Meeting, Greeting, and Falling in Love Around the World

Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate relationships. We experience a variety of meaningful connections throughout our lives, such as family, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and romantic partners. All start with a greeting—perhaps an exchange of a handshake or a simple nod—and only a special few may one day result in exchanging those three magical words, “I love you”.

Across the globe, first meetings and declarations of love look and sound a little bit differently depending on the local culture. Listed below are descriptions of the cultural norms for various countries when meeting someone new, along with how to say “I love you” for when things get serious.

Egypt

Meeting and Greeting: Handshake with direct eye contact. If different genders, the man should wait for the woman to extend her hand or bow his head if she does not. If with a local, follow their lead since the order and style of greeting may change based on each person’s status. Make sure to use the right hand since the left is considered unclean. [1][2]

Saying “I love you” in Arabic: How you pronounce your love depends on whether you are speaking to a man or to a woman. Written as “أنا أحبك”, to a man you would say “ah-nah oo-heh-boo-ka”, and to woman, “ah-nah oo-heh-boo-kee”.[3][4]

France

Meeting and Greeting: Air kiss on the cheek. Depending on the region, people exchange between 1-4 air kisses on alternating cheeks. Men may choose to shake hands with each other instead.[5]

Saying “I love you” in French: In the quintessential language of love you say, “Je t’aime” (pronounced: zhuh tem).[6]

Japan

Meeting and Greeting: Bow. In Japan, the deeper the bow, the more respect is being shown. Men bow with their hands at their sides, women with their hands on their thighs, and the younger generations are starting to use more of a head bow (like a nod, but more pronounced).

Saying “I love you” in Japanese”: Not taken lightly, you only say “愛してる” (pronouced: ay-she-tay-ee-roo) when expressing deep commitment to a partner. If you want another way to communicate your fondness for someone, you could say “大好き” (pronounced:daisuki), which means “I like you a lot.”

China

Meeting and Greeting: A common misconception is that you bow from the waist as they do in Japan. Instead, the Chinese generally shake hands, starting with the most senior person in the room. It is also acceptable to give a slight bow from the head and lower the eyes as a sign of respect.[7][8][9]

Saying “I love you” in Mandarin Chinese: Since Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken official language of China, you’d likely say “我爱你” (pronouced: wo ai ni) to declare your affections.

Chile

Meeting and Greeting: Handshake, though primarily between men. Women often pat each other on the right forearm or shoulder. If different genders, the man should wait for the woman to extend her hand first before shaking it. Maintain direct eye contact when greeting and start with the most senior person in the room.[10]

Saying “I love you” in Spanish: There are two ways to express love, you say “te quiero” (pronounced: tay key-aro) to express care and affection for friends and extended family members, and “te amo” (pronounced: tay-ah-mo) to partners in serious romantic relationships and to close family members.[11]

India

Meeting and Greeting: Place palms together and bow slightly while saying “Namaste” (pronounced: nah-mah-stay). In urban areas, men will sometimes shake hands with each other, though rarely with women. Elders and superiors should be greeted first to show respect.[12]

Saying “I love you” in Hindi: If you meet someone special in India, chances are you would let them know in Hindi saying “मैं तुमसे प्यार करता हूँ” (pronounced: main tumse pyaar kartaa hoon) if expressing love to a man and “तुमसे प्यार करती हूँ” (pronounced: main tumse pyaar kartaa hoon) if to a woman. Though Hindi is the most widely spoken and official language of the country, there are a total of 23 officially recognized languages, which have 13 different scripts and over 720 dialects.[13][14][15]

Austria

Meeting and Greeting: Shake hands with everyone in a group while keeping the other hand out of your pockets since it is considered rude. Men should wait for women to offer their hands first, and the younger folks for their elders.[16][17]

Saying “I love you”in German: German is spoken by 98% of the population, so you would probably say “Ich liebe dich” (pronounced: Ick leebuh dik) to communicate your love.

Tibet

Meeting and Greeting: Stick your tongue out! This distinctive greeting started in the 9th century, when unpopular King Lang Darma with a black tongue ruled the land. After he died, people believed he was reborn through reincarnation and so would stick out their tongues to prove that they came in peace and were not the embodiment of the newly reincarnated king.[18]

Saying “I love you” in Tibetan: Although Tibet was incorporated into the People’s Republic of China in 1950, there are still many movements working to maintain the unique culture, religion, and language of the Tibetan people. In Tibetan, you would say “ང་ཁྱེད་རང་ལ་དགའ་པོ་ཡོད་” (pronounced: nga kayrâng-la gawpo yö) to express your love.

For the Love of Change: Time, Culture, and Language

The passage of time brings change to cultural and linguistic norms. The descriptions above are a snapshot of generalized accepted practices in this day and age, but this image may differ from region to region or person to person. Part of the beauty of our ever-changing Earth is witnessing how cultures shift and grow to incorporate new ideas, discoveries, and trends. With the advent of air travel, satellite technology, and the internet, these changes have been happening at an even quicker pace this past century, though many regions of the world are making a concerted effort to maintain the qualities that make them unique. It will be interesting to revisit the practices outlined in this article in 10, 20, 100 years down the line to see what has changed and what remains the same when it comes to meeting, greeting, and falling in love.

Written by Rachel Messenger, Translation Specialist at CPG Documentation, LLC www.cpgcanhelp.com

[1] Egyptian Culture, Cultural Atlas, https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/egyptian-culture/greetings-a35cd813-1a7e-42cd-a033-ba4f5f055d2f

[2] 6 Cultural Etiquette Tips from Egypt, Western Union Global Social team, https://www.westernunion.com/blog/6-cultural-etiquette-tips-egypt/

[3] I love you in many languages, Simon Ager, https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/iloveyou.htm

[4] How to Say I Love You in 20 Languages, YourDictionary, https://reference.yourdictionary.com/reference/other-languages/how-to-say-i-love-you-in-many-languages.html

[5] Beyond the Handshake: How People Greet Each Other Around the World, Chris Ciolli, https://www.afar.com/magazine/beyond-the-handshake-how-people-greet-each-other-around-the-world

[6] How to Say “I Love You” in 15 Different Languages, Stevie D., https://www.fluentu.com/blog/i-love-you-in-different-languages/

[7] How to Greet People in China, Rachel Deason, https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/articles/greet-people-china/

[8] Business etiquette in China, Global Communication Solutions, http://www.simplifiedtranslations.com/EN/chinese.html

[9] China, eDiplomat, http://www.ediplomat.com/np/cultural_etiquette/ce_cn.htm

[10] Chile Guide: Language, Culture, Customs, and Etiquette, Commisceo Global, https://www.commisceo-global.com/resources/country-guides/chile-guide

[11] Te Amo vs. Te Quiero: Differences in “I Love You” in Spanish, Elsa Jimenez, https://www.englishtospanishraleigh.com/blog/te-amo-vs-te-quiero-differences-in-i-love-you-in-spanish

[12] India Guide: Namaste! (Hello!) and welcome to our guide to Indian Culture, Customs, Business Practices and Etiquette, Commisceo Global, https://www.commisceo-global.com/resources/country-guides/india-guide

[13] Lesson #29: I Love You, Learning Hindi, http://www.learning-hindi.com/post/963456550/lesson-29-i-love-you

[14] Languages in India: An Introduction, Just Landed, https://www.justlanded.com/english/India/India-Guide/Language/Languages-in-India

[15] Languages of India, New World Encyclopedia, http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Languages_of_India

[16] Austrian etiquette, Austria.info, https://www.austria.info/in/service-and-facts/people-traditions/austrian-etiquette

[17] Meeting and Greeting, Lisa Alfonso, https://livinginvienna101.wordpress.com/2014/05/01/austrian-and-viennese-customs/

[18] 7 Unusual Ways to Greet People Around the World, Caroline Morse Teel, https://www.smartertravel.com/7-unusual-ways-to-greet-people-around-the-world/