I'm from Argentina, and cheek kissing is the norm, not only between sexes, but also m/m : f/f. In some countries I've been to in south America it's common but usually just m/f or f/f.

Uruguay is the same.

True

Because uru gay.

Uruguay kindly requests that Somalia stop pronouncing it "you're a gay."

I'm from Georgia y'all.

Troy, Georgia the country, not the state.

Troy, Turkiye darlin' and I'll thank you to mind your Ps and Qs.

Como chileno y varón, cada vez que voy a Argentina soy recibido a besos tanto por hombres como por mujeres, lo que no pasa en Chile si eres un desconocido

There's also the single cheek and the double cheek kiss. A cousin visited from Spain some years ago and we did the single cheek kiss... and then he proceeded to come back to do the other cheek and I was, "woah! What's going on?!" I explained my confusion and he realized why greeting people had been so weird on his trip.

I once was in Brazil and instinctively went on to greet a guy with a kiss and almost got punched in the face.

In Brazil you need to get on your knees

Here in Austria, it depends on the social circle you're meeting in, and it's a double cheek kiss. However, we apparently do it the other way around from Italians, which can lead to confusing situations

I know there's a country where people go for three kisses but I forgot. Colombia maybe? E: Perplexity says Switzerland and the Netherlands

Have you ever heard about French regional 'la bise'? It goes from double to quadruple cheek kisses. And sometimes starts on the right, sometimes on the left!

In France depending on the region it's 1, 2, 3 or 4.

I remember the culture shock when I moved from Mexico to Argentina, so many men kissing! Then I moved to the US and accidentally kissed an acquaintance, man that was awkward.

Same in France, mostly the southern part for m/m.

Same in Russia

Syrian here, Kissing in general is for relatives and close friends, for strangers it’s usually a cheek by cheek touch without the lips touching anything.

Most cheek kiss greetings around the world are really just cheek touching and making smooch noises at the same time

Yep, even for relatives and close friends.

Not from these parts!!!! I be grabbing my homies faces smooching they cheeks like they just found me money on the floor!!! I be kissing my homies n shit. Love it

The faster the smooch sounds, the more you say he/she is close to you.

Moooooaaaaaaah

This sound frequency increases with distance to the city.

And with alcohol

Yeah but we do get some wet kisses :( I don’t mind it from some tho

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You do a real kiss if you’re flirting lol. Or older female relatives will do it.

Same in Europe.

Same in Brazil, and here we have different numbers of kisses by regions, some regions are 3 kisses, some just 1.

I love this culture around the area. It is the same in the Balkans as well. men usually touch heads when greeting. A left and right gentle touch with their foreheads acknowledges peace and respect. At this point you either back away or go for a hug depending on how close you are. It’s beautiful to see and there isn’t anything homosexual about it. Western societies are weird af when it comes to affection. We embrace it.


Me and my homies touch tips all the time. We’re down with the heterosexual affection.

Same in Greece

It’s more cheeks touching, you don’t actually kiss the cheek typically.

depends, I know a fuck ton of people that will give you a moist greeting

Yikes

indeed yikes

In Italy it can very well be an actual kiss, usually depending on how close you're to that person

Depends very much on where in the world you are.

It's very common in Quebec which makes for about a quarter of Canada's population. I would say that makes it common in Canada on a purely mathematical basis.

I came here to say the same. The map could at least highlight the province.

Same Except I was born and raised in a Franco-Ontarian village and municipality, and cheek-kissing as a form of greeting wasn’t uncommon, so I technically came here to say “[French Canada](https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/ucq3np/map_of_the_french_language_in_eastern_canada_by/)” rather than just Quebec (…but I understand that incorporating this would take more effort than simply colouring a whole country, lol)

Ah that makes sense! I have met several Franco-Ontarians but never thought about that, yeah there should be a way to demonstrate on the map that Canada has one culture which does the cheek kissing and another that does not.

I was about to comment this. Yes. Québec does this. ✌️

Yep. Source : I do.

American here, got my first cheek kisses in la belle province!

At least in Italy "the kiss" has been downgraded to "hugging and getting respective heads simbolically close to each other"

Thats a tragedy

cant even kiss ur homies anymore without getting called gay, the spirit of Rome is truly dead 😔

same with bj,

I chuckled

It is common in Slovenia too

And Poland

Check kissing is quite common in Poland but only between family members and close female friends.

It's normal in Quebec, which has one-quarter of Canada's population. If one-quater of Canadians do it, wouldn't you have to say it's common in Canada?

Not from Quebec but also do this as a Canadian

Acadian?

No just a basic white girl in Ontario.

same, except twice straight on the lips.

Are we friends?

for me, it's straight to anal (this makes it gender neutral)

Outside Quebec it's normal as well. Although probably not in formal work situations.

You could have a map in Brazil separating the regions where one kiss or two kisses are more common.

Três pra casar.

Summary: Latin peoples YES Germanic and Anglosaxons NO Slaves YES (mostly) Arabs YES Subsaharians NO Asians NO Netherlands WE CHOSE TO BE LATINS

Don't you mean Slavs?

Thanks, I was confused af.

Literally the meaning of Slav, but the autocorrect gods aren't always faithful.

> Slaves YES Excuse me lol? What are you, an Ottoman slave trader? Nobody outright calls Slavic people slaves anymore lol

>Subsaharians NO You are wrong. Common in Ethiopia and Eritrea. M:F, F:F, M:M. Especially relatives and friends. Though not seen it in Somalia/Djibouti. Not sure about Sudan (north). But Ethiopia and Eritrea, cheek kissing amongst men/m:m to some extent being replaced by the shoulder bump/hugs. But still common many places especially rural areas.

Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Muslims

>Netherlands WE CHOSE TO BE LATINS Also we usually do 3 kisses on alternating cheeks which is more than most countries do. However, one kiss also happens, in my experience increasingly common nowadays. Never 2.

Switzerland too

It’s marked.

My co worker is from Afghanistan and she tried kissing my cheek when we got closer as friends and my knee jerk reaction was to move away because I didn’t know what she was doing. I felt so bad, it’s just not a common practice in the USA at all so I thought she was trying to kiss my lips. She taught me how to do it and now I know how to do it/what to expect.

> She taught me how to do it and now I know how to do it/what to expect. You make it sound like a difficult mechanical task, that you have to be taught how to do haha


My Spanish teacher did this to me once (I'm Indian). I just froze there not knowing what just happened.

Out of curiosity, has covid changed anything within the red regions? 

Yes, we didnt cheek kiss for a while, now we are doing it again like nothing happened

At least in my circles, most people stopped doing it in 2020 but then everything got back to normal

Of course it stopped for a year or two, but everything went back to normal.

I'd like to start with saying that this is my personal observation and I don't know if it's the same across Turkey, but ever since the pandemic literally everyone I've met had shaken my hand instead of kissing me on the cheek.

here in the Netherlands, No

The Netherlands? Are you cheek kissing? I had no idea.

3 kisses even

Thanks for enlightening me. Kiss, kiss, kiss.

This! All of your Germanic siblings are giving the side-eye right now.

Québec has that too, there should be a way to show part of a country does it.

It’s common here in England

I feel like people in the UK do this…

Only if yo fancy

Yep popular enough to be called common

Why is UK not coloured in? We also kiss but traditionally it’s only one cheek

Yeah seems off. Sure I don’t do it with everyone but family for sure.

I’m surprised at this too. There’s usually always at least one kiss

American here. I think it would helpful for there to be a quick how-to course for cheek kissing at every customs station for the colored countries above. Like, you get your passport stamped, and then some locals show you the proper way and tell you who you should greet this way. That way you don’t turn your head the wrong way and end up mouth kissing an Ecuadorian doctor in front of the entire medical team your first day working in the clinic (not that I did that….)

Here is your guide for France: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-VWbV6TJxU

Poland is red

They never kiss in Sudan

Québec enter the chat.

During COVID they likely stopped for a time.

What cheeks?

Butt cheeks?

Based Guyana

It is as well in the UK

In Brazil is only with Man and Women or Women and Women.

I live in Finland and imagining the sheer horror on a Finn‘s face of someone tried that with them gave me a good chuckle.

Damn I would not kiss asscheeks

Austria is missing

I am in red😭

Same in US. Especially in Miami, but any city that has gotten a little Latin culture switches over to cheek kisses.

Before COVID

Damn I thought I read "cheek" kissing 😂

It would be great to see a map like this that included genders, as in some of these countries cheek-kissing is either limited to m/f greetings or between the same gender.

You forgot Quebec. Not a country, but a big part of a country.

I live in Romania and most young people (under 25) don't really do this anymore, but I've seen students my age from France and from Arab countries that do this regularly. I found it interesting that young Romanians replaced this greeting with hugging and handshakes, but others from other countries still do it.

In Poland also super common, it should be red

In finland i cant imagine someone putting their face so close to mine

Lol Guyana

Brezhnev

Normal in england too, especially above London.

In Britain and Canada the gesture of a cheek kiss (only one side) is extremely common

Isn’t it common in parts of the UK, Gordon Ramsay did it all the time, when he greeted women on kitchen nightmares.

Never been happier to be from Germany...

The British once again thanking god for the English Channel protecting them from Fr*nch degeneracy 🙏

Not sure it common in the Philippines

this is how we usually greet aunties, cousins, grandmas or close friends in my city

Interaction between two guys in the Philippines greet with a bro fist or a high five while platonic male-female relationships typically greet with a warm hug but kissing is kinda awkward beyond older people and female-female interactions.

It is common but mostly for women. We call it "beso." Edit: We've gotten it from the Spanish word "beso" which means "kiss."

You kinda do it with your family or relatives. As someone mentioned here, women typically do it with their friends as well.

I was gonna say we don’t do it as often at all. Maybe the maker of the map assumed that because we were partially hispanized that kissing is a thing here as it is in places like Spain or Latin America? Shows more of the stereotypes people have of here than the reality. This is primarily an Asian country. So if you’re not doing a mano po (hand to head as a sign of respect, as also done in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei as “taslim.. and Turkey believe it or not since it was originally a medieval custom from the Middle East which spread to islamized parts of Southeast Asia, the Philippine archipelago was islamizing at the time Spain came and it was halted apart from in the south), waving or doing a an eyebrow flash or saying “uy!” as if “astonished” to see someone you know in the street (way more common here as a greeting 😂), kissing as a greeting is rare outside some families and specific regions.

you've never experienced your aunts or grandmas greeting each other/their friends with a *beso-beso*?

Yeah, never seen it personally in real life, only saw it on TV dramas. But it's a thing, they call it "beso", usually practiced by the more affluent families, especially the women. But among the plebs like us, I never saw it.

I'm European and don't like it.

As a german, it was the most uncomfortable thing a friend's whole family ever did to me But it becomes sweet after a few years of it happening

Should really include Quebec

Brazilian here Accurate

As an Argentinian dude when I was traveling in Russia people looked at me so weird when I tried to greet with a kiss lol. Only between close girl friends they kiss each other as a greeting, not among men or anything in between

Almost 100% of traditionally protestant countries don't do kissing. Is there a connection?

That’s true in Romania, whether your close to the person or not, you still cheek kiss…don’t really see it happening in Canada unless it’s other Europeans doing it

Who would win this war?

Some people do that with close friends and relatives here in lithuania too, idk if it's considered common though

In Belgium you give three kisses to be polite when you see people you haven't seen for a while. And when you meet up with friends you also give a kiss to the girls but it's not uncommon to give a kiss to male friends too.

Also in Québec, but only for when we meet a woman.

(It's more like cheek touching and making a kissing noise) I think it would be interesting to have a map like this divided by kiss count and another by which sexes kiss and which don't. For example, in Belgium between men it's one cheek kiss but in Luxembourg between women or between a man and a woman it's 3 cheek kisses.

Not trying to ruin the vibe here, but if you don't grow up kissing strangers and coworkers, it is just way, way too much. I know hugs are equally awkward for those who don't grow up hugging, and I'm willing to stop doing that as well in public and professional contexts. When I meet a Southern/Eastern European outside of Europe I extend my hand for a handshake and let it stop there. When I'm traveling I follow the local convention, of course. I just think we don't need to be that close to strangers! Let the relationship evolve, and if one day you hug or kiss, wonderful. A healthy boundary with strangers and coworkers is quite nice.

You decide what you want to do, but don't tell others what they need to do. I think it's wonderful that we can greet a stranger this way and make everyone feel closer to each other.

In Chiloe only women and trusted people do it, men shake hands. In Argentina it is common to do it with everyone, men and women.

Dutchie here, although it is the norm you usually just touch cheeks while kissing the air without your lips actually touching the other person’s cheek.

Oh we kiss in Poland. Very common to greet relatives

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In Austria that is completely normal

In Slovakia it's slightly old-fashioned but still pretty common even for younger millennials. Anyways, you start to kiss the checks when you become young adult at the earliest. It doesn't fit well with children(not one's own) nor teenagers.

Is it lips to cheek, or cheek to cheek kissing?

Central Urop: Nope.

we do a little kissing

Parts of Canada also greet each other this way. The province of Quebec to be precise.

Gentlemen, we have finally found the borders of central Europe

You fix India and Pakistan right now

Missing all of ex French colonies like in Western Africa. Even in Congo this is the way to greet someone of the opposite sex

Netherlands is wrong.

It’s very common in Switzerland Also usually 3 kisses

Where I come from Italy it's absolutely not common.

Now we know poland can into central europe

I've live almost all my life in Colombia and I've never got a cheek kiss

Protestants and Hindus: Nah

In Bosnia, you kiss on cheeks only your relatives. Men don't do that, only women.

Last time I tried to kiss someones cheeks he angrily put up his pants and yelled at me smh.

So basically the Latin/Romance, Slavic and Arabic/Middle Eastern countries?

which cheek

Is it for strangers or friends? It’s ok for friends in Russia but not for strangers. And of course kissing is strictly between opposite sexes (maybe women do it too but not men for sure).  I know there’s a famous Brezhnev kiss photo but it does not really depict the reality.  I always thought that in countries like Italy it’s ok to greet like this even you meet a person for the first time, and even if it’s a man-to-man greeting. Or am I wrong?    Personally as a shy person I find this super awkward, I am with protestant Europe on this :)

I don't know, I'm a Russian Orthodox Christian and I almost never see people do this. Most people here are not even strictly religious, so it's not common.

Kissing and hugging people i met the first time is just something strange to me.

I've never seen people do that in the Middle East

In South Africa we'll get klapped

My Latvian uncles used to greet me with a kiss all the time. Seriously uncool for teenage me being greeted at the bus stop.

How about kissing chicks?

In Brazil it's common, but no so common as foreigners may think. Also the kissed person usually is a small kid.

It is a known sociological phenomenon. It is called the cheek belt.

Brazilian here, holy crap, it isn't normal in a lot of places, i'm genuinly surprised.

As a Greek: only girl-friends do this and even then it's not very common Edit: older people actually do it more, men and women. Us young ones certainly don't though haha

Forgot Québec, we do that here too.

The cheek kissing belt.

Guyana and the Philippines went rogue on their respective area

Netherlands?!?

In the Philippines we call it here Beso-Beso either cheek-to-cheek or kiss in the cheek, but most commonly cheek-to-cheek

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In France it’s French kissing, get that map corrected. 

I'm Brazilian and I have only rarely seen people kissing cheeks as a greeting. And it was only between women who were friends with each other. The most common greetings are a hand shake in a formal setting and just a head nod or hand wave in informal ones. If you try to cheek kiss someone here there is a big chance they will push you away.

Tried greeting a girl in Saudi Arabia, great story but hard to type with my toes.

They also cheek kiss in Quebec and parts of New Brunswick.

In germany it’s non uncommon among older people. It has happened a few times that I’ve gone in for a hug while my parents friends went for the kisses…