American Table Manners Taboos

1. When to Start Eating

It's rude to eat before everyone is seated and has their food, and it's important to wait for everyone to have something to eat before you can start eating. Some families pray before eating, but hardly ever pray when eating with friends. Whether there are many or few believers, the religious nature is an element that sensitizes Americans.

2. Eating head to the top of the bowl

Foreigners eat is to pick up the food and put it into the mouth, and sit generally more straight, only put the food when the body will be slightly leaning forward. And Chinese people are accustomed to come to the bowl to eat, so foreigners can see from your eating posture you are fobs, is considered uneducated and barbaric low.

3. dinner elbows on the table

dinner in the United States belongs to a more formal meal, a little more formal dinner, the elbows pestle on the table is considered impolite Oh, in fact, the whole process of elbows should not be placed on the table, but this is obviously a lot of people's habits, want to fit in and not to be despised to change it.

4. Eat when the mouth sound

Americans are very sensitive, if you eat the sound of a particularly large was to make them feel sick to their stomachs, and then feel that you do not have the courtesy and education. Chewing slowly and speaking softly is the way to go.

5. Open your mouth when you have food in it

This is because other people can see the crushed food mixed with saliva in your mouth. People in China don't care, but Americans will find it disgusting, so for the sake of your friendship, try to keep your mouth closed.

6. Chewing food while talking

When you have food in your mouth, it's best not to talk. If you're talking to someone else or asking a question, you can choose to swallow your food and then talk, and if you want to talk about something in particular, it's okay to cover your mouth with your hand.

7. Leaving the table when the meal is over

It's not polite to leave the table before everyone has finished eating at the American table, and it's often seen in movies where American kids leave the table when they finish eating to illustrate that those kids don't have the manners to do it, so don't follow their example and wait patiently for the others.

The American table can be noted

1, if the table is rectangular, the table facing the door of the end of the host's seat, the other end of the hostess's seat. One should be seated after the male and female hosts are seated.

2, in the multi-person meal, such as multi-person dinner or family dinner, the western custom is to put the table on the plate of food passed in turn, with a fork or spoon into their own plate to eat. If one's own food is exhausted and the food one wants to take is far away in front of others, one should not take it without authorization, but should generously ask others to pass the plate and then take the food. To know, moderate trouble in fact can make people have a good feeling about you, is also one of the table interaction.

3, in the meal, if you want to sneeze or cough, and need to use a napkin to cover the mouth and nose, turn around and do not affect others; if you want to talk back or speak and the mouth food is not finished, need to swallow before opening; if you want to go to the toilet, can not say? Just say "Excuse me? Not only at the dinner table, in North America, the word "toilet" is not polite, you can describe the toilet as a "toilet", but when you want to go to the toilet, you have to think of another way to say it, such as bathroom, restroom, washroom, ladies' room / men's room.

4, When drinking soup, you should extend the spoon from the inside of the bowl to the opposite side of the wall near your body, and then scoop up the soup into your mouth.

5. Staple foods such as bread and bagels should not be forked over from the table, but should be held in the hand and then eaten with the hand torn.

6, always talk during meals, and have interaction with the host to show friendliness.

7, American families will not eat steak every day, if you eat a steak, cut the meat with a knife, you should put down the knife and then eat. Westerners think it is also impolite to hold the knife for a long time.

8, before the end of the meal, if the knife hairpin suspended, should be placed with the knife mouth inward, hairpin back upward to show that still need to be used, otherwise others or the waiter will mistakenly believe that you have finished dining, and your cutlery will be taken away.

9, the end of the meal, guests should wait for the host (especially the hostess) from the seat after the rise, and then together with the departure. In the meal or the banquet before the end of the leave are not polite, stand up, men should help women to return the chair, napkin on the table can be, do not folded as is, unless you confirm that the hosts want to keep you to eat the next meal.