10 Ways You've Been Accidentally Insulting People Every Day
5. The Beckoning Finger
You know the gesture. It's the one your mom used when you were a child getting into mischief. She would look at you and the finger would come up, curling towards herself, telling you to "get your butt over here."
You might be tempted to summon someone towards you while visiting Singapore or Japan, but unless you're the Grim Reaper, you would be better off just using your words. In these two places, the gesture symbolizes death and we don't want to be throwing around veiled threats at people we've never met.
In the Philippines, this gesture is reserved for summoning a dog. Imagine the feelings of your fellow Fillipinos when you choose to summon them to you as if they were a four-legged hairball. The result would be a highly offensive and patronizing gesture, especially when doing it to another adult. Even doing so in America has a negative connotation.