Italian Hand Gestures PART 1

Many people don't know that 50% of the Italian language is spoken, while the other 50% is communicated through a specific code of hand gestures..watch this video to find out!
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[@fangchen2820]

Complimenti per i gesti ,di cui io non sapevo vivendo in Italia da 20 .mi avete fatto fare una risata,perché li trovo molto divertenti ed espressivi！😄

[@chiarenzaproduction]

I'm Italian and I use these gestures and many more every day. Is it really so strange?

[@alaamohammed353]

nooo actually it's awesome... i like to use it alot in my italian class.. :)

[@francesvansiclen3245]

chiarenzaproduction- no !

[@marcg3923]

it's stupid, unless you are talking to a deaf person who cannot read lips

[@pipebomber04]

Damn right it is strange you better get rid of it now and repent your ways

[@catscats5844]

@@marcg3923 it's not stupid cause people don't do it on purpose. Hand gestures come naturally and automatically, you can't really control it

[@TheKsashia]

Thanks for the video! Living in Naples, you definitely notice how the nonverbal form of communication here goes hand in hand with the spoken language. Beautiful country and wonderful people.

[@annalisabuontempo3269]

I loved the video (I'm italian), but I read the comments and saw that some italians don't agree. Thing is, Italy is a small country but there are so many differences between each region. These gestures are more commonly used in south Italy for example.Just think about the fact that we have a lot of dialects in the same region: it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialetti_d%27Italia

[@bruhjale]

I love this!

[@Silverfenix2456]

In Spain a lot of these are used. Not all the time, just sometimes. Still though, I got most of them.

[@Airmaster167]

I'm starting Italian next semester.

[@sherlockholmes493]

Me la stavo facendo sotto dalle risate!! Bellissimo (anche se un po' esagerato)

[@utubu3]

il far girare le due dita(indice e medio) in segno di morte è univerale o soltanto italiano???

[@cheekyale]

Bellissimo!

[@TeeSok]

@mikeydee729 I have to disagree. I am Italian and all the gestures are real and are used, especially by older people. the use of gestures varies from according to the place, I mean go to Neaples or Rome and you will see a lot of them. In the video some of them are exagerated, but they are real.

[@joshuawaring4180]

‘You’re flexing.’

[@ignaziomormando8990]

Autentica lingua dei gesti e noi ne siamo i maestri, migliaia di anni sedimentati in semplici movimenti del corpo

[@PravoRulja]

@Freddie88 erm, no. When you're hungry you don't do that even in Southern Italy. It means you don't like someone (i.e. "mi sta/stai sullo stomaco, etc...location may change:P)

[@HunterMann]

Really? I was just at a film festival and asked 10 different Sicilians if they are Italian. They all said that they are from Sicily, not Italy. Spend 2 minutes researching the social & cultural aspects of Sicilian pride and you will learn more about this.

[@Risingsun294]

I am..it's possible old generations might use hand gesture more but no one of the old people I know or I get long with are into this "desperate " hand gestures..come one u're simply exaggerating..don't take it personally btw ;) ;)

[@JUNKGEE83]

YOU UNDERSTAND?

[@994Dexter]

@EnRicoTesoro I learned it from my old school teacher (south Italian teacher, i think that came from Reggio Calabria). But i lived for some years in Treviglio and Bergamo, where people use that word in a wrong way, offensive way, like ignorant or worse..

[@tryhelp7565]

thanks i like

[@zohaibmasih2411]

Lovely

[@polloalforno]

ahaha I meant come to Italy

[@MsXiliX]

I am hungry does not have that movement of hands, does not have no movement of hands

[@ValeTifaNapoliTie]

@robasci00 infatti...non si usano in tutti il mondo?!

[@johnoliver2022]

I have many Italian friends and nobody is using that signs ... never seen them ... this is an unreal clip and full stereotype. Many friends in Europe use their hands when they talk, it is a normal behaviour, not linked to the nationality !

[@NaniNyan101]

cool. i'm learning Italian. this might be useful for me when i go to my trip to Italy

[@ralbers8516]

cool, we wait for you!

[@ansiaaa]

please to whoever will come to Italy.. don't use the gestures showed in all these videos you see on youtube, you would only look like a stupid character out of some movies from the 50's! apart from old people in the south of Italy or someone lost in the countryside, none of us use them so blatantly, we are way way more subtle or not use them anymore at all

[@billadmond9450]

I guess you're from north of Italy, congratulations!!!

[@ansiaaa]

Bill Admond so what's your point?

[@VictorMSpiga]

gestures are for villagers, please NEVER do it!!!!

[@Kenshiroit]

true, we use hand gestures just not so exagerated. All people in IT knows about hand languages, so the wrong movement, you may offend people....ie: you move your hand, somebody get angry, ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?? and then you got problems...lol

[@petralik]

+ansiaaa This is so false. We do use hand gestures; you maybe don't even realize that you use them too. And that sentence: "apart from old people in the south of Italy or someone lost in the countryside", it's almost offending, certainly snob.

[@lucreziaoddone]

I'm Italian and I actually do not make all that gestures while I'm talking...!!! If you want to check out my videos, I teach Italian language here on youtube ;) All the best to you all xx

[@LoveGimnastics]

Quando ho fame non faccio quel gesto, e sono italiana... When I'm hungry I don't do that gesture, and I'm Italian...

[@VictorMSpiga]

HAH, idem. Quando ho fame mi alzo e vado a cucinare o a mangiare, ovunque mi trovo e con chiunque io sia ^_^

[@giulianorivieri2806]

Beh però c'è chi lo usa. E non dirmi che non lo conoscevi?

[@LoveGimnastics]

@@giulianorivieri2806 no, non ne ero a conoscenza. E a sei anni di distanza dal mio commento posso confermare di non aver mai usato/mai visto qualcuno usare quel gesto ahahah forse non è una cosa comune dalle mie parti

[@Jassycandyful]

ahahahaha I'm Italian but I've never seen 3 or 4 of these gestures before! I didn't know they even exist XD

[@rkappra]

My favorite was "Madonna mia!" - my mom said that all the time!

[@MMNNLL2468]

Omg I'm Saudi Arabian and we have the same hand gestures!!! Not all of them but most of them

[@petralik]

To all the italians commenting: what the f++k is your problem? Why are you offended by this? We DO use hand gesture: someone use them less, someone use them more; and yes, in these videos they can be a little bit exagereted, and we certainly don't constantly do hand gestures like if we were deaf, but you CAN'T say these are stereotypes. I think you don't even realize you use them while speaking. We use them to underline the concept we're talking about, to enfatize a sentence, to communicate in a crowded place or in silence without being heard. And i'm from Rome, that is neither south or north Italy, neither countryside, neither a small city. Relax people, take it easier, there is nothing offending in this.

[@komangputrardelrey]

Hahaha friend of mine is italian 😂 and this is accurate .. I've been seen it all lol

[@allyouneedisbohr]

i'm from argentina and I use the exact same gestures in the same way... i'm descendent from italians but i never meet anyone, so this comes in a weird corner of my genes.

[@Sigridovski]

In Sweden you would not easily say, ''I don't care''. People are not rude to others there. I never saw somebody look up and down on another in Sweden, for instance, so we also don't have the hand gestures for things like that. But I like them anyway. They are funny.

[@90Mademoiselles]

i laughed my ass off reading this lol

[@pasqualemarini1773]

Rivisitate quei gesti perché alcuni sono sbagliati...😉🍕🍝 👁🧏🏻‍♀️🙅🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🇮🇹✌🏼🤘🏼🤙🏼🙏🏼👍🏼🤌🏼

[@Trvgn]

this is just bad. I mean, I appreciate that you try to explain or learn our gestures, but some of those are just wrong or don't exist at all...wtf is the one "I am hungry"? Or the "good idea"? I never ever seen or used those...

[@petralik]

+Trvgn "I'm hungry": it is right! It's like you are saying "I have to put something in my stomach, I'm starving" "good idea": It's not the exact meaning of that gesture; it's more referred to a person or to a behaviour and it meens clever, cunning, shrewed, sly. Vuol dire furbo, scaltro

[@fa23had]

Also in arabic we use the same gestures

[@Januszthekilla]

yes , only most of them mean "Kill the infidels" , or "allah akbaaarrr - BOOM" , or "I like this 10-year old woman"

[@punishedvenomsnake716]

Januszthekilla lol, that was spot on, brother. thanks for that, you made my day

[@fa23had]

Januszthekilla no comment 😑

[@LaMpOoNeR93]

I'm Italian and I think janus is ignorant! -.-

[@nadomustafi7916]

Januszthekilla another brainwashed😂hah

[@superborgy]

Just remember that gestures are really, really informal. REALLY.

[@josemachina3996]

These look a lot like Mexican hand gestures I wonder if the Aztecs came from Italy

[@panda33531]

i love the Italian accent!

[@Lemonjessy]

la mia famiglia è italiana ma viviamo in Australia e usiamo ancora questi gesti delle mani!!

[@fa23had]

Also in arabic we use the same gestures

[@flipballaz93]

Fahadnho Assire i noticed italians look arabic too haha

[@DharmendraSingh-pj1rw]

wtf!!! Most of these are used also in India!!!

[@fabio2nd]

ma che cavolata. cos'hai un complesso di inferiorità? se non conosci queste mimiche o sei della Val d'Aosta o di Bolzano. Io sono romagnolo, non certo meridionale, ma ovviamente sono consuetudini e a meno che non debba tenere una conversazione formale o di lavoro, la maggior parte dei gesti, per enfatizzare certi concetti, li uso o li ho usati.

[@8SabreWolf8]

Veramente son tutti veri, "ho fame" dalle mie parti non lo usiamo molto, al massimo strofiniamo la pancia, me del resto, non così esagerati, ma si fanno tutti, è che non tutti li fanno, io ad esempio ne uso meno della metà. Non è irrispettoso, è un video simpatico che insegna anche come non farsi fraintendere

[@gracidia]

what happens when a english speaker is voiceless or mute? :)

[@crosschek4]

Hahahahaha. Oh my gosh, I'm part italian and I ALWAYS get made fun of for talking with my hands! This is great!

[@claudiozarzizi7247]

Per cortesia,vedete di imparare l'inglese. State parlando il solito inglese dei maccheroni

[@thelordsservant1]

Im going to be taking Italian in a couple semesters and can't wait. I get my Italian from my Fathers side and i definitley have the mouth like an italian. When I would be getting corrected or my mom was being stern and I kept running my mouth she would say, 'would you shut your damn mouth you Dego and listen?' hahaha. Lo amo la mia mamma. :)

[@CTGirl1500]

Very cool. Although I can't remember them all, but I can start to see that their gestures do mean something! Very nicely done!

[@jchisholm1968]

Yeh we have allot of hand gestures in England to. :-)

[@FRAmars96]

Stereotipi...

[@AmarokSaga]

Wow I discovered that in Mexico we do use some of those hand gestures! Looks like we do share more than just same flag colors, romance tongue origin, good cuisine and warm people.

[@marvinsilverman4394]

hahaha

[@420joeisdead]

PROUD OF MY ANCESTORS ,VIVA ITALIA!!!

[@EthanRom]

This is such an amazing culture. I use my hands a lot when I am talking and my friend told me about how Italians do the same thing. I decided to look it up

[@JrmEVIII]

Cortonaaaaaaaaa!!! :D

[@mazza7465]

i'm brazilian, but my mom's family part is italian, because of them i use these gestures everyday lol

[@tassiagomesbentz4838]

We use a lot of these gestures in conversation here in Brazil too.I think some are pretty clear and it's probably used in many places around the world.

[@jayd4ever]

very nice it is sad that what not being in Italy can do to your identity

[@blobboflava]

Ciao ragazzi! I like it. It makes me happy...

[@mosulman7773]

Not strange, just different. When I moved to the Middle East my Arab friends thought it was hilarious how “Anglo” (uptight) I was. When I returned to the US it took a while return to my “Anglo” ways.

[@guilhermetonon7267]

O senhor italiano parece Rogério Cardoso, o Rolando Lero Hheheheheh The old italian man seems like Rogerio Cardoso, a brazilian actor that made "Rolando Lero". Seems a bit like Tom Hanks too

[@actressnicky]

My nonna and papa use these gestures all the time ^-^ now I'm trying to learn Italian. And this helped:]

[@Theothercotinga]

my italian teacher showed this to us XD

[@Furiospinosi]

of course foreign people shouldn't try this 'cause they must come naturally, so if there's any chance foreign people could use these, it's when they have lived really intimately with someone italian or lived in Italy for, like, 20 better 30 years.

[@lashlarue7924]

This is really crazy to me as an American who speaks French and Spanish but not Italian. It's like, I understand, but it's still strange.

[@lulugo]

the gesture that they indicate as "sorry" it doesn't mean simply sorry, more specifically it means "there is nothing left" "I have no more"

[@nicolevahai5982]

marco in a box has 60 italian hand gestures he teaches and also italian proverbs. check them out. my granddmother, maria bartollota ledt itsly and moved in america thru ellis island. she had an older sister vincenta and her parents were salvatore and maria. Is there any place to search for recorda of my family. my mother ; not my mothers mothwr saod she was from aicoly but i dont think that adccurare.

[@MyFarandAway]

Love the clip Nada!! I knew some of them, and learned a few new ones. Can't wait to try them out in October!

[@zhajipai]

Unlike other Italian hand gestures videos, this one is really well done. Freddie88 below gives some good hints and of course not all Italians use all these gestures but the ones I've seen in this video are known by everyone so non-Italians can hve fun using them when visiting Italy and be sure they'll be understood;)

[@witchthief]

@darthhvader is "delizioso", the Z sounds like /ts/.. like in "pizza" ;)

[@omargonzales3]

As a Mexican I understood some of this and feel like we have a lot in common with italian culture.

[@xLAMUx88]

ma raga ma qualcuno che ha detto "non li ho mai visti" oppure "sono esagerati",prima di tutto...ma dove ha vissuto fino ad ora?O__o e poi qui sembrano esagerati solo perchè è un video che è stato fatto appositamente per mostrare i vari gesti e quindi vengono fatti in maniera più decisa giusto per fare capire agli stranieri!per il resto io li faccio tutti,anche di più auhauhauh forse perchè vengo da Napoli :P

[@Meyouletsgo]

We use so many of these hand gestures in Tunisia as well lol, not all of course but about maybe 80% of them

[@lulugo]

non capisco perchè la gente nel mondo è fissata sul fatto che gli italiani gesticolano. Anche gli americani gesticolano, anche i francesi e gli spagnoli, io tutta questa differenza non la vedo. I don't understand this enfasis and stereotipe on italian hand gesture, american people also use hand gesture, and spanish and french people too.

[@deelovesdis]

my family is from naples, and they have used about half of these gestures, but yes, as most people said, they come naturally while we speak. some of them I have never heard of .....

[@AleMeller13]

lololol i never realized it but it's true! E x altri italiani che commentano negativamente: non dite che non usate anche voi questi gesti..!!! non c'è nulla di male mica ne stanno parlando male..!!! c'è ben altro di cui noi italiani dovremmo vergognarci, di certo non di questo..!!!!

[@DENIS0209]

l'italia si distingue sia per i gesti che la dieta mediterranea,dalla cultura alla storia questi video non hanno senso,ogni popolo ha il suo difetto e pregio...se stiamo a guardarli ci dimostriamo dei cretini....amiamo una patria per quello che è,non per quello che dovrebbe essere saluti,denis0209

[@reesescupbrandy1]

Oh Gosh! It's like learning sign language and verbal language at the same time.

[@laretetisalva]

no tranquillo è per persone con cui mai parlerai e che mai conoscerai che non vivi più in Italia e alcune di loro non sono nemmeno Italiani.Poi a scappare sono tutti bravi come a sputare sentenze e giudizi.

[@BaluxEbasta]

ma si però i gesti ci stanno. poi che non si usano sempre è un altro discorso. ma se io a te devo dire me ne vado.... e non mi puoi sentire.. come te lo dico? il gesto è quello... poi si è una cazzata :)

[@myconerd]

LOVE from Turkey!! I love that hand thing!

[@salnizzo1974]

@Amendolia37 You can agree with Mike, and in fact you both have lived in Italy only for a period and then you left. Remember that Italy has a lot of different Regions and if you sum up the attitude of people from Naples, Rome, Florence, Palermo and so on... you will have the whole bunch of gestures you see in this video. I have been living my whole life here in Italy (36 years) and I'm a language teacher and my opinion about this matter counts more than what you say... sad but true.

[@ChristineHades]

Im just saying that, i've been to many countries and i've seen really rarely ppl using so much hand gesture. it probably isnt weird to you, coz you're italian, right??? but i'm not italian, and i remember pretty well my first months in italy, i was just amazed by it!!! i dont get why you get all worked up, i didn't say there was something bad about gestures, but to foreign ppl like me, in the begining its just confusing, get it now??? btw, i've been living in italy for 5 years, no joke here

[@mediamauro]

I can - without gestures. Take this with a pinch of salt, it's a gesture tutorial. You are likely to see some of this if a conversation gets heated. The Italian language is probably the closest you can get to the Latin language (sounds and words). I doubt Rome wasn't built in a day, but they did not need all those gestures to make it happen.

[@littlefunginny]

Love that during the come here\go away bit the other guy just moves both arms and shoulder,which is another gesture! :) I don't even know how to express that in english.this is like:"I don't understand,I don't know what to do about it!" but it isn't quite correct.These vids are quite useful anyway!brava! :)

[@stevent2705]

hahahaha bravo!

[@ericjustasinner5695]

I thought they all okay sign stands for white power somebody should tell the Italians lol lol

[@Momokabomo]

@terroncinopugliese XD It must be great to live where people are so emotional and happy! Where i am from you can not even talk to your neighbour on the bus cause people will assume you are an alcoholic or a junkie : - ) It is like we are all depressed sometimes.

[@Sappat]

Im looking for some translations..english to italian, and was wondering if anybody could help me out? Im actually trying to get in touch with my former gf, and she is a sucker for italian;) And no google translate for me, dont trust that stuff for this. Msg me if you feel helpful:)

[@MartueLoru]

@h3ll0gudbye no one asks foreigners to act like us, the gestures are just something more that we add to the words. the italian language is enough complicated,deep and rather wide and doesn't need to mime anything. Our gestures are simply something deep inside of us.

[@haydensd]

@mikeydee729 Well, I' italian and I still live in Italy and I can say that these gestures are often used. Maybe, as a young child (only 10 years old) you didn't use them. But I can assure you that me, my family and friends, we use a lot of these hand gestures.

[@salnizzo1974]

@mikeydee729 Hey man, I'm Italian and I was born in Italy and curretly live in Italy and I must tell you that we really use all the gestures you see in this video. We do use all fo them!!! Where the fuck did you live in Italy? May be close to the French or Swiss border?

[@Love2TravelAway]

I agree with " STLIQUID" . Stop trying to portray Italians or should I say stereotype them, like The Sopranos. I have great admiration for Italian raised and born in Italy. Italy is blessed to have such natural beauty and has all my respect for keeping their tradition.

[@AmarokSaga]

@sandrodream1 I really would like somebody would make a study about what porcentaje of hand gestures we share with Italians!

[@sicoticosandro]

it seems like yanks don't use their hands at all... a lot of this gestures are natural in anyu country where people actually can use their hands... the "come on" "go away" gesture, for example.. was just too much... poor yanks, are so naive.

[@ArtTrav]

Come mai a Cortona? Just curious to know how you chose the location and the people in the video - because I lived in Cortona for 8 months and recognize both the location and some of the people! Really cute video, thanks - i shared it on facebook.

[@BiologicalClock]

Just for the record, it means the same thing in the US. It's just not used much, because it's a lot easier to simply flip someone off. I have no idea how that could have translated as simply "I don't care", as it's a pretty offensive gesture.