Maido

Maido, A gaijin’s guide to understanding Japanese gestures.

Download the free app and then purchase the English edition of Maido for only $ 3.99/€ 2,99. The Dutch version is coming soon!

In Japan, the innocent act of stealing some kid’s nose won’t get smiles and laughs from the on looking mother, but rather a look of disgust. That’s because the motion of sticking the tip of the thumb between the index and middle finger is the gesture for sex in Japan.

If you rely on the gestures you already know to communicate with Japanese people, you are likely to be misunderstood at best, and make a complete idiot of yourself at worst.

With the Maido app, you will learn 77 useful Japanese gestures that will help you avoid cultural pitfalls and make communicating without speaking a word of Japanese a snap. With the flick of your wrist you'll be able ask for the bill at an izakaya, call your co-worker a lackey and even learn how to tell the snooty kid in your eikaiwa English class that he's going to get a beat down if he tries to Kancho you one more time.
In order to bring you these gestures, we solicited the help of young fashionistas, salarymen and insane fad starters such as lolitas, yankiis, gyarus and more, to demonstrate these gestures. The colorful characters you'll see in the photos and videos will keep you flipping from one page to the next.
So what are you waiting for? Download the app, purchase Maido today and start learning Japanese hand jives.