah right? In France it's mostly cheek against cheek, and the cheeks don't always touch.
ye if its like grandma or someone like that you mostly do kiss on cheek, if its for example your brother girlfriend or even some distant family member you mostly you cheek by cheek, but i as a european hate this thing, why cant people just shake their hands or at max hug eachother, kissing was always weird for me and akward
@@novy1198 Maybe you're a germ-a-phobe, and feel a person kissing you as putting their saliva full of germs on you 🤣 It's a weird custom to me to, but the world is full of them, you don't have to agree to those customs, you just have to accept that everyone is different.
In Hawaii it is quite commonplace to hug and kiss on the cheek. It is a part of Native Hawaiian culture. It is how we greet our elders whether they are family or not. We also have a older custom where we touch noses face to face and sniff, culturally this unites us in spirit. The showing of physical affection, hugging and kissing on the cheek is something we are taught from a early age.
I believe inuits in Alaska also rub noses! But probably not with first time greeting.
In Spain we also meet like that, but changes depending the situation. It's usually a formal way, so only touching cheeks with strangers and actually kissing in family meetings. Here, a hug feels a lot warmer.
I’m laughing so hard at that dude’s tiny mic right now
Asian style
I'm in the USA. I don't think kissing on the cheek is at all common here. Maybe among family members, like grandparents with their grandkids; but that would almost certainly be an actual kiss and not an air kiss. A hug as a greeting is pretty common, especially among friends or family.
I'm not American but I know that it's not common practice to "cheek kiss" there. The Japanese in this interview who said America were just confusing with Europe in general (or South America)
I know! Thank you as a fellow American
In Argentina we greet each other with a kiss if it's not a formal meeting, also it depends of each person, I mean, you kinda feel the ambient so you greet with a kiss or a handshake naturally.
• Also, it's not a big deal to greet with a kiss in the first met (always informal meetings)
• We usually greet with a kiss between mens too (that's even surprising for other countries with kiss greetings 😂)
• In general, it's NOT an actual kiss in the cheek but you touch your cheeks each other while at the same time you kiss to the air (with sound, don't forget the sound! 😂)
Maybe some people do kiss your cheek with their lips, but it's pretty rare...
• Generally is only one kiss in Argentina (some people do two)
------------
Oh and, *generally,* if I go to a country like Japan and I know the basics of their culture, I won't try to greet them with a kiss, that's common sense and be respectful with them. If a tourist in Japan try to kiss a Japanese it's probably innocent ignorance in the best case 😅
I've never seen people kiss as a greeting in the USA, unless they were family. Maybe it would work for girls, but if guys did it, it would not end well.
Yeah… I’m an American woman and I’ve never done that. Once when I was in Europe a Turkish classmate air kissed me and I totally froze up and didn’t return it and things were awkward after that lol
Is normal in Europa and latín america😂
Haha true, while here in France it's common practice but with very close male friends.
Nope it used to happen often not on the lips but that cheek kissing stuff was popular and in some places still is
I watched this video being french and it came to my realisation that since COVID many people stopped "la bise" (the kissing "in the air" as you called it) for greeting. I think it's for the best, then I don't have to get too close of guys I don't really like and to ask myself "how many kisses?" everytime I meet someone, depending on the region it could be up to 4 "bises".
True! In Belgium it's either 1 or 3, def uncomfortable with people you don't know or don't like 😅 I've also only received 1 handshake since covid started and even that felt weird now 😂
in Brazil, depends on the region. Where I live, it's common just one kiss. Once I met a friend from a region where the common is two kisses, and when we greeted each other for the first times it was pretty awkward. I actually prefer just greeting people with a wave from some distance 😅
u guys got good indoctrinated in the no humane interaction while cov craze... but well everyone its own and introverts exist too, so whatever lol
I remember kissing all the new japanese students when my group and theirs met up for an outing (I'm French and we were in France). It was only far later I realised I just rocked their world haha (and don't worry, many of them became great friends and wanted to greet with kissing on the cheek all the time :) )
Definitely a regional thing, I’m mexican-american born in the usa and have greeted hugged-kiss-on-cheeked and even mouth with people I barely knew. Mostly family, distant family, and family of friends of friends of my family. Even on the first meeting i’ve been kissed by an aunt of my friend with a big embrace. I live in the south (kentucky) tho where stuff like this isnt uncommon.
In Australia, it's usually a hi or g'day mate (or some variation), maybe a hug for people you're closer with or known a long time, a handshake is probably more common for us (especially strangers).
One time a woman I just met kissed me on both cheeks when we first met. It really surprised me because that's something we don't do (girls who are close with each other might though). I'm not sure what country she was even from.
Here in brazil is very common greeting with kisses and hug. Even in some formal situations and with unknown people. Not everyone like to do this (me, including), but in general everyone does it
I feel like it REALLY depends on a person's cultural background and what they're comfortable with, even in the States. There are some really good friends that I've never hugged, and there are some distant relatives that I've done the kiss on both cheeks with. It's such an interesting cross-cultural experience, both at home and abroad.
i really love how japanese girls react always. its just so cute and adorable. From my personal experience i know, that ppl in italy or mexico do actually kiss on the cheeks while greeting
(like many europeans country)In france it's common too to give "kiss cheeks" but we do that only with family or friends, I think in the south it's 3, in the north it's 4 and in the east it's only 2. Sometimes when you meet someone like a friend to a friend it can be seen as a "social test" for an integration into a group. But a hug means you're very close to a person.
It's 4 only in some areas, not everywhere in the north.
This gave me immense secondhand embarrassment but I somehow still watched the whole thing
If you're Japanese, it's not really your Culture, Here in America it usually is.
@@GaryAa56 I mean… I’m American and I found it embarrassing, especially the air kisses haha
@@majibento I respect you opinion
For the cheek kiss, we do not directly kiss the cheek as you said but the cheeks should touch ...
It's like cheek against cheek and kissing the air
I love these video because it helps learning Japanese and they are so funny :) Where I leave (Belgium) we usually kiss cheek-to-cheek. Kissing in the air is fine but with no skin contact it feels awkward and fake.
A hug and a kiss are common in Latin America culture, but it's usually just one cheek air kiss. I struggle with not giving a hug when I'm in Japan and see my Japanese friends.
In Japan, touching a stranger is one of the most repugnant acts. If you suddenly hug a stranger or someone with whom you do not have an intimate relationship, you may be accused of harassment or indecent exposure. Please be careful.
my aunt was italian, greetings from germany
In Italy, before covid, we used to lightly touch cheeks while doing the air kiss. One side or both, depends. I've always found it way less intimate than hugging somebody. The two air kisses and light hugs are for someone you met before, but you're not really super friends with, then the big bear hugs and real kisses on the cheeks are for very close people like family, old friends.
Where I'm from, Quebec Canada (a French part of Canada), we do the cheek kissing... some people do one cheek (actually more air next to cheek) and some do 2 and I find I'm always awkward because I don't know if it'll be one or two.
In Ontario, where I live now, cheek kissing happens much less frequently. It's more handshakes and hugs and stuff.
In Hawaii, a greeting is a kiss on the cheek, then a hug. This is more true when we give flower leis to people for different occasions whether it is a happy or sad situation. Even when we meet strangers of the opposite sex, we greet them with a kiss and a hug. Sometimes just a kiss and we say Aloha before we kiss them on the cheek.
After following so much culture of japan for so many years this still shocked me the most. Even knowing that it's not a custom way to greet people to see someone not being able to do a kiss cheek (or not feeling comfortable) and seeing an adults first air kiss cheek is a bigger culture shock to me then all of the Japenese things I have ever seen. Just so hard to imagine this reality being half latin and half european since it's so normal in so many latin and european cultures wherever I go.
Wow you are prettier each day! Great channel and videos!
Congratulations! This video was really good.
In Belgium we give kiss on the cheeks to family, friends but also like friends of friends when we meet for first time. A hug for people we know or if we say goodbye to everyone. And ofcourse the "broshake" for close friends!
In Brazil kissing our cheeks is a common greeting even with stranger because it's culturally polite to do so. I guess we do only handshakes as well in some situations, like if it's a really formal setting, or if it's two males greeting, or if that's how that one person usually greets everyone... But we generally opt for kissing the cheeks. Always in "the air" as well, actually kissing the skin is reserved for showing affection towards family, close friends and partners.
There can even be some differences on how many kisses (1 or 2) we do depending on where exactly you're from, for e.g people from São Paulo only kiss one cheek when greeting, and in Rio de Janeiro people kiss both cheeks just like Cathy did.
In Russia depending on the region and on the age people kiss directly or just the air around. As you said in your video, grandparents usually kiss directly the cheek. Young people prefer longer hugs rather than kiss but there are some exceptions. Some times when people don't do well with each other but in public they have to be friendly, they kiss the air quiet far from the face))) Depending on the face expression this greeting kiss may show disgust or love and happiness
It is common instead of kiss just put your faces very close so your cheek can touch the cheek of the person you are greeting.
Hugs are the most popular way to greet people. Hugs between to males and to females are a little bit different. But when a male and a female hugs, they use the "female tipe". It's very common to hug people at the end of your first meeting
A light hug (touching arms and shoulders) and a double half-air half-cheek kiss is the acceptable greeting. A single kiss on the cheek with a hug, is reserved for close friends, family ana partners. In France, it can be up to three kisses on the cheek, which feels like forever to me. Fact: The air kiss is for not ruining makup/creating lipstick marks.
Texas, USA here. Of hispanic descent. My experience has been that the kissing greeting is usually just for older women in the family. Aunts, grandmas, etc, and it will be an actual kiss on the cheek. Guys and girls like siblings or cousins, of similar age group will just hug. Greeting friends doesn't involve any contact usually. Not even a handshake. Maybe if you haven't seen them in a long time.. then a hug is ok. Handshakes when meeting someone for the first time in some situations.
In Chile, with your female family and friends, kiss on the cheek and hug, with your male friends and family, hand shake and hugs, with grandpas and granmas, kiss on the cheek is mandatory. In the work place, hand shake with almost everyone, but if you have a longer time relationship with the collegues, it could evolve to hugs and even kiss on the cheek with the female.
But also, with a total stranger female that you just met, it is totally normal to do the kiss on the cheek
Ha, " la bise " in France :) i swear seeing those Japanese all awkward while doing it, is the cutest thing ever 😃
I didn't see a comment from Poland so I'll add mine :). In Poland it's very common for people to hug and kiss each other as a greeting, but it's more between family members or good friends. Also, there is shaking hands, "high-five" or "turtle". Shaking hands is both a formal greeting, both with strangers and acquaintances, the others with friends.
In Argentina at least, we greet strangers with a kiss if a woman, friends with hugs, girlfriends with a kiss, sometimes a hug. But the truth is that the most common is to give a kiss directly on the cheek, or sometimes I directly rest my cheek on the other. In formal situations, shaking hands is the most common. But the truth is that we have so many ways of greetings in Argentina, that you can use whichever one you want.
In Venezuela (I think is the same for spain and most countries of latin america) you kiss but usually young people don’t even do the sound, just barely touch the person cheeks with their lips or close to their lips.
in argentina we kiss on the cheek upon meeting even if it's with strangers, lol. So interesting how different cultures see physical contact
In Brazil, kiss on the cheek is basically the norm for informal greetings: men greets women and women greets women like that (well, a lot of gay men I know also greets everyone like that). It happens most in situations with family and friends, but not exclusively - at parties, bars and social events when someone introduces you to other person, the kiss on the cheek is pretty normal as well. In some regions of Brazil, it's just one kiss; in others, a kiss on each cheek. For us, it's not a big deal at all.
Oh, and be careful: we hug too.
Hand shaking (shaking hands, greetings, meeting people for the first time, seeing someone, common friend, former co-worker on a past job, etc.) is commom in all parts of america
I like how the Japanese always pat when they hug. It is like comforting "everything is okay" gesture.
Those little back taps were cute as heck 😂
This was a really fun video to watch 😂😂
In latin america it's pretty common to give a kiss in the cheek to girls, and even to boys, I'm chilean and in Argentina even strangers greets you with a kiss in the cheek, it's more common with close friends but usually if a person offers you to join a group, he/she traits you like one more of them. Note that wherever the country is, the kiss is not really a kiss, not the lips touching the skin, it's rather touching both cheeks skin and the kiss to the air...well unless they are very close friends. Something like that.
in italy is totally normal greeting a friend, female or male, is the same, of course depend if is a close friend or not.
In Argentina you can kiss directly in the cheek for both, women and men. But only one kiss, both will turn their head towards their right. It could be with strangers if they're women but for men, most likely needs to be from a known group of friends, coworkers, etc and is ok.
Always love seeing everyones reaction 😂
as an Austrian, we do all of the greetings mentioned here.
Handshake, hug for friends, air kisses for friends and even somewhat strangers (like friends of friends you don’t know), cheek kiss has been seen but never done myself as a 26 year old
In Brazil, we touch cheeks, but not the lip, and also just one kiss, usually the right cheek (but that's not a rule). Girls only hug and kiss with everyone, guy or girl, while guys have the option of shaking hand among ourselves and maybe hugging if they're closer. Almost everytime I give my hand to shake a girl's hand, she's kinda weirded out and we just end up hugging.
Hugs don't need to come with kisses and kisses don't need to come with hugs. Kiss only, you can just touch the shoulders for support and touch cheeks with kiss noise.
With hugs, what changes is the intensity according to how much you like the person and are intimate. I usually hug tight, when I want to show warmth and come off as friendly, even when I don't quite know the person, and it's always welcommed (I wouldn't do that with a random, complete stranger out of nothing haha. Context matters a little bit). Though, the longer the hug, the more intimacy you have. Long hugs would be awkward if you are not intimate and friendly.
I find Cathy Cat's videos interesting, because she always tries to convey a certain joy among the Japanese, as we only see that in anime and manga.
You should have emphasized in your video that there are differences. A kiss on the cheek greeting is usually not with anyone's mouth involved, it's actually just both cheeks touching eachother.
In Belgium we mostly do that cheek vs cheek greeting once. My friends and family in France do it on both cheeks and some also do it 3 times.
I think it needed to be said that cheek vs cheek isn't the same as kissing on the cheek, obviously, lol.
We from Indonesia, we greet our friend with cursing word but in a chill way and softer voice.
I would say in Europe it depends on the kisses. In Austria, we would do that within friends and family, but also not directly on the cheek. In the Netherlands you have three kisses instead of two. I have the feeling that in France they are more likely to use that with people they do to know too well. Me, as an Austrian, I would say that hugging and kissing is something that you do with people you know and like. I do not like to hug my co-workers for example, but in Germany this is normal.
It seems like we are all closer with eachother, but not all people are that relaxed on hugging, or other kind of greetings and feel uncomfortable most of the times, if not all, even with people that are close enough. ( I'm such a person, that's why I'm saying that). Also, many people, mostly girls, will do that even if they don't feel so comfortable with theother person, and that's something that shows. Something else that's usually happening, is when a group of friends is going out, but there is also someone who is not as close with everyone. When they are all going to hug each other, or in general greet each other (for example, two of my girlfriends use to hug their friends when they are meeting them, then being both girls and boys), they wont feel like hug the person who they are not close with, or even hug him, but in both situations that's going to be awkward. Furthermore, there are times when the "friends" will stop being that close, but still one of them will still keep trying to hug the other one (for example, my two girlfriends that I mentioned earlier. Even though we all know that out friendship almost doesn't exist anymore, they will keep hugging me. That ends up being hypocritical, and dumb). I personally prefer the greetings that Japanese people have, compared to those that westerners have, while I am also kind of a "westerner" (I'm from Greece). But, that's probably because also an introvert.
Really nice videos, and entertaining. They help a lot at understanding the Japanese culture, and how people are used to behave.
Oh yea, I forgot. Here in Greece we also have the kisses, and they are mostly between family, or elders kissing the youth, and between girls. Boys will most likely greet eachother as the man in the video mentioned, or with just a handshake. About the kiss, maybe the kisses between girls be without contact, but the kisses between family will most likely be with contact, but it's not like they will really kiss you, you just let your cheeks touch.
Wow i was really surprised finally UA-cam algorithms do justice with you guys now.. I'm wishing you all the best❤. Ganbatte 💪
Here in Brazil one time i went to Obon with a friend who's a descendant, there we met some of her older relatives including some native japaneses, i just bowed from a distance but they came close to me and hugged and kissed me lol.
10:45 Loved this part
In Chile I had different experiences normally people don't blow kisses in the air but put their cheeks together (while keep talking). But some people really do give big, wet kisses on the cheek (that's what traumatises me everytime 😂). (I'm half chilean - half german. So I only experience this during visits.)
In PR we say hello to friend to each other with kisses but its only to the opposite sex and your checks touch while kissing the air. Double kisses is not common.
In the Philippines, it's quite normal to kiss family and friends on the cheeks both sides, especially on gatherings or meeting up friends. We call it beso beso.
As a swede, I would say kissing on the cheek is more common in the south of Europe, either hugs, hand shack or fist bump is the normal way here, kissing might be more for the girls here, but more of the friends circle.
I am not surprised many of the Japanese people were hesitate to give Cathy a kiss. If something went wrong, Cathy could potentially be their first kiss.
I thought you do the 'kissing of the cheek' by having both persons cheeks touch while kissing the air besides them. This has happened to me only once in my lifetime if I recall correctly and it caught me off guard. Since the most common greeting here is just hugging, whether it's a stranger/friends/family, etc.
I think it depends on the culture. For me being from Spanish background everyone gets a hug but only girls get a kiss on the cheek. As for friends hugs only boy or girl.
I fell in love with the girl on 2:43 😬
In Portugal is very common greeting with two kisses on the cheek and hug. Even in formal situations and with unknown people. Portuguese people are very affectionate. I can't remember a single day in my life when I haven't given and received kisses. 💋
here in Ukraine with really close friends, it goes like that: hug + kiss on the cheek.
omg in america we definitely don't kiss as a greeting haha xD i would be SO shocked if anybody ever tried doing that to me :') sajdasjhdahs
Hello! I love your channel and find it helpful always, I live in America, because our country is so large sometimes different areas have different greetings, formal introduction is usually a handshake, sometimes we will wave to strangers, and hugging is usully only a greeting with those we feel comfortable with, there are cheek kisses here too but it's most common amongst the girls and it's rare, otherwise cheek kissing can be used as a source of gratitude to thank someone or it's a way to show love and affection to those we care about the most or are romantically interested in, I hope this helps answer your question!
Excellent video thanks for sharing.
In the Philippines.
We just say "Oii" while nodding at the same time. 😆
Sometimes we Change "Oii"to "Bay", "Boy", "Kol" for men or "oii" "Te" for Gil and "Gaw " for cousins or even not. 😆
cheek kissing from my family is what men do to women that are typically related, just a small sign of affection, and it is contact. This can expand out to dear friends that you aren't really romantically interested in. girls can (and usually do) kiss other girls on the cheek, and guys will only kiss girls on the cheek...typically.
This is the way.
some friends I hug, some friends I just say hi etc, depending on person and if they like hugging. I am from Finland
I'm from Chile, South America. We literally do a kiss on the cheek when we meet anyone from the opposite sex for the first time, at least where I live in the south of the country. Girls normally do it to each other too, and as a guy I also do it with my closest male friends as well.
it depends mostly we hug here in Sweden if it's more casual with friends if it's more formal like for a job interview we shake hands.
Hugging in the states amongst friends who haven't seen each other for a long while is common. Amongst friends who see each other often hugging is not that common. Air kissing in addition to hugging your friends as a greeting is rarely done in the states at least not among my friends.
all this confusion about greetings is why I stick with either a bow or a knuckle bump. I would be too nervous to hug any stranger let alone try the air cheek kiss.
I like Cathy's dress in this episode.
In Latin America you kiss on the cheek even if it's the first time meeting someone, and you hug and kiss if it's someone you are familiar with.
Lived in the South here in America my whole life and people don't really hug each other unless they are close family or friends. My grandparents would give kisses on the cheek to me and other family members but I don't really see it as much in the younger generation, older generation yes kissing was a greeting. I don't really see men and women hugging much either its mainly same-sex unless they're already somewhat close.
In England we tend to do one kiss on the cheek followed by a hug. I remember instinctively doing it to my American girlfriend's mum the first time we met and she got all flustered. 😂
Cathy brought up another super topics.
Here in Latin America we can kiss each other on the cheek both to the right and to the left in my country it is common, in my country unknown men and women can kiss each other, in the case of women they also kiss each other, In Argentina men also kiss each other but in my country they don't
In the 2000's, it was a highschool trend in Germany to greet everyone with an actual kiss on the lips. Like everyone. ... Until people got herpes, then the trend died. lol
Here in Portugal we always do two kisses (from left to right) and it's usually between girl friends or family. My mom also makes me do it with some of her friends even tho I'm not to found of this greeting
My Dutch cousins do the air kissing thingy but American culture is so heavily influenced by British culture that is normally not comfortable with even air kissing. I don't know why Japanese think Americans do it a lot.
Cathy, das war großartig. Mehr zur 'Comfort Zone' der Japaner wäre großartig. Vielen Dank und habe ich mit großem Interesse gesehen, weil ich das auch kenne. Danke
👍👍👍
In Argentina we touch cheek to cheek and kiss the air (on one side only). It's like a quick little cheek pat, and it can be done with strangers too (men do it with each other too). Sometimes a pat on the shoulder or a hand grab is added.
They are all so cute and lovely ❤
In Mexico we slap our friends behinds as a greeting, They usually hit you back and insult you until they feel better, which usually happens within a few seconds.
I've french kissed my best friend for fun just to make people uncomfortable a few times in my life. That was always funny.
In Italy we kiss each other on both kiss, some areas in Italy they kiss 3 times like right cheek, left cheek and back to right cheek again. We do that even with people we meet for the first time (mostly after we meet them when we say goodbye). In fact, during my first trip to Japan I went out with locals and when we tried to kiss them before leaving they were shocked! When we told them that even boys kiss girls on the cheek they all screened: “wooooah lucky lucky!!!” 😅
見知らぬ人とキスしないでください！I hope Nihonjin don't think we kiss as a greeting in America. Americans don't kiss each other as a greeting. We don't hug strangers as a greeting either, because we only hug to show that we feel emotionally close to each other. In America, if anyone tries to hug you as a first meeting then they are definitely trying to get romantic with you. Definitely run away from a stranger that tries to kiss you! edit: OMG Cathy don't be weird! Nobody does that kiss greeting with strangers, that is embarrassing just to watch! 😣🤢
2:14 In Brazil everyone give a Kiss anyone and hug but exist differents hugs and Kiss situations.
In South America is very common for us to kiss our friends on the cheeks or family members. But, I definitely think is way more common between women... I dont often see men kissing, even if they're close... mm.. probably, only family members but in friends is very rare.