Most famous Italian hand gestures and why Italians speak with their hands

Italian hand gestures are such an important part of everyday communication that learning Italian sometimes means watching the hands almost as carefully as listening to the words. And we have a video that puts that to the test – can you tell who is really Italian just by watching the way they gesture?

You have learned buongiorno, grazie, prego and perhaps enough Italian to order an espresso without accidentally asking for something completely different. Excellent. Now look at the hands.

In Italy, a conversation can sometimes seem to be taking place on two levels at once. The words tell you one thing, while the hands add: What are you talking about?, Come here, I don’t care, That’s delicious or occasionally something considerably less polite.

And yes, sometimes the hands appear to be doing most of the work.

Italian hand gestures are almost a vocabulary of their own

Everyone gestures when speaking, but Italians have developed an unusually rich collection of recognizable gestures. Linguists distinguish ordinary movements that simply accompany speech from symbolic gestures that can communicate a meaning on their own. Italian has hundreds of these culturally understood gestures, with some used across the country and others varying from region to region. One article in the New York Times claims that Italians use around 250 gestures daily.

So, take away the sound and an Italian conversation may not necessarily be over. It may just become quieter.

“Ma che vuoi?” – What do you want?

We have to start with the Italian hand gesture.

Bring the fingertips and thumb together, point them upward and move the hand up and down. You have probably seen it in films, memes, social media and countless attempts by non-Italians to become Italian for approximately five seconds.

Its meaning changes with the situation, facial expression and tone, but it can communicate anything along the lines of What do you want?, What are you saying? or What on earth do you mean?

The gesture is so well established that it even has several wonderfully descriptive names, including mano a borsa (purse hand), mano a carciofo (artichoke hand) and mano a tulipano (tulip hand).

Frankly, “artichoke hand” alone makes Italian worth learning.

😋 “Buono!” – That’s good

Food, naturally, has its own place in Italian gestural communication. Point an index finger at your cheek and twist it, and the message can be mhm, buono! – something is really good or pleasurable. Traditionally that might be delicious food, although the gesture can also be used more broadly for something enjoyable.

Pizza? Buono. Gelato? Buono. Fresh pasta after three hours of walking around Rome? At that point you may need both hands.

“Vieni qui” – Come here

Italian gestures are not only about dramatic reactions. Some are remarkably practical. A palm-down hand with the fingers repeatedly moving downward can mean vieni qui – come here. Others can signal no, I don’t know, pay attention, go ahead or even I’m sorry.

This is where things become interesting for language learners. A gesture may seem obvious when you see it in context, but without that cultural knowledge you may completely miss part of the conversation.

The famous “Who cares?”

Brush the back of your fingers outward from underneath the chin and you enter another area of Italian non-verbal communication. Across much of Italy, the gesture can express something close to Who cares? or I don’t care. But context matters, and even this gesture can have somewhat different meanings in particular regions.

That is one reason treating Italian gestures as a simple list of translations can be misleading. Like spoken language, they have regional variations, shades of meaning and plenty of room for misunderstanding.

In other words, confidently performing a gesture you learned from TikTok may not always be the linguistic breakthrough you imagined.

So why do Italians speak with their hands?

There are several colorful explanations.

According to some, the origin of the habit of communicating with one’s hands can be traced back to the Greek colonization of southern Italy; in those times, cities were extremely crowded and body language was particularly important to catch each other’s attention at all levels.

Other experts think Italians develop a special language made of gestures and signs between the 14th and 19th century, when large sections of the peninsula were occupied by foreign powers, namely France, Spain and Austria.

The reality is less tidy. Gestures develop culturally over long periods, just as words, accents and expressions do. Italy’s gestural tradition is particularly rich, and some regions – including Campania and Sicily – are considered more gesturally expressive than others. Many gestures are understood throughout Italy, while others remain regional.

There is even a long tradition of documenting them. Italian gesture “dictionaries” have been produced for decades, including books specifically designed to help foreigners understand what Italians are saying when no words are involved.

Can you spot the Italians?

Our original inspiration for this story was a Dolce & Gabbana video featuring male models demonstrating famous Italian gestures.

Can you tell which is which simply by watching their hands? It may be harder than your Italian grammar test.

Italian Hand Gestures: Some are Italian. Some are not. 🙂

Want to understand Italian? Go where Italians speak it

This is precisely why learning a language becomes much more interesting once you leave the vocabulary list behind. Real communication includes words, tone, humor, facial expressions, gestures and hundreds of small cultural signals that are difficult to reproduce in a textbook.

If Italian hand gestures have made you curious about the language behind them, Verbalists offers several ways to experience Italian where it actually lives. In Rome, you can study Italian while surrounded by the art, history, food and everyday life of the capital, with courses at our long-standing partner school Dilit.

Then there is our own La Mia FIRENZE, created for those who want Florence to become part of the learning experience rather than simply the place where the classroom happens. Italian lessons mix naturally with everyday Florence, its streets, cafés, art and culture – and plenty of opportunities to test both your Italian and your new hand-gesture vocabulary.

For younger adventurers, Verbalists offers Italian summer programs in Florence, Lignano, Milan and Trieste. Florence combines language with art and culture, Lignano adds the Adriatic, beach life and sports, Milan brings in contemporary Italian city life and an academic angle, while Trieste offers Italian in a distinctive multicultural seaside setting.

After all, there is only so much Italian you can learn from a textbook. At some point you need to hear it in a café, use it while ordering gelato, misunderstand somebody at least once, laugh about it and try again.

And when words fail? Well… now you have your hands. 🙂

Listen to this story and Verbalists on Spotify:

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