Free Spanish Lesson #16 - Hand Gestures (gestos)

Dave Clark

This hand gesture, if done incorrectly, can cause a lot of problems.

In the U.S., if you want to say "come here" using hand gestures, you put out your hand, palm up, and move your index finger in and out two or three times.

If you make the same gesture to a Latin person from certain regions of Latin America, it can have a completely different meaning.

It means that you are interested in being extremely intimate with that person and is considered a solicitation. You can imagine the trouble you could get into if you didn't know the Latin interpretation of this typical American hand gesture.

The correct way to say "come here" in Spanish, using a hand gesture, is to put your palm down and move all four fingers in and out (together) two or three times.

In other words, the "palm up - one finger - English gesture" is completely different than the "palm down - four finger - Spanish gesture". Now that you know the difference, remember to avoid confusing the two!

When I was teaching Spanish at a major US corporation, the managers I was teaching shared the following experience: There was a Latin woman at their corporation who didn't speak much English. She had accused a man at the corporation of sexual harassment. There was a corporate hearing to assess the situation which involved the managers, the woman, the accused man, and an interpreter.

If you want to signal for someone to 'come here' in Latin America, put your palm down instead of up... Dave Clark

There was a very serious tone in the room as the woman was asked to explain the charge. After a few minutes of explanation, the interpreter began to laugh wildly. The managers thought this was very inappropriate and asked him to explain why he was laughing.

The interpreter proceeded to explain what the woman had told him. He said that the accused man had needed the woman to come with him for a job-related activity. He had signaled for her to come, as most Americans do, with the palm up and moving the index finger in and out.

She then told the interpreter that the man had made several unwanted solicitations. When the woman had told this to the interpreter, he realized that this was a big cultural misunderstanding and began to laugh. Both cultures were then explained to all parties and the situation resolved.

The moral of the story: If you want to signal for someone to "come here" in Latin America, put your palm down instead of up, and use four fingers instead of one, or you may find yourself with muchos problemas!

¡Qué le vaya bien! (May everything go well for you!)

Written by Dave Clark with Try a Free Spanish Lessons

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