What do foreigners feel when Indians eat with their hands, as well sometimes finger and palm licking?

印度人用手吃饭，有时候还会舔手指和手掌，外国人有什么感觉？

以下是Quora网友的评论：

Fajrian Yunus

I’m not sure where you are, but my impression is that outside East and Southeast Asia, eating with your barehand is still very common.

我不知道你是哪儿人，但在我印象里，除了东亚和东南亚，用手吃饭也很常见。

But one thing I personally like about South Asian restaurants is that they usually provide a place to wash your hands with soap before and after eating.

但我个人很喜欢南亚餐馆的一点是，他们通常会提供一个可以在饭前饭后用肥皂洗手的地方。

Asmat Vadra

Slightly Disgust..not because of eating with fingers but because the lack of hygiene..

They do not wash their hands before cooking or eating, in majority.

是有点恶心，但不是因为用手指吃饭，而是因为看着不太卫生。

大多数人在做饭或吃饭前并不会洗手。

Oven Magazine .com

The perception of Indians eating with their hands and occasionally licking their fingers or palms can vary among foreigners. Here are some common reactions and feelings that foreigners may have when observing or sharing a meal with Indians who follow these practices:

外国人对印度人用手吃饭，偶尔舔手指或手掌的看法可能会有所不同。外国人在观察或和用手吃饭的印度人一起用餐时可能会有的常见反应和感受可能如下：

Curiosity and Interest: Many foreigners are curious and interested in experiencing different cultures and traditions. Eating with hands is often seen as a unique and authentic aspect of Indian culture, and some people are eager to learn and try it for themselves.

Appreciation: Some individuals appreciate the connection between Indian cuisine and the practice of eating with hands. They may view it as a way to fully engage with the food, experiencing its textures and flavors more intimately.

好奇和兴趣：许多外国人对体验不同的文化和传统充满好奇和兴趣。用手吃饭是印度文化独特而真实的一面，有些人渴望学习并亲自尝试。

欣赏：有些人欣赏印度菜和用手吃饭之间的联系。他们可能觉得这是一种能够完全融入食物的方式，可以更亲密地体验食物的质地和味道。

Respect for Tradition: Foreigners who are knowledgeable about Indian culture often have great respect for the traditions and customs associated with food. They understand that eating with hands is a deeply ingrained practice and respect it as such.

Initial Discomfort: For some foreigners, especially those from cultures where eating with hands is less common, there may be an initial sense of discomfort or unfamiliarity when observing others eat this way. However, this discomfort is often temporary and may dissipate as they become more accustomed to the practice.

尊重传统：了解印度文化的外国人通常非常尊重与食物有关的传统和习俗。他们明白用手吃饭是一种难以改变的习惯，他们尊重这种习惯。

最初的不适：对有些外国人，尤其是来自很少用手吃饭的文化背景的人来说，看到别人用手吃饭，一开始可能会有一种不舒服或不熟悉的感觉。但这种不适通常只是暂时的，会随着他们的习惯而消失。

Participation: Some foreigners are open to participating in the practice of eating with their hands, even if it's not customary in their culture. They may see it as an opportunity to immerse themselves in a different way of life and enjoy the cultural experience.

Hygiene Concerns: In some cases, foreigners may express concerns about hygiene, especially when it comes to finger and palm licking. However, it's important to note that proper hand hygiene is essential, and Indians often wash their hands thoroughly before and after meals.

参与：一些外国人愿意尝试用手吃饭的做法。他们可能认为这是一个可以让自己深度体验不同生活方式、享受文化体验的机会。

卫生问题：在某些情况下，尤其是看到舔手指和手掌的时候，外国人可能会对卫生状况表示担忧。但手部卫生是必不可少的，印度人经常在饭前饭后彻底洗手。

Tolerance and Acceptance: In multicultural societies or among individuals who have traveled extensively, there is often a high level of tolerance and acceptance of diverse eating practices. They understand that food customs can vary widely and respect those differences.

宽容和接受：在多元文化社会中，或对于经常旅行的个人而言，对不同的饮食习惯有很高的宽容度和接受度。他们明白饮食习俗会有很大的差异，要尊重这些差异。

It's essential to recognize that people's reactions to these cultural practices can differ greatly based on their individual openness to new experiences, their knowledge of other cultures, and their level of cultural sensitivity. When sharing meals across cultures, understanding and respecting these differences in eating customs can lead to positive and enriching cultural exchanges.

我们要意识到，人们对这些文化习俗的反应可能会因个人对新事物的开放程度、对其他文化的了解程度以及文化敏感度的不同而存在较大差异。当跨文化群体之间共享食物时，相互理解和尊重饮食习俗的差异可以带来积极和丰富的文化交流。

Start Sameer

During my time in the USA, many of my colleagues in the office invited me to dinner or lunch. On one occasion, we dined at a Mexcan restaurant to enjoy some Mexcan cuisine. It was then that I noticed the striking resemblance between the Tortillas they served and Indian Roti or Chapati (which are traditional Indian bread varieties). I found myself eating the tortillas in a manner similar to how Indians eat their bread.

我在美国期间，办公室里有很多同事邀请我共进晚餐或午餐。有一次，我们在一家墨西哥餐馆吃墨西哥菜，我发现他们墨西哥玉米饼和印度烤饼或恰巴提(传统的印度面包)之间存在惊人的相似。我发现自己吃玉米饼的方式和印度人吃面包的方式也很相似。

My friend commented, "It's fascinating to observe the diverse eating styles rooted in Indian culture. You first tear off a piece of tortilla and then combine it with the other ingredients, whereas we simply wrap the tortilla around the ingredients and eat it like a roll."

The key takeaway here is that they have their own unique way of enjoying their food, and they don't find anything unusual about the Indian eating style. Most of them appreciate and respect the cultural differences, just as we do!

我的朋友说：“我看到了根植于印度文化的多样化饮食方式，实在很有趣。你会先撕下一块玉米饼，然后蘸着其他食材吃，而我们会把玉米饼包在食材周围，卷着吃。”

这里的关键是，他们都有自己独特的享受美食的方式，他们没有发现印度饮食风格有什么不同寻常的地方。他们中的大多数人都像我们一样欣赏和尊重文化差异！

Sivaram Krishnan

I had a caucasian friend who said he went to a job interview. The interview was soon after lunch and the interviewer (another caucasian) had been busy during the lunch break and apologetically asked my friend if he could eat his lunch (a burger) during the interview. The interviewer then proceeded to eat his juicy burger with ketchup and went on to lick each of his fingers. My friend told me that he knew that at the end of the interview he would need to shake hands with the interviewer and that is ALL he could think of during the entire interview.

我有一个白人朋友，他说他曾经参加过一个工作面试。面试是在午饭后不久，面试官(另一个白人)午休时很忙，于是很抱歉地问我的朋友他可不可以在面试时吃午餐(一个汉堡)。面试官吃着多汁的汉堡，蘸着番茄酱，还舔了每根手指。我的朋友告诉我，他知道面试结束时需要和面试官握手，在整个面试过程中他唯一所能想到的就是这一幕。

Mark

I see a lot of positive responses, ima give an honest response. I find it really disgusting, enough to make me wanna puke om their face. Yes a different culture i myself im not from the US. I understand other cultures have different traditions and norms, let's be honest most of the countries that do this are either poor or filthy, some people dont wash their hands, and them grabbing a handfull of food and sticking into their mouth, licking their palms and fingers its jist straight up disgusting. I mean if it was something made for people to eat with hands go for it. That's why sandwiches exst you can eat it with hands in a not messy disgusting way, but then again you have stuff like curry, piles of meat with other stuff and sauce on top.

In short: In my opinion it's uneducated, disgusting, and unsanitary.

我看到很多积极的回答，我也想诚实地说一下。我觉得这真的挺恶心的，让我想吐。是的，这是一种不同的文化，我自己也并非来自美国。我知道其他文化会有不同的传统和习俗，老实说，大多数这样做的国家要么贫穷，要么肮脏，有些人都不洗手，抓起一把食物就放进嘴里，还会舔手掌和手指，简直令人作呕。我的意思是，如果是可以用手吃的东西，那就吃吧。这就是三明治存在的原因，你可以用手拿着吃，而且吃起来也不会让人感到恶心，但你们把咖喱、成堆的肉和其他东西，还把酱汁淋在上面。

简而言之：在我看来，这种吃法缺乏教养，很恶心，也不卫生。

Dyczone

It is difficult to answer this question as it depends on the individual. Some foreigners may feel uncomfortable or even disgusted while others may find it interesting and may even want to try it. Generally, it is important to be respectful of cultural differences and to be aware of how your actions may be perceived.

这个问题很难回答，因为它取决于个人。有些外国人可能会觉得不舒服甚至恶心，而另一些人可能会觉得很有趣，甚至想尝试一下。一般来说，尊重文化差异并意识到自己的行为会被如何感知，是很重要的。

Ishy

I haven't seen any foreigners reacting to this in person but when I watch videos related to these like their trips to India and interviews and all then I can say that the thinking is different for different countries. If we talk about America,many of them are aware of our eating habits and culture and they feel fascinated about it. I can even say that Americans love Indian food and culture and they accept it wholeheartedly.

Some countries think it's unhygienic because hands are full of germs and it would be actually unhealthy but probably it is not unhygienic if we see it scientifically.

我没有亲眼看过外国人对此做出反应，但我看过他们的印度之旅和采访等视频，我要说的是，不同国家的想法是不同的。如果是美国，他们中有许多人都了解我们的饮食习惯和文化，为此着迷。我甚至可以说，美国人喜欢印度的食物和文化，他们全心全意地接纳印度。

有些国家的人会认为这样不卫生，因为手上充满了细菌，这样不健康，但如果我们从科学的角度来看，这可能并非就不卫生了。

Reasons

原因

Indians use particularly right hand for eating because the left hand us observed unhygienic but also as majority of humans are using right hand for activities then it would also be the reason.

We eat with our fingers only without touching the palm so germs on palms are not mixed with food.

What about germs on fingers? Germs on fingers are not harmful .As we know some microbes are useful likewise flora on fingers is helpful in digestion and it gets into our stomach when we eat with our hands.

Eating with hands signal brain that we are eating and thus secretes digestive enzymes.

It improves our digestion for the above reason.

Also our staple food is wheat. We make it's chapatis and eat but the thickness and dimensions of chapatis is such that we cannot use fork and spoon to eat that.

印度人只用右手吃饭，因为我们认为左手不卫生，而且大多数人都是右撇子，所以这也是原因。

我们吃东西只用手指，不接触手掌，这样手掌上的细菌就不会和食物混在一起。

至于手指上的细菌怎么办？手指上的细菌是无害的。我们知道有些微生物是有用的，同样，手指上的菌群有助于消化，当我们用手吃东西时，它们会进入我们的胃。

用手吃饭会向大脑发出我们正在吃东西的信号，从而分泌消化酶。

由于上述原因，它可以改善我们的消化状况。

我们的主食是小麦。我们会做薄饼吃，但是薄饼的厚度和尺寸让我们不能用叉子和勺子吃。

About finger licking or palm licking :

Finger licking many do but palm licking it could be myth. I don't think Indians lick their palm because we don't use our palm in eating. Finger licking is done when the food is too tasty ofcourse.

关于舔手指或舔手掌：

很多人会舔手指，但舔手掌可能是编的。我不认为印度人会舔手掌，因为我们并不用手掌吃饭。当然，如果食物太好吃，我们就会舔手指。

I think foreigners who are well aware of India they accept our eating culture and who aren't they might get shocked but we have our reasons to eat with hand and scientifically it helps in improving digestion.

我认为那些了解印度的外国人，他们会接受我们的饮食文化，而无法接受的人可能会感到震惊，但我们有我们的理由用手吃饭，从科学角度来说，这有助于促进消化。

Kartik Gada

Not just foreigners, but Indians born in civilized countries feel disgust upon seeing this.

This is one of the many primitive, uncivilized aspects of India that represent how India, and other South Asian countries, have failed to modernize. This is a practice that belongs in the 19th century, but Indians still partake in it even in the 21st century.

不仅是外国人，就连出生在文明国家的印度人看到这一幕也会感到作呕。

这是印度许多原始、不文明的方面之一，代表了印度和其他南亚国家还未实现现代化。这是19世纪的习俗，但在21世纪印度人仍在沿袭。

To eat rice and semi-liquid foods with fingers is correctly seen as disgusting by people in more advanced, civilized countries (both Western and Eastern), and it is not necessary to eat Indian food that way, furthering the poor (but accurate) image that India carries in the rest of the world.

在更先进、更文明的国家(包括西方和东方)，用手指吃米饭和半流质食物被人们视为令人作呕的行为，而印度食物也没有必要采用这样的吃法，此举加深了印度的贫穷形象。

Remember that in terms of public health and general hygiene, India is consistently ranked as among the worst in the world. The acceptance and rationalization of unclean habits is part of the psyche of Indians.

Suffice it to say that most foreigners who visit India say that INDIA stands for I’ll Never Do It Again.

请记住，在公共卫生和普遍卫生状况而言，印度一直被列为全世界最差的国家之一。印度人习惯了不干净的进食习惯。

我只想说，大多数访问印度的外国人都说，印度代表着“我再也不会这么做”。