World Customs & Etiquette Quiz

Answer: The waiter may run after you to return the money you "forgot". Tipping hardly exists in Japan: flawless service is simply part of the job. Leaving money can cause embarrassment or be taken as an oversight. The best thanks is a "gochisōsama deshita" (that was a feast) as you leave.

Answer: "Itadakimasu". Itadakimasu means "I humbly receive": a thank-you for the food, for those who prepared it and for the life it represents. Kanpai is what you say when clinking glasses.

Answer: No. In Bulgaria, the gestures are reversed compared with most countries: nodding up and down means no and shaking the head side to side means yes. Enough to thoroughly confuse tourists… especially as many Bulgarians switch for visitors.

Answer: Look the other person in the eye. Looking away when toasting is considered rude, even unlucky: a popular joke promises seven years of bad luck to those who forget. So you look each person in the eye while saying "Prost!" or "Zum Wohl!".

Answer: Adding Parmesan to seafood pasta. For many Italians, cheese overwhelms the delicacy of seafood: the combination is almost sacrilegious. Cutting spaghetti with a knife is another classic blunder.

Answer: The circle made by thumb and forefinger (the "OK" sign). In Brazil, the circle refers to an intimate part of the body. Richard Nixon reportedly made it on arrival in Latin America in the 1950s, drawing boos from the crowd. Better to give a thumbs-up, which Brazilians use a lot.

Answer: It recalls the ritual of passing the deceased's bones after cremation. At funerals, the family passes the fragments of the deceased's bones from chopsticks to chopsticks before placing them in the urn. At the table, you put the food on the other person's plate instead.

Answer: Wash thoroughly, sitting on a little stool at the showers. The bath is for relaxing, not washing: you get in perfectly clean, and naked. The small towel must never touch the water; people often rest it on their head. Many onsen still turn away tattooed visitors.

Answer: Turning their head slightly away so as not to drink facing them. Out of respect, you receive and pour with both hands, then turn slightly to the side, sometimes shielding the glass with your hand, to drink. It is also customary never to pour your own drink: you fill other people's glasses.

Answer: With legs tucked so your feet never point towards it. As the feet are the lowest part of the body, pointing them at a person or at the Buddha is offensive. So you sit with your legs folded to the side, feet pointing backwards, having taken off your shoes.

Answer: Liberally shower them with cinnamon. The tradition supposedly goes back to travelling spice merchants who stayed single for lack of a fixed home: they were called "pebersvend", pepper lads. At 30, it's pepper! A preliminary dousing with water helps the spice stick…

Answer: Taarof. Taarof is a subtle game of modesty and insistence: you refuse an invitation, gift or payment several times before accepting. The taxi driver who says "it's free for you" actually expects you to insist on paying!