Comments on: Brazilian Etiquette: Table Manners

By: Journal Entry #1 | mroubian

Journal Entry #1 | mroubian — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 04:39:57 +0000

[...] http://www.transparent.com/portuguese/brazilian-etiquette-table-manners/ [...]

By: Michel

Michel — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:53:27 +0000

Hello, I am Brazilian and I agree with most of these manners. But most of them are kind of universal manners, aren’t them? You are supposed to do most of these things in all cutures.

Some ones that are not really this way:

-We don’t say “bom apetite” before eating. It’s okay to say it, it shows you deserve the other person to enjoy the meal, but most of the time we say nothing, we just sit and eat and keep talking.

-The fork in the left hand and the knife in the right is just to cut meat. We change positions when putting food into mouth. We change positions many times during a meal.

-Elbows on the table ARE rude here; I would perfectly do it and accept it in a culture where putting elbows on the table are common, but not in Brazil.

-I NEVER saw anyone eating sandwiches with fork and knife, unless it’s a big open sandwich. But we use them to eat pizza by the way.

By: felipe muniz

felipe muniz — Mon, 24 May 2010 06:08:58 +0000

Hello,

You are almost correct on your etiquette tips but one is completely wrong: The use of toothpick is widely regarded as impolite and unhygienic. Good restaurants seldom offer toothpicks and dental floss is sometimes available in the toilets.
I would classify the use of toothpick on the table as rude as a person who make noises while chewing the food or someone who belches during a meal.

By: Iara

Iara — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:52:57 +0000

Well, we do not use the fork to eat sandwiches but, we usually wrap the sandwich in a napkin all right.

By: Leah

Leah — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 23:05:15 +0000

Those are true, but i think in case of sandwichs, french fries and sometimes pizza you CAN use your hands to eat(I’ve never seen anyone eat sandwich with a fork, and I’m brazilian). About the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right, we just do it to cut meat, otherwise it’s the other way around. The elbow thing is so stupid, even for me! Okay, i don’t put my elbows on the table, but it feels like doing it every once in a while. I think that’s it, hope it helped.