1. clothes

In America, no one looks at you differently because you dress straight, and no one disdains to associate with you because you dress simply. The word "leisure" can sum up people's attitude towards clothes. Suits are mostly worn by government employees, university professors, company employees and other high-paying classes. Some people say that only diplomats and lawyers in the United States wear neat clothes when they appear in court. This may be a bit exaggerated, but it is not groundless. In the street, it is not uncommon for people to wear bow ties and dress neatly, but most of them are older elders. Middle-aged people are not that serious.

Americans seldom wear hats except old people. There are many people wearing slippers in America, not only at home, but also in the streets, libraries and museums. Even in formal social occasions, most women only wear low heels or high heels. Blue jeans are typical American clothes.

Hawaiians wear different clothes. Because of the warm climate, everyone only needs two or three simple "Maro" (wrapped in yellow or red cloth made of bark) or "Pabird" (skirt worn by women). There is also a kind of shawl called "Kikhyi", which is actually a long cloth wrapped around the shoulders. Girls in Hawaii want to be charming, so they arrange flowers in their temples and wear garlands of various colors around their necks, which is really more beautiful than modern clothes.

informal

Americans are warm and cheerful, and are famous for their informality. Because of age and social status, most Americans don't want special respect. They think it's too uncomfortable. Many people like to call each other by their first names, thinking that it can show friendliness. You will often see people sitting in offices without coats and ties. When they talk on the phone, they will lean back and even put their feet on the table.

Have extensive friendship

American life is very mobile, and a family rarely lives in one place for more than five years. Therefore, it is easy for Americans to make friends, and friendship develops rapidly. You are free to visit American homes, or you can spend your holidays or live with them. This kind of friendship can be close for a while, but when people break up, most of them disappear.

3. The concept of time

In the United States, the importance and value of punctuality are highly valued. People from all walks of life use timetables to organize their activities, giving people the impression that Americans are always in a hurry and American society is dominated by clocks.

materialism

In America, success is the result of hard work, education, skills and personal initiative. Where you started from scratch, you will be respected as long as you struggle and succeed. Americans usually measure a person's success by how much wealth he can accumulate.

be fond of the new and tired of the old

Americans have an "adventurous spirit" that likes change and change. They don't want to live a stable life, but like to change and update. Their purpose is to want the new instead of the old. They move at the first opportunity and change jobs at the first suitable opportunity. They often throw away things that are completely undamaged and replace them with new ones. Some people call the American way of life "a way of life based on squandering material wealth".

polite

Men usually shake hands when they meet for the first time. If the other person is a woman, don't shake hands with her until she reaches out first. Women do not shake hands when they meet. When we meet for the first time and are introduced, we usually say "How are you?" The usual answer is "fine, thank you. How are you?" The other party went on to say, "OK, thank you." After meeting for the first time, there are two kinds of greetings when meeting again: more formal: "good morning" and "good afternoon", less formal: "hello" or simple "hi".

5. Conversation etiquette

Americans like to talk about Kan Kan who is full of wisdom. Although there is an informal atmosphere in American society and the audience will have different attitudes when they speak, they usually stop everything at hand and listen to him. When two people are talking, it is advisable to keep a distance of 1.2 meters, otherwise it will make the listener uneasy. When talking with a group of people, you usually have to know one of them, but at a banquet or other informal social occasions, you just need to say "May I come" and introduce yourself.

Americans don't like to interrupt conversations, so guests had better listen. Americans also allow others to criticize the United States. The host often asks the guests what they think of the United States, and he will be happy to listen to each other's opinions.

6. Invitation and invitation etiquette

Americans often invite guests by phone or in person. The invitation will list the date, time, place and nature of the party. When you receive an invitation, you usually have to reply. If you don't reply in person, you can write a short message or call. In America, it is customary for people not to say that they will attend unless they really intend to make an appointment. Saying "see you another day", "come and play sometime" or "see you sometime" is just a polite way to say goodbye, not an invitation or a promise. The real invitation will definitely indicate the time and place. If you are invited back to someone's house for dinner, it is best to go at the appointed time or 10 minutes later. You'd better call ahead if you are more than 20 minutes late. Go back within 20 minutes and apologize when you arrive. When guests arrive at the banquet, they can send some flowers to the hostess, but they don't need to send flowers except for some special occasions, such as celebrating birthdays, Christmas and New Year. If guests want to spend the night or weekend, it is customary to bring a small gift to the hostess, usually a book, a box of candy, a bottle of wine or other similar gifts.

7. Etiquette at the banquet

Americans usually prefer to entertain guests at home instead of going to restaurants, because Americans think it is a sign of friendliness. Americans usually treat their guests in two ways at home. One is family style, where guests and host families sit around a table and pass the prepared food to everyone in turn on a plate, or the host or hostess sitting at both ends of the table holds the food for the guests. In this way, most families don't need waiters, usually the wife cooks and the husband mixes cocktails. The other is buffet, where guests bring their own plates to a table, and the host has arranged the meals and selected their favorite foods. Later, they went to another room and tasted it while talking. Buffet is usually informal, and its advantage is that it can give you more opportunities to speak.

In the United States, if you are invited to dinner, please pay attention to the following basic etiquette: the person invited to dinner should arrive on time, but it doesn't hurt to be late at all, and it is even regarded as the characteristic of an important person; As an ordinary person, it is impolite to keep others waiting. If you take a bottle of wine or send the hostess a bunch of flowers when you go to a family dinner, you can avoid the suspicion of "freeloading". When eating, use both hands, with a knife in your right hand and a fork in your left hand. After cutting the barbecue into the right size, change the fork to the right hand and use it to fork up the food and send it to the mouth. When eating the whole lobster, you should peel it with your hands, not with your mouth, because peeling it with your mouth will inevitably spit it out, which is a big taboo in western food. After the family dinner, it is very important not to forget to praise the food, even if you don't really like it, or it will be interpreted as dissatisfaction with the food by the host.

8. Out of courtesy of visiting

When Americans visit their friends, they must knock at the door before entering the house at any time, and they can only open the door after obtaining the consent of the other party. After entering the room, take off your hat and ask the other person if it is convenient. When the other party answers "no problem", then deal with this matter. If visitors see the "Do Not Disturb" sign, they usually postpone the meeting and come back another day. Generally speaking, don't visit before 8 a.m. and after 10 in the evening unless there is something urgent or important. When visiting a friend's house and wanting to go to the toilet, Americans generally don't ask, but try to find it by themselves. If introduced into the bedroom by the host, guests generally don't sit on the bed, because it is taboo. Guests are not allowed to touch anything in the room, especially the piano, without the owner's permission. If you visit a woman's house, if the hostess doesn't let him take off his coat, he usually won't take it off, because he doesn't know whether the hostess likes him to stay here for a long time.

9. Give gifts

Giving gifts is an important way to enhance friendship and make business negotiations smoother. Gifts are also very popular among American friends. If you attend an American family dinner, you should give them some small handicrafts from China. Not bringing a gift often means asking back. When ordinary Americans accept gifts, they usually open them on the spot. The giver introduced them and the recipient praised them. The atmosphere is quite cordial and harmonious. If you accept an American gift, don't be polite, politely refuse it, and then accept it and put it aside. This is extremely impolite to Americans, because it is tantamount to dismissing these gifts. Besides, Americans don't pay much attention to the value of gifts, but they pay great attention to the packaging of gifts. People from China go to the United States to do business and bring some gifts to connect their feelings. Gifts are not expensive, but they have obvious China characteristics. You can choose more handicrafts with strong local flavor or unique delicacy.

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Americans are very polite and often use "please", "sorry" and "thank you". For example, when drinking coffee, I often say "please pass me the sugar"; The clerk should thank him after serving you; After the students answer the questions, the teacher should say thank you; At home, the husband wants to thank his wife for pouring you a glass of water, and the wife also wants to thank him for helping her sit down. It can be said that she never leaves her mouth from morning till night. When Americans pass by someone, leave a party or dinner table, leave their companions or be late for an appointment, they should say sorry.

1 1. Appointment

American young people associate with the opposite sex more freely than unmarried young people in many other countries. Therefore, it is natural for young Americans to be with the opposite sex when they reach the age of high school. Just because young men and women spend a lot of time together doesn't necessarily mean that there is any deeper relationship. Although American social customs are more casual than other countries, Americans' views on "sex" are very similar to those of other countries in Europe and Latin America. In the United States, sexual relations can be discussed openly, but whether young men and women have sexual relations is a personal privacy, and it is up to both men and women to decide for themselves.

On the question of who should pay for dating between men and women, American customs are mostly the same as those in other parts of the world. Professional women pay their own money during the day, but when men ask her to take part in some special activities outside their daily working hours, such as drinking, eating, dancing or watching movies, it means my treat.

12. Smoking

Because smoking may irritate others, it's best to ask them if they can smoke first. If you want to smoke, don't smoke, which will cause others' unhappiness and disgust. If there is a sign in the office that says "no smoking, thank you!" This is an effective and polite way to discourage tourists from smoking, so it should be observed. Smoking pipes and cigars are not suitable in the office. For the convenience of different customers, many hotels have smoking and non-smoking restaurants. Smoking is allowed before meals, after cocktails or desserts. However, if you want to smoke between two dishes, you should first ask your deskmate if you mind.

13. Ladies first

Women are more respected in America. Generally speaking, women are always given priority. Men and women enter the room together. Men should open the door for women, enter the room and enter the restaurant. Most women are in front, unless men have to help in front. When riding, open the door for the lady and put your hand between the lady's head and the top of the door; When getting off the bus, the man gets off first, goes around to the other side of the car, opens the door for the lady, and then the man pays the fare. If the host drives his car to pick up the guests, the guests should sit in the front seat of the car and the back seat is empty. If the guest is a lady, all men should stand up to show their respect when entering the restaurant. At the beginning of the banquet, the man should help the woman sit down. When walking or crossing the street, a man should walk next to a woman, on the side of an oncoming car. If you walk with two ladies, the man should walk in the middle.

Non-interference in private affairs

Americans attach great importance to individual rights and values and emphasize individual freedom. Private houses are not allowed to enter privately, otherwise they will be charged with intrusion or even theft. Similarly, in a house, a person also has his own territory, and others can't just enter his bedroom. If others are looking at something, you can't peek from behind, because it belongs to individuals. This concept applies to the office. If you enter other people's offices, you must first get their permission.

14. Wedding customs

American weddings can generally be summarized in four words: new, old, borrowed and blue. New means that the bride's white dress must be made newly, which indicates that the bride will start a new life; Old, that is, the white gauze on the bride's head must be the old gauze used by the mother to show that she does not forget her parents, especially her mother's kindness in raising her children; Borrowing means that the white handkerchief in the bride's hand must be borrowed from a friend to show her friendship; Blue is the ribbon worn by the bride. It must be blue, symbolizing the bride's loyalty to love.

Marriage fashion

Love, marriage and having children are the three steps of human marriage life. But there is a new trend of marriage in America today. In American weddings, it is common for a potbellied bride, and it is also common for a couple to attend a wedding with a baby in their arms.

15. Funeral customs

Americans generally pay attention to three aspects in funeral: the religious belief of the deceased, the wishes of the deceased and the opinions of their families, and the wishes of relatives and friends. For the deceased who had religious beliefs before his death, the first procedure of funeral must be a set of religious fixed ceremonies; If the deceased had no religious belief before his death, the disposal of the remains should be based on the will of the deceased or the opinions of his family. Usually, after cremation, he will be buried in the cemetery. After the death of celebrities or influential people, they often inform the relatives and friends of the deceased through newspapers and obituaries, and everyone comes from all over the world to attend the party. Americans call it a memorial service. After the memorial service, a reception will be held to exchange information, enhance understanding and form a new network.

16. Gestures and postures

OK gesture

Americans connect their forefinger and thumb in a circle to show their approval. This gesture indicates that something is very good or very good.

Raise your middle finger

When joking, this gesture is often used to show contempt.

Tilt up or press your thumb down.

If you don't want a ride, the thumbs-up gesture is a sign of approval in American culture, while the thumbs-up gesture is a sign of contempt.

Thumb pressing nose

Putting your thumb on your nose and opening the other four fingers is a gesture of contempt.

Shrugged

Shrugging is a way of defense, or a symbol of shrinking out of control.

blink

Blinking is an action used by acquaintances to exchange information quickly, which is very common in the United States and Europe. The meaning of this gesture is that the winker shares a secret or reaches a tacit understanding with his partner.

Draw people's attention

Express approval or surprise.