A few days ago
Why Does Nodding Your Head Mean “Yes” and Shaking Your Head Mean “No”?
I would like to know why nodding your head means “yes” and shaking your head means “no”? Obviously, this will vary from country to country, but why does shaking or nodding your head mean either “yes” or “no”?
I’m pretty sure that people aren’t sat down as children and told, “Now, whenever I shake my head, it means “this”, and when I nod my head, it means “this””.
Can anyone shed any light on this at all?
Thanks!
Top 2 Answers
A few days ago
Favorite Answer
Hmm im not really sure, but how i see it is when you nod your head in an up and down motion, it symbolizes giving a path between the question and the person answering. Shaking your head left and right is like you are repelling the answer.
o <--you I I <- nod o <- speaker O <--speaker --- <--shaking head O <--you
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A few days ago
It’s body language, as the same is with waving or giving the bird. Children mimic their parents. Eventually they figure out, (or are told when they ask) that nodding means yes and shaking means no. I’m not sure the history of it, but I can’t imagine it could be some rich history, probably just one person started doing it, and others mimic them. =)
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