In many cultures, the left hand is considered impure or inappropriate for certain tasks. While using the left hand is commonplace in some countries, in others, it’s viewed with distaste, and its use can lead to embarrassment or even offense.
Let’s dive deeper into nine situations where using your left hand is frowned upon in various cultures around the world.
1. Shaking Hands
Shaking hands is a common greeting across many parts of the world. However, in several countries like Ethiopia, Japan, and India, offering a handshake with your left hand can be considered offensive.
The left hand is often associated with unclean tasks, such as personal hygiene, and using it for greetings or business transactions can be interpreted as a lack of respect.
In these cultures, a handshake with the right hand symbolizes trust, warmth, and sincerity.
Additionally, in some regions, offering a left-handed handshake can be seen as a sign of dishonesty or false promises. It’s crucial to make sure your right hand is available for this important gesture.
2. Offering a Gift
When offering a gift, especially in countries like India, it’s important to use your right hand. In both Muslim and Hindu cultures, the left hand is considered unclean due to its association with bodily functions.
Offering a gift with the left hand is seen as disrespectful and could even lead to the rejection of the gift.
To avoid this, always use your right hand, or even better, present the gift with both hands, as this shows a higher level of respect and thoughtfulness.
In some cultures, offering a gift with both hands symbolizes humility and deep appreciation, making it a more formal and respectful gesture.
3. Receiving Anything
Just as offering a gift with the left hand is taboo, receiving an object with your left hand can also be viewed as disrespectful in many cultures.
In countries like India, the left hand is associated with impure tasks, so accepting gifts, money, or food with your left hand can suggest that you don’t value or appreciate the gesture.
Using your right hand to accept items not only adheres to cultural expectations but also demonstrates respect for the giver.
In certain cases, receiving something with both hands may show a deeper level of respect, especially when dealing with elders or authority figures.
4. Eating
In countries like Ethiopia and India, eating with your left hand is strictly avoided. In Ethiopia, where meals are often eaten with injera (a spongy flatbread), the left hand is considered impure, as it’s associated with bathroom hygiene.
Using your left hand to tear bread or scoop food can lead to visible discomfort or even offense from your dining companions.
Similarly, in India, using the left hand to eat can make others uncomfortable. Even in more casual settings, it’s advisable to use your right hand or both hands when eating in these cultures.
In some places, such as rural India, it is considered rude to even touch food with the left hand.
5. Pointing
Pointing, a common gesture used to indicate direction or highlight something, can easily offend if done incorrectly.
In Malaysia, for instance, pointing with the left hand regardless of which finger you use can be seen as impolite.
Instead, people prefer to point using their right thumb or with their entire hand. Pointing with the left hand can be associated with the impure connotations of the left hand and is generally seen as inconsiderate.
In some cultures, pointing in any form can be considered disrespectful, so it’s important to understand local norms.
In cultures where the left hand is considered taboo, even the slightest misstep can lead to misunderstandings.
6. Touching Someone
In many cultures, the left hand is linked to activities that are perceived as impure, such as using the toilet.
This association extends to any physical interaction, making it important to avoid using your left hand when touching someone.
In Muslim-majority countries, for example, it’s disrespectful to tap someone on the shoulder or give them a pat on the back using your left hand.
Such actions are typically interpreted as a violation of social norms, and they can create an uncomfortable situation.
To be safe, always use your right hand when engaging in physical gestures like greeting someone, touching someone’s shoulder, or even giving someone a handshake.
7. Exchanging Money
Money, in many cultures, is considered an unclean substance, so handling it with the left hand can be seen as disrespectful.
In Middle Eastern countries, for instance, transactions should always be made using the right hand.
While it may be acceptable in countries like Ethiopia to exchange money with either hand, the left hand is still often avoided in many contexts.
Using the right hand to pay for items, hand over change, or exchange bills is a sign of respect.
Even if you’re in a situation where money is casually passed around, being conscious of how you handle money can help you avoid inadvertently offending someone.
8. Doing Almost Anything in Ghana
In Ghana, the left hand is commonly referred to as the “toilet hand” because of its association with personal hygiene tasks.
As a result, using the left hand for almost anything public-facing such as waving, greeting, eating, or even exchanging money is deeply offensive.
People in Ghana are particularly sensitive to the use of the left hand in public spaces, and it’s expected that you use your right hand for these activities.
In fact, when meeting a group of people, the custom in Ghana is to greet from right to left, starting with the eldest person on the right side, which underscores the significance of the right hand in social interactions.
9. Writing in Japanese
Writing with your left hand is not culturally taboo in Japan, but it does present a unique challenge.
Japanese characters, known for their flowing strokes, are traditionally written from left to right, and left-handed writing makes this process more difficult.
Left-handed people have to push the pen instead of pulling it, which can result in smudging and inefficient writing.
While it may not be considered offensive, left-handed writing in Japanese can be seen as cumbersome and awkward.
For this reason, left-handed individuals often find it more challenging to write in Japanese, as the script’s design favors right-handed writing.
Alicia Richards