Japanese · Hand Gestures · hand gesture
おいでおいで
oide oide
Come here
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
The gesture
"beckoning: arm out, palm DOWN, fingers scooping toward yourself"
What your hand is actually doing.
How to use it
The Japanese "come here" looks, to Westerners, like "go away/shoo": palm faces DOWN and the fingers scoop toward you. Do the Western palm-up crooked-finger beckon and you'll get blank looks — or read as slightly seductive/aggressive. Harmless but the single most common gesture mix-up for visitors, so it's worth rewiring.
Heard in the wild
おいでおいでって手招きされた。
They waved me over with the palm-down beckon.
Where it lands
Nationwide
Quick answers
- What does "おいでおいで" mean?
- In Japanese, "おいでおいで" means "Come here". Literally it's "beckoning: arm out, palm DOWN, fingers scooping toward yourself". The Japanese "come here" looks, to Westerners, like "go away/shoo": palm faces DOWN and the fingers scoop toward you. Do the Western palm-up crooked-finger beckon and you'll get blank looks — or read as slightly seductive/aggressive. Harmless but the single most common gesture mix-up for visitors, so it's worth rewiring.
- Is "おいでおいで" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
- How do you pronounce "おいでおいで"?
- This one's a hand gesture — there's nothing to pronounce. beckoning: arm out, palm DOWN, fingers scooping toward yourself.
Related in Japanese
中指を立てる nakayubi o tateru gesture Up yours (imported Western gesture) 小指 koyubi gesture His/your woman — girlfriend, mistress, or 'the lady' 指差し yubisashi gesture Pointing at people (rude) お金のサイン okane no sain gesture Money (NOT 'OK' — context-dependent) ばか baka BAH-kah Idiot / dummy / stupid あほ aho AH-ho Idiot / dummy (Kansai flavor — often affectionate)
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