Greetings and Goodbyes, Hug or Handshake? Hugging and American Culture

Americans usually hug when saying 'hello' or 'good-bye'. But sometimes it's a handshake instead -- and sometimes it gets awkward! In this video, Rachel goes over when to hug and when to shake hands in American culture.

Improve your American Accent / spoken English at Rachel's English with video-based lessons and exercises.

Cải thiện nói tiếng Anh Mỹ / 改善美式英語的發音 / 미국 영어 발음 향상 / アメリカ英語の話し言葉のアクセントを向上させる / Улучшение произношения американского английского языка / Meningkatkan berbicara bahasa Inggris Amerika / Melhore sua pronúncia do inglês americano / Mejora tu pronunciación en Inglés Americano / बात अमेरिकी अंग्रेजी में सुधार / تحسين لهجتك الأمريكية الإنجليزية / שפר את המבטא האמריקאי שלך

...with Rachel's English!

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Help us caption & translate this video!

[ittittiitt]

When you're greeted with a greeting, respond with a better greeting, or return it again. God preserves everything.

[AstronautOtto]

Rachel, I have to say this is one of the hardest things about being a foreigner in the U.S. I have spoken English since I was a toddler and people don't usually know I am not American, but saying goodbye has always been tough!! I never knew if I should handshake or hug. This video is very helpful.

[rachelsenglish]

Enjoying reading everyone's comments! Kissing is very uncommon in the US. We don't do the cheek thing, even with friends for the most part. Some families have a kissing tradition, and some do not (mine does not). The only person I kiss, even on the cheek, is my husband!

[brandonavalos]

I'm from Costa Rica and here we just shake the hands and If you know the person you can give a hug.

[nishargchauhan]

Hello Mam, loved your video.
I am from India and here we greet each other by saying “Namaste” or “Namaskar” with the hands joined like 🙏 this. We do it for both the purposes, for welcoming someone and when we ourselves or someone is leaving.
For saying thanks,
we do the same joined hands 🙏 and say “Dhanyawad”.
Thank you.
Love for you, from India
🇮🇳💝🇺🇸

[EricForemaaaan]

If you offer a handshake and the other person offers a hug, the two of you are bound by honor to fight to the death.

[idznihaidi]

yesterday, I was met my internet friend for the first time. he is American and when I gave my hand for hand shake, he hug me immediately. I just knew when I watched this video. so I can know more about american haha thank you Rachel :)

[pedromalbernaz]

In Brazil we hug even more than in US. We hug people we have just been introduced to.

[AndresFe]

I'm Andres (Andrew in English) and I'm from Colombia, South America. I did my Disney college program in Orlando, Fl last year. At the beginning I was doing my normal manners when meeting someone, that is, shaking hand and a cheek kiss haha. Many girls were like...really really impressed and it was funny cuz I never noticed that until a friend told me that one of those girls got shocked, impressed or freaked out cuz of my way to greet. It took time to me to get used to just shake hands, because for us a cheek kiss is really normal, either when meeting someone new or a friend or family. Hope this info is interesting for you Rachel! And thanks so much for teach me with Rachel English!;) haha

[pejman]

Three cheek kisses that begin from the left side, it's the most acceptable custom in Iran!

[therubylululibrary]

In Korea, we say hello to each other smiling. hugging is unusual .
People in Korea tend to hug when they meet someone close they haven’t seen for a long time.
😛🌸🥇

[creativity-star]

In India, men nd women never touch each other.. We greet people by saying namaste or namaskar nd join hand together 🙏 like this...

[mehranzeenavand]

In Iran we shake hand with strangers or people we don't know. we hug and kiss on both cheeks when saying hello/goodbye to family or close friends

[JohnnyBooks]

BRAZIL: Even if we've never met the person before, we usually hug them; I think it's our way to welcome the person in a more informal way, haha. Also, when we're friends with someone, we not only hug but also touch our cheeks (often with a kiss sound). We shake hands just in a business environment.

[martianlee]

Do more real life scenarios! Really helpful!

[inkuxuan]

Few hugging and kissing in China, we mostly shake hands unless someone is really a close friend. We are watching Rachel's English now for English Classes in university!!!!

[amanda.]

In Brazil people are always huging and cheek kissing, it's annoying when you're a person who doesn't like that much personal contact. It's just "get away from me, urgh!", but if you do that, people may consider you rude or cocky, if they're meeting you for the first time. If you're a foreign, good to you, you'll be respected, but if you're Brazilian, people will expect you to act accordingly.

[andrediass]

Hi, I'm from Brazil and here we hug and kiss everybody, everywhere and anytime hahaha.
There are people who don't like it, but it's very common. (I'm sorry for making mistakes while I write haha).

[fabiolacoura]

Here in Brazil people use to hug and kiss the cheek. I confess, I don´t like kisses on the cheek, I feel that my personal space is being invaded.

[ermyassereke]

Thank u some much for tells us about american culture. I am from Eritrea. I have been in US since 2015 beginning. I thought my problem will be just English when I immigranted to US and I thought the culture will be easy. But it was opposite I was every day get embarrassed, because my culture it mostly the opposite of American culture. I was really sad, isolated, and lonely. It was really hard to me to get American culture. But thanks for this video that help me be familiar with American