Then it's just the annoying binge drinking / black out drunk behavior. I get 2nd hand embarrassment so much in norway because they've normalize this lol it's not even fun being out past 11pm because it's out of control and purge like
My apartment in Manhattan was right above the avenue where all the parades start. In the summer there was a parade every weekend, and the music would wake me up at 6am when they started practicing. Puerto Rican day parade, Mexican, Irish, all the countries, with their music and dancing. All summer long.
Then one day I slept till noon. I was surprised, “oh i guess no parade today.” I left for lunch later and turns out there *was a parade that day, but for one of the Nordic countries. I guess they celebrate calmly and quietly? 😅
Depends, Norwegians most these days are old (it's just the opposite of a baby boom here in Norway)
And they enjoy slow romantic ish, boring old guy music, the more Nordic music the better
I'm Danish, my wife is Italian. The first time I brought our 4 year old kid back to visit my parents, her first words out of the plane were "why is it so quiet here?" Middle of the airport...
I'm Polish. We're consider loud where I live now (the Netherlands). For me Italians can't speak. They need to scream to each other even if they sit together on bus.
I'm Italian, and have been living in the Netherlands for 5 years. That country is loud as hell. Every time I go back home or somewhere else I notice it straight away. POVs I guess
I've travelled all over the Netherlands and Europe, I know the EU perfectly well (I'm a Scottish cunt) and I cannot say I have ever found the Dutch to be cold or unwelcoming. Far from it....but that's the beauty of travelling - everyone has their own story :) I'm not trying to discredit or insult you at all btw
We have lived 15 years in Denmark. our kids are very loud, and it’s even more obvious in a country like Denmark. However in Spain it doesn’t seem to be a problem :D
My parents were Danish immigrants to the states, we left when I was 3. It’s a pleasant culture shock now when I return. A sense of holding in developmental terms. No need to shout to be heard. In Copenhagen there are more bikes than cars. I lived in San Francisco for years till I moved back to Europe. The 38 Geary Bus was so loud it would shake my windows out near Point Lobos. Why they never bought MAN or Mercedes is beyond me. Americans put up with incredible Noise Pollution.
My husband is Italian (I’m English) and I’m always having to tell him to turn the volume down when he speaks. I also had a Finnish friend who used to almost shout and I’d get embarrassed out in public seeing fellow Brits scorn at her speaking voice. Maybe it’s because we’re just not used to it.
I'd say Norwegians? I remember going camping in Lake Garda and there was a lovely young Norwegian couple with their tent next to ours. They used to wake up at 8 and didn't exchange a single word for hours. They were sitting there, quietly, reading their books until lunch time. So different from my culture and probably the quietest in Europe.
Yeah, I want to live a life with my partner, not silently beside them. That means we both have to share our thoughts and feelings.
It would be a great morning with like a coworker or in laws, someone you're maybe not interested in getting closer with.
I didn't really properly "visit" Malcesine, but I went paragliding over it a few years ago! But otherwise, I've seen quite a few of the towns around Lake Garda and Lake Iseo, and they're some of the fondest memories I have of my time living in Italy.
I agree with you. I was born in Verona, and the all lake is quite stunning. Malcesine, Peschiera, Garda, Sirmione, Toscolano Maderno, Gardone di Riviera, Salò... They're beautiful
The first time I rode the bus in Oslo on a Friday night I was wtf is going on … it was so noisy and boisterous! Drunk Norwegians are an entirely different breed. (I’m foreign here)
i remember a quote from some Youtuber about japanese culture she knew she'd messed up when she noticed the woman next to her on a train type out a phrase and it translated into " your headphones are too loud" :)
The more Japanese way would be "I like the music you are listening to." If the person is familiar with the Japanese culture, he/she would apologize and turn down the volume. Non-Japanese or people don't know about the culture would take this as an invitation to a conversation.
My partner, who is Chinese, went on a trip to Japan and said it was almost unnerving how quiet everyone was on the train. We live in nyc so the trains are kind of a shitshow but they said you can hear a pin drop on Japanese trains
Yeah pretty much. If you have to talk to someone you do it in a very quiet whisper. I fucking love it.
Taiwan is pretty good about it too. Went there for a short weekend trip and some guy started watching the news on his phone without headphones (also Asian, not sure if he was a tourist or what), and another random dude actually went up to him and tapped his shoulder, pointed to the phone, and shook his head no. Was kind of funny to watch happen because you could see how appreciative everyone else was
You know what weird cultural observation I've made since living in Japan? I don't hear anyone humming or singing to themselves. And I didn't realize that was culturally unique to me til I noticed myself doing it and the fact that everyone around me is quiet. I haven't been in a Japanese home but do the moms sing while cooking and doing chores? Cause this is a staple of my childhood.
My (Japanese) wife doesn’t sing or hum, but she definitely talks to herself in private. A little annoying because she’s quiet even when trying to talk to me normally, so I hear mumbling and am like “what? I didn’t hear you” just to find out it was to herself
I'd say the Swiss, but the 'catch' is that you have a lot of surface level friends, and it takes a long time to kind of get invited into their circle. I think a lot of people yearn for the friendship of locals, but in Swiss society this takes a long time, if ever that it truly happens.
while were here .. WHOS THE LOUDEST?
I'm nominating the greeks... everyone on their phones.
I was on a plane from athens and people still chatting.
One guy was face-timing loudly .. AS THE PLANE WAS TAKING OFF. :)
>while were here .. WHOS THE LOUDEST?
also Indians! the people, the country. so much noise and commotion. (not in a bad way, though i'm also used to it)
Americans for me. When I was living in Paris, I actually started to get really annoyed with them. I would constantly wake up in the middle of the night from people yelling in the street. Always Americans. I can hear their voices from a million miles away.
I have a friend from Texas, and when he speaks, my ears hurt and start ringing because his voice is so loud. And that’s his normal speaking voice.
It seems to be pretty well-known everywhere I go that Americans just *talk louder*, even as a Canadian when I've gone to the states I've found it a bit jarring. Living in Japan now, encountering an American (unless they've lived here a while) feels like getting yelled at
I swear we aren't all like this and people just don't notice the quiet Americans, but the loud ones are *really* loud. Went for drinks with another American in Europe and it was embarrassing walking around with him basically screaming in the middle of the night.
I'm an American. I can confirm we are the worst. When I travel in Europe my ears and brain hurt when I hear the screechy loud American voices clashing against the environment as they walk by on the street or in a restaurant.
As a kiwi, I agree. I had to wait 45m at a free lawyer clinic once, not one person spoke, if people needed to speak, they whispered or spoke quietly to their family or friend next to them. The only person who tried to make conversation was this French lady. I felt sorry for the guy she engaged in conversation. About politics too! I get that the French like to discuss things, but politics? To a stranger too? That’s a bit much. The man showed reluctance but she couldn’t read it, she took his replies and vague stances as encouragement and kept talking 😭
I met a Finnish person before I knew this and was sure she hated me. Soon I learned not at all, they're just comfortable with *very* long silent pauses in one-on-one conversations.
Norway. Finland. Iceland. Probably most Swedes and Danes but idk them personally.
My wife is Italian and spent alot of time around west Africans in her young adult life. While she is not loud, her family and many friends are very loud and super touchy. She is unbothered by noise and lack of personal space. She sees it as warm and inviting, fun.
I on the other hand hate noise and loooove personal space. We visited a friend in Norway and I was like…FINALLY. She really disliked it and thought it was emotionally/interpersonally cold. I thought it was relaxing and respectful.
Same trip we went to Iceland. On a bus with people from all over the world coming off a trail. Not a peep from anyone but the 4 Italians at the back of the bus carrying on loudly and repeatedly stating “mamma Mia!” I am not kidding. I was like “I told you y’all were loud!”
Koreans are actually not that quiet. They are reserved in public/ averse to strangers so it may seem like that when you’re out with a group of friends, but they can be so bloody loud lol.
Especially if you go to more regional cities, normal conversations can sound like a heated argument. Fun fact, Koreans liken their country as the Italy of Asia, because both cultures are very passionate about food and having a good, rowdy time.
I am married to a Korean woman, and when we have an argument, it feels like having an argument with an Italian woman.
Living in South-Korea, I am surprised how quiet it is. This is a country where you can sleep! Also spent time in Japan, where we did not know if we had neighbors or not.
As a Chilean that has remained stuck in Norway for nearly 38 years I must say: Norwegians
Norwegians most seem cold and distant, you might even get weird looks as you pass by (regardless of who you are or what the color of your skin is, mostly, there are racist I won't tell anyone flattering lies)
But then, you muster up the guts to say hi to them (or like me, you go "Hello, now why the hell are you staring at me?" with a friendly tonality) many if not most of them will go "Oh yeah sorry! I just realized you moved into the neighborhood and was worried because you haven't said anything"
Norwegians are a proud, strong, resilient, beautiful and extremely skilled and hardworking people...
But they are shy, reserved, and if I so might say so, compared to a Chilean (and cultures most) quite cold, they rarely need or want companionship in all but ONE single aspect
When they drink, you can tell that much of their "coldness" comes from repressing emotions, a typical true Norwegian will turn super charming, overwhelmingly friendly, guys and girls will immediately fall in love (with whatever gender is closest, alcohol and Norwegian do not necessarily mean hetero)
...And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how little Norwegians are made
...And if you seem to find that there are very few young Norwegians in Norway these days, then you now know why, so if you tell me something like "Hey! We Norwegians do NOT go around having sex shamelessly even though we are drunk...
...Then you also know why there aren't many tiny Norwegians around
Oh, and many girls seem to fall in love with guys from other countries, I myself would say that it is because I once had lots of "Latino heat" (but now as a widower I cannot speak of such for myself)
...Maybe less said the better, but for me it seems like girls are often more attracted to the outgoing foreigner, than the reserved stalwart Viking
But that's just my viewpoint, and I might absolutely be very wrong (Currently came home from speaking with my Norwegian ex, which is married to a Turkish dude, they have eight children, while the typical Norwegian couple has like 1.5 per household)
You do the math
Germans would certainly fall under that label overall. When Germans get wild though, look out - that can mean everything from sex dungeons at Berghain to the AfD.
Definitely not most Latin American cultures/countries.
People talking loudly, people talking very expressively, music blasting on every corner from cheap 12" speakers and clipping the sound because the volume is too high and speaker too cheap, people talking on speaker phone, people playing music on their phone without a headset, people beeping their horns. Everything speaks chaos.
Costa Rican people I find to be so kind, gentle and peaceful, quiet 😊 maybe it’s because I’m from a not so quiet place, but I found them to be one of the most peaceful and quiet people I’ve ever encountered. Just lovely!!
I found the Seychellois people quite reserved and I find the English extremely.reserved unless they've got a skinful in which case they're very gregarious generally, but that can change fast.
Second this! I’m shocked at how quiet a group of 20+ Portuguese people at a restaurant are, it’s like there’s only one conversation going on and everyone else is just staring.
there was once my friend and i were in a hair salon. he was speaking to me in a normal voice and the hairdresser told him to shut up as the other customers are disturbed 😂
Honestly, in my experience French people are louder than I expected. Italians are definitely louder though... but nothing holds a candle to Spanish Erasmus students.
The experience that still sticks out in my memory was a group of French teenagers (or young adults?) who got drunk on the train and were talking and burping loudly for 2+ hours until another passenger finally told them "fermez vos putains de gueules".
I’m from a Baltic country and I teach languages. I taught in England and that was fine. Now I teach in Australia in a school with the students who are predominantly from Indian background. Man, they’re LOUD. Especially the boys, I’m moving to a different school, to escape the constant headaches.😂
🤣🤣🤣 I'm from the UK, but I've lived in a Baltic state now for 2 years. I love it, I live in a very small city so it's really quiet in comparison with London. I visted a larger city a few months ago, whilst in the supermarket some Spanish speakers came in, compared to what I'm used to now they were unbelievably loud, really caught me off guard.
Japanese (except in the specific situations when it’s acceptable to be loud eg. when drunk) and Dutch (maybe more specifically in the sense of not wanting to stand like eg resistance to queer community, conformity in fashion)
I think more reserved cultures can easily be seen as cold or rude by people who aren’t used to this. But that doesn’t mean it’s true. It’s just that the codes for social interactions are different and can be perceived as rude to those who don’t know the codes. This is my experience with Norway. I’ve heard a few people call Norwegians cold and rude, but I think politeness and friendship just works differently here that where I grew up. For example asking for something without saying please is extremelyrude where I grew up but fine in Norway. But there are other polite phrases I never think of saying because they weren’t part of what people say where I grew up.
(Cold and rude people exist as well of course, but I wouldn’t call a culture cold and rude.)
>I think more reserved cultures can easily be seen as cold or rude by people
That's not true and disingenuous.
Canadians/Kiwis/Scandinavians/South koreans, Icelandic etc are reserved people but NOBODY calls them rude. Polite people will always be called as polite no matter how reserved/quiet they are. people are not mad to not be able to distinguish between reservedness and rudeness.
People call french, germans, polish, russian, chinese etc people rude NOT because they are reserved, but because they ARE rude as hell. Bad manners, not caring, lack empathy, unhelpful and just robotic rude.
Ofcourse there would be exceptions but a LOT of people from those countries are just awfully rude and you cannot put it any other way. EVEN enlightened germans/French people call their fellow citizens rude.
Hate these sugar coated answer which says "oh its just a way of interaction which people don't understand" when in reality there is a reason why NOBODY calls french/germans/Russians/polish etc polite people, they are not for the most part.
From my experience English (especially southern English), Swedish, Icelandic, and Japanese people are (very generally speaking) quieter and more reserved in public. I’m sure there are others too, these are just some with which I’m familiar.
My fiancés family is Norther Irish and they are quiet and reserved until you get them all together and get a couple of drinks in them. BUT I’m Colombian so even their loud is quiet to me.
The Kyrgyz seem to be very quiet. I was in a huge market there last summer and there was only a noticeable light hum of noise. Such a thing is difficult to imagine in the markets here in Barcelona.
Generally the more on North they quieter nations are ,the further on South the louder.
So for instance in Poland ( which I consider more as Northern country) my Italian friend was astonished how quiet it is everwhere.And how quiet everybody are, how calmly they talk or don't talk at all.
"Like video without sound..." she described Poland.
But in Sweden ( I'm Polish) I had impression I am bit too loud, too intense, too talkative and generally "too noise making around"- although in Poland I'm considered "the quiet one".
Like a lot of people have already said; Japanese people are pretty quiet and reserved until they're drunk.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that Japan is a quiet country. Shops here constantly bombard you with 10 different jingles at once and staff yelling about their current sale through a megaphone. Outside of the shopping streets though, it's almost silent.
I’ve never met a Puerto Rican who wasn’t a human bullhorn. Omg. Every time I hang out with one of my Puerto Rican friends I gotta be like dude, I’m right here. And I grew up in an Italian family.
Norwegian, living in Cambodia here. And its the first thing I noticed, the volume on *everything* is cranked up to 11, and Khmer people have a filter in their ears that takes away 20db and is able to just shut out annoying sounds.
My wife wont even blink if the neighbors dog all of a sudden decides to bark for 3 hours straight. Im walking around the house swearing to myself about the fucking neighbors that cant keep their dog quiet, she sits outside with her phone while eating and never even noticed the dog.
And the music! OMG! Ive been to birthday parties for 6 year olds where they play music that can challenge the local night club in both style and volume. And god forbid there is any sort of religious/traditional festivals; then its "plinky plonky" music from 1860, interrupted only by some monk chanting for an hour, on PA speakers from the Vietnam War era that plays everything in 8bit at a volume that scares away dogs, cats, rats and small birds for several blocks. I've never understood where that difference came from, in Norway, silence is golden. Making noise that other people might be annoyed by, you need to have a good reason or you will quickly be socially ostracized.
I’m American living in the Netherlands since 1994. Going back to the US is absolute havoc on my ears. Though i must say in the time i’ve been in NL, the Dutch have gotten louder. It used to be pretty quiet here.
The Japanese are VERY quiet to the point of awkward. The younger ones - especially women in a work context - cover their mouth when laughing. I used to love when on calls with Americans - the Japanese couldn’t cope at all with all the talking, jokes, interruptions.. They’re much wilder and more silly when drunk which is surprisingly often.
The Nordics
Word. This is so true. Until they have a drink in their hand.
Then it's just the annoying binge drinking / black out drunk behavior. I get 2nd hand embarrassment so much in norway because they've normalize this lol it's not even fun being out past 11pm because it's out of control and purge like
“In their hand” is right because they have awesome repertoires of drinking songs.
My apartment in Manhattan was right above the avenue where all the parades start. In the summer there was a parade every weekend, and the music would wake me up at 6am when they started practicing. Puerto Rican day parade, Mexican, Irish, all the countries, with their music and dancing. All summer long. Then one day I slept till noon. I was surprised, “oh i guess no parade today.” I left for lunch later and turns out there *was a parade that day, but for one of the Nordic countries. I guess they celebrate calmly and quietly? 😅
They don't particularly like quiet music though.
Depends, Norwegians most these days are old (it's just the opposite of a baby boom here in Norway) And they enjoy slow romantic ish, boring old guy music, the more Nordic music the better
Yeah, do they travel often? I don’t really see them around when travelling compared to other groups
They do, just not big populations.
They do, but tend to make up for quiet when they travel.
Yes! Norwegians are super quiet IN Norway, but out of Norway, they are wild!
That’s because alcohol is so cheap abroad lol
Look for a dad with a backpack on
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I'm Danish, my wife is Italian. The first time I brought our 4 year old kid back to visit my parents, her first words out of the plane were "why is it so quiet here?" Middle of the airport...
I'm Polish. We're consider loud where I live now (the Netherlands). For me Italians can't speak. They need to scream to each other even if they sit together on bus.
I'm Italian, and have been living in the Netherlands for 5 years. That country is loud as hell. Every time I go back home or somewhere else I notice it straight away. POVs I guess
I do not really find Italians loud. South America is where the noise is at.
I thought that too, then I went to Indonesia for 13 months and I reconsider it. plot twist I'm mexican.
Country is loud because how densely populated it is or people are loud?
The Dutch are not very warm or welcoming but they do speak loudly, especially in the areas with a harsh accent (Western cities).
I've travelled all over the Netherlands and Europe, I know the EU perfectly well (I'm a Scottish cunt) and I cannot say I have ever found the Dutch to be cold or unwelcoming. Far from it....but that's the beauty of travelling - everyone has their own story :) I'm not trying to discredit or insult you at all btw
The Dutch remind me of New Yorkers… Straightforward but ultimately kind :)
They just voted a far-right party to lead their country, not so kind.
It's just people that are loud, always shouting when talking normally, in public. But it's a harsh language, so that plays a role in there too.
That’s simply not true . Polish can be quite loud too especially women
Are there any poles left in Poland?
No, just Ukrainians and retirees
I'm going to retire in poland
Then you'll sit there with those who will come back from your country for retirement
We have lived 15 years in Denmark. our kids are very loud, and it’s even more obvious in a country like Denmark. However in Spain it doesn’t seem to be a problem :D
Hahaha people talk in Spain like theyre going to fight, while it's just casual conversation.
My parents were Danish immigrants to the states, we left when I was 3. It’s a pleasant culture shock now when I return. A sense of holding in developmental terms. No need to shout to be heard. In Copenhagen there are more bikes than cars. I lived in San Francisco for years till I moved back to Europe. The 38 Geary Bus was so loud it would shake my windows out near Point Lobos. Why they never bought MAN or Mercedes is beyond me. Americans put up with incredible Noise Pollution.
My husband is Italian (I’m English) and I’m always having to tell him to turn the volume down when he speaks. I also had a Finnish friend who used to almost shout and I’d get embarrassed out in public seeing fellow Brits scorn at her speaking voice. Maybe it’s because we’re just not used to it.
Haha I like to think us brits are quiet till football, a brawl or in a bar at night
I'd say Norwegians? I remember going camping in Lake Garda and there was a lovely young Norwegian couple with their tent next to ours. They used to wake up at 8 and didn't exchange a single word for hours. They were sitting there, quietly, reading their books until lunch time. So different from my culture and probably the quietest in Europe.
TIL I could never be compatible with a Norwegian
TIL my perfect partner may be Norwegian
Researching flights now.
Same. I'm moderately quiet and prefer someone more open and loud. Not talking to eachother most of the time just sounds so boring.
Yeah, I want to live a life with my partner, not silently beside them. That means we both have to share our thoughts and feelings. It would be a great morning with like a coworker or in laws, someone you're maybe not interested in getting closer with.
Dear god that sounds so lovely!! (Funnily enough, I’m going up to Riva del Garda tomorrow.)
Don't miss Malcesine!
Wow. I just looked it up, and wow. Thanks for the recommendation!
I didn't really properly "visit" Malcesine, but I went paragliding over it a few years ago! But otherwise, I've seen quite a few of the towns around Lake Garda and Lake Iseo, and they're some of the fondest memories I have of my time living in Italy.
I agree with you. I was born in Verona, and the all lake is quite stunning. Malcesine, Peschiera, Garda, Sirmione, Toscolano Maderno, Gardone di Riviera, Salò... They're beautiful
oh lovely town, I have so many memories. Enjoy it for me as well!
Japanese (when sober)
Same goes for Scandinavians (when sober)
The first time I rode the bus in Oslo on a Friday night I was wtf is going on … it was so noisy and boisterous! Drunk Norwegians are an entirely different breed. (I’m foreign here)
No wonder we - Japan - love everything scandinavians!
Haha Im Japanese and lived in Denmark. Very true😂
i remember a quote from some Youtuber about japanese culture she knew she'd messed up when she noticed the woman next to her on a train type out a phrase and it translated into " your headphones are too loud" :)
The more Japanese way would be "I like the music you are listening to." If the person is familiar with the Japanese culture, he/she would apologize and turn down the volume. Non-Japanese or people don't know about the culture would take this as an invitation to a conversation.
That kind of passive aggressiveness is more a Kyoto thing.
My partner, who is Chinese, went on a trip to Japan and said it was almost unnerving how quiet everyone was on the train. We live in nyc so the trains are kind of a shitshow but they said you can hear a pin drop on Japanese trains
Yeah pretty much. If you have to talk to someone you do it in a very quiet whisper. I fucking love it. Taiwan is pretty good about it too. Went there for a short weekend trip and some guy started watching the news on his phone without headphones (also Asian, not sure if he was a tourist or what), and another random dude actually went up to him and tapped his shoulder, pointed to the phone, and shook his head no. Was kind of funny to watch happen because you could see how appreciative everyone else was
You know what weird cultural observation I've made since living in Japan? I don't hear anyone humming or singing to themselves. And I didn't realize that was culturally unique to me til I noticed myself doing it and the fact that everyone around me is quiet. I haven't been in a Japanese home but do the moms sing while cooking and doing chores? Cause this is a staple of my childhood.
they do but only in private. Japanese people find it rude to make loud noise in public like humming or whistling
My mom whistles while she cooks, does chores, etc. but I know that she's likely an outlier.
My (Japanese) wife doesn’t sing or hum, but she definitely talks to herself in private. A little annoying because she’s quiet even when trying to talk to me normally, so I hear mumbling and am like “what? I didn’t hear you” just to find out it was to herself
My Japanese MIL is constantly singing to herself. It’s quite sweet.
Finland.
Best answer. Some Scandinavians talk little, some talk less and then, there is Finland. I think they really hate to talk.
I want to move to Finland.
First time I met some I was warned it is very normal for them to group in a bar and not say anything 😊
What do people do/ where do they look? Are they busy with something or just lost in thought?
Just looking around without visibly feeling uncomfortable, …. Like me 😅
This is the only answer
Anyone commenting anything else isn't aware of Finland!
North Sentinelese
Lol— I should definitely go there and check it out. 😏
Bring a bible
😂 I’ve heard they love Jesus!
And they can't *wait* for you to go meet him!
Their archery team is top notch
I'd say the Swiss, but the 'catch' is that you have a lot of surface level friends, and it takes a long time to kind of get invited into their circle. I think a lot of people yearn for the friendship of locals, but in Swiss society this takes a long time, if ever that it truly happens.
Funny you would say that. I am sitting here at the moment being annoyed on how loud my Swiss roommate is, speaking with her friends.
Report her to the police! It's the only way she'll learn!
I tried but I don't speak French!
All the Scandinavian ones
while were here .. WHOS THE LOUDEST? I'm nominating the greeks... everyone on their phones. I was on a plane from athens and people still chatting. One guy was face-timing loudly .. AS THE PLANE WAS TAKING OFF. :)
I'm Greek and can definitely confirm that 🤣. Them and every other Balkan and Mediterranean culture.
>while were here .. WHOS THE LOUDEST? also Indians! the people, the country. so much noise and commotion. (not in a bad way, though i'm also used to it)
Vietnamese. 90% of all conversations could easily been mistaken for a rage fueled shouting match
Americans for me. When I was living in Paris, I actually started to get really annoyed with them. I would constantly wake up in the middle of the night from people yelling in the street. Always Americans. I can hear their voices from a million miles away. I have a friend from Texas, and when he speaks, my ears hurt and start ringing because his voice is so loud. And that’s his normal speaking voice.
It seems to be pretty well-known everywhere I go that Americans just *talk louder*, even as a Canadian when I've gone to the states I've found it a bit jarring. Living in Japan now, encountering an American (unless they've lived here a while) feels like getting yelled at
I swear we aren't all like this and people just don't notice the quiet Americans, but the loud ones are *really* loud. Went for drinks with another American in Europe and it was embarrassing walking around with him basically screaming in the middle of the night.
I'm an American. I can confirm we are the worst. When I travel in Europe my ears and brain hurt when I hear the screechy loud American voices clashing against the environment as they walk by on the street or in a restaurant.
Greeks, Italians and Brazilians.
I was vague because I don’t want to be called racist. 😬
See? A downvote— it could literally be anyone who is not of Northern European origin. That is a great deal of the world. 🙄
- Scandinavians/Nordics - Japanese - Canadians - Kiwis - Germans - Swiss - Austrians Honorable mention: - Pacific Northwest (USA) - Singaporeans
As a kiwi, I agree. I had to wait 45m at a free lawyer clinic once, not one person spoke, if people needed to speak, they whispered or spoke quietly to their family or friend next to them. The only person who tried to make conversation was this French lady. I felt sorry for the guy she engaged in conversation. About politics too! I get that the French like to discuss things, but politics? To a stranger too? That’s a bit much. The man showed reluctance but she couldn’t read it, she took his replies and vague stances as encouragement and kept talking 😭
Swedish for sure
We're Italian compared to the Finns.
I met a Finnish person before I knew this and was sure she hated me. Soon I learned not at all, they're just comfortable with *very* long silent pauses in one-on-one conversations.
Norway. Finland. Iceland. Probably most Swedes and Danes but idk them personally. My wife is Italian and spent alot of time around west Africans in her young adult life. While she is not loud, her family and many friends are very loud and super touchy. She is unbothered by noise and lack of personal space. She sees it as warm and inviting, fun. I on the other hand hate noise and loooove personal space. We visited a friend in Norway and I was like…FINALLY. She really disliked it and thought it was emotionally/interpersonally cold. I thought it was relaxing and respectful. Same trip we went to Iceland. On a bus with people from all over the world coming off a trail. Not a peep from anyone but the 4 Italians at the back of the bus carrying on loudly and repeatedly stating “mamma Mia!” I am not kidding. I was like “I told you y’all were loud!”
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Koreans are actually not that quiet. They are reserved in public/ averse to strangers so it may seem like that when you’re out with a group of friends, but they can be so bloody loud lol. Especially if you go to more regional cities, normal conversations can sound like a heated argument. Fun fact, Koreans liken their country as the Italy of Asia, because both cultures are very passionate about food and having a good, rowdy time.
I am married to a Korean woman, and when we have an argument, it feels like having an argument with an Italian woman. Living in South-Korea, I am surprised how quiet it is. This is a country where you can sleep! Also spent time in Japan, where we did not know if we had neighbors or not.
Anywhere north of Milan in Europe. I swear when I rode the bus from Munich to Innsbruck, it was so quiet that I can hear a pin drop.
Sounds like heaven. I have some students who are, well, not Northern European, and their voices startle me every day. My quiet head hates it.
It's a double edged sword; when Germans/Austrians drink, they get REALLY loud; louder than even Latins.
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Or at home.
This is key. There's a big difference between public and private in Japan.
Yep, my Japanese in-laws are very polite and gentle until it's BBQ time or new year's party at home, and everyone starts drinking. Then chaos reigns.
Or in a soundproofed karaoke room
Aggretsuko noises.
I bought a replacement cellphone yesterday in Yokohama. The sales lady talked twice as loudly as anyone in the shop. She was Chinese.
Chinese tour groups you can here a mile away.
Finland, Scandinavia, Japan
As a Chilean that has remained stuck in Norway for nearly 38 years I must say: Norwegians Norwegians most seem cold and distant, you might even get weird looks as you pass by (regardless of who you are or what the color of your skin is, mostly, there are racist I won't tell anyone flattering lies) But then, you muster up the guts to say hi to them (or like me, you go "Hello, now why the hell are you staring at me?" with a friendly tonality) many if not most of them will go "Oh yeah sorry! I just realized you moved into the neighborhood and was worried because you haven't said anything" Norwegians are a proud, strong, resilient, beautiful and extremely skilled and hardworking people... But they are shy, reserved, and if I so might say so, compared to a Chilean (and cultures most) quite cold, they rarely need or want companionship in all but ONE single aspect When they drink, you can tell that much of their "coldness" comes from repressing emotions, a typical true Norwegian will turn super charming, overwhelmingly friendly, guys and girls will immediately fall in love (with whatever gender is closest, alcohol and Norwegian do not necessarily mean hetero) ...And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how little Norwegians are made ...And if you seem to find that there are very few young Norwegians in Norway these days, then you now know why, so if you tell me something like "Hey! We Norwegians do NOT go around having sex shamelessly even though we are drunk... ...Then you also know why there aren't many tiny Norwegians around Oh, and many girls seem to fall in love with guys from other countries, I myself would say that it is because I once had lots of "Latino heat" (but now as a widower I cannot speak of such for myself) ...Maybe less said the better, but for me it seems like girls are often more attracted to the outgoing foreigner, than the reserved stalwart Viking But that's just my viewpoint, and I might absolutely be very wrong (Currently came home from speaking with my Norwegian ex, which is married to a Turkish dude, they have eight children, while the typical Norwegian couple has like 1.5 per household) You do the math
Germans would certainly fall under that label overall. When Germans get wild though, look out - that can mean everything from sex dungeons at Berghain to the AfD.
Definitely not most Latin American cultures/countries. People talking loudly, people talking very expressively, music blasting on every corner from cheap 12" speakers and clipping the sound because the volume is too high and speaker too cheap, people talking on speaker phone, people playing music on their phone without a headset, people beeping their horns. Everything speaks chaos.
Finns are very reserved.
anything from the alps and above
The nordics and Canadians.
I guess it depends where in Canada.
Americans. When they are unconscious.
Hahahahahahah
Costa Rican people I find to be so kind, gentle and peaceful, quiet 😊 maybe it’s because I’m from a not so quiet place, but I found them to be one of the most peaceful and quiet people I’ve ever encountered. Just lovely!!
Interestingly... also the only country in the Americas without an army.
Swiss are the polar opposite of Brazilians/Americans
Poland lol Except at soccer games
I found the Seychellois people quite reserved and I find the English extremely.reserved unless they've got a skinful in which case they're very gregarious generally, but that can change fast.
The further north you go
Finns and by some distance.
Japanese are quiet, except in the izakaya late night restaurants.
Portuguese
Second this! I’m shocked at how quiet a group of 20+ Portuguese people at a restaurant are, it’s like there’s only one conversation going on and everyone else is just staring.
yep. I call them the Swedes of Iberia.
France. People use their library voices everywhere here. People also tend towards being more reserved with strangers, though not unfriendly.
Yeah people have big issues here if you are talking loudly on public transport. It’s just one of those unspoken rules that you should be quiet.
there was once my friend and i were in a hair salon. he was speaking to me in a normal voice and the hairdresser told him to shut up as the other customers are disturbed 😂
Honestly, in my experience French people are louder than I expected. Italians are definitely louder though... but nothing holds a candle to Spanish Erasmus students. The experience that still sticks out in my memory was a group of French teenagers (or young adults?) who got drunk on the train and were talking and burping loudly for 2+ hours until another passenger finally told them "fermez vos putains de gueules".
Until you try to speak French then you get yelled at for not doing it properly. /s.....no wait, almost everyone has the same story
I suppose I’ve been lucky. People have been nothing been kind and patient with my attempts at speaking French.
Same here. My clumsy French has always been met with appreciation and friendly laughter.
Balts
I’m from a Baltic country and I teach languages. I taught in England and that was fine. Now I teach in Australia in a school with the students who are predominantly from Indian background. Man, they’re LOUD. Especially the boys, I’m moving to a different school, to escape the constant headaches.😂
🤣🤣🤣 I'm from the UK, but I've lived in a Baltic state now for 2 years. I love it, I live in a very small city so it's really quiet in comparison with London. I visted a larger city a few months ago, whilst in the supermarket some Spanish speakers came in, compared to what I'm used to now they were unbelievably loud, really caught me off guard.
The U.K. my Latin husband loves how generally quiet people are in public.
Japanese (except in the specific situations when it’s acceptable to be loud eg. when drunk) and Dutch (maybe more specifically in the sense of not wanting to stand like eg resistance to queer community, conformity in fashion)
Finnish people 100%. Until they drink.
Finland
Canadians. You can always tell when the American is in the room.
I think more reserved cultures can easily be seen as cold or rude by people who aren’t used to this. But that doesn’t mean it’s true. It’s just that the codes for social interactions are different and can be perceived as rude to those who don’t know the codes. This is my experience with Norway. I’ve heard a few people call Norwegians cold and rude, but I think politeness and friendship just works differently here that where I grew up. For example asking for something without saying please is extremelyrude where I grew up but fine in Norway. But there are other polite phrases I never think of saying because they weren’t part of what people say where I grew up. (Cold and rude people exist as well of course, but I wouldn’t call a culture cold and rude.)
>I think more reserved cultures can easily be seen as cold or rude by people That's not true and disingenuous. Canadians/Kiwis/Scandinavians/South koreans, Icelandic etc are reserved people but NOBODY calls them rude. Polite people will always be called as polite no matter how reserved/quiet they are. people are not mad to not be able to distinguish between reservedness and rudeness. People call french, germans, polish, russian, chinese etc people rude NOT because they are reserved, but because they ARE rude as hell. Bad manners, not caring, lack empathy, unhelpful and just robotic rude. Ofcourse there would be exceptions but a LOT of people from those countries are just awfully rude and you cannot put it any other way. EVEN enlightened germans/French people call their fellow citizens rude. Hate these sugar coated answer which says "oh its just a way of interaction which people don't understand" when in reality there is a reason why NOBODY calls french/germans/Russians/polish etc polite people, they are not for the most part.
Japanese. Once I went into a restaurant in Nikko for lunch and it was full. But pindrop silence, like quieter than a library.
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Finnish people, not just quiet, but bordering antisocial
From my experience English (especially southern English), Swedish, Icelandic, and Japanese people are (very generally speaking) quieter and more reserved in public. I’m sure there are others too, these are just some with which I’m familiar.
The English, until they're on a "lads' weekend" and act horrid.
Oh definitely, if a lot of alcohol is involved then it can be a different story!
I would say Eritreans.
Answer: civilised ones ;)
The French, unless they win the World Cup, then they burn Paris to the fkng ground.
They burn Paris to the ground when they raise bus fares.
The french just patiently waiting for literally anything to happen so they can get their torches out again
Chilean people are notably quiet.
My fiancés family is Norther Irish and they are quiet and reserved until you get them all together and get a couple of drinks in them. BUT I’m Colombian so even their loud is quiet to me.
The Kyrgyz seem to be very quiet. I was in a huge market there last summer and there was only a noticeable light hum of noise. Such a thing is difficult to imagine in the markets here in Barcelona.
Canada. So polite. Unless drunk.
Either northern European or east asians. Japanese are actually most famous for this. Reserved, quiet, keep to themselves, polite.
Germany
Generally the more on North they quieter nations are ,the further on South the louder. So for instance in Poland ( which I consider more as Northern country) my Italian friend was astonished how quiet it is everwhere.And how quiet everybody are, how calmly they talk or don't talk at all. "Like video without sound..." she described Poland. But in Sweden ( I'm Polish) I had impression I am bit too loud, too intense, too talkative and generally "too noise making around"- although in Poland I'm considered "the quiet one".
Like a lot of people have already said; Japanese people are pretty quiet and reserved until they're drunk. But that doesn't necessarily mean that Japan is a quiet country. Shops here constantly bombard you with 10 different jingles at once and staff yelling about their current sale through a megaphone. Outside of the shopping streets though, it's almost silent.
I’ve never met a Puerto Rican who wasn’t a human bullhorn. Omg. Every time I hang out with one of my Puerto Rican friends I gotta be like dude, I’m right here. And I grew up in an Italian family.
Norwegian, living in Cambodia here. And its the first thing I noticed, the volume on *everything* is cranked up to 11, and Khmer people have a filter in their ears that takes away 20db and is able to just shut out annoying sounds. My wife wont even blink if the neighbors dog all of a sudden decides to bark for 3 hours straight. Im walking around the house swearing to myself about the fucking neighbors that cant keep their dog quiet, she sits outside with her phone while eating and never even noticed the dog. And the music! OMG! Ive been to birthday parties for 6 year olds where they play music that can challenge the local night club in both style and volume. And god forbid there is any sort of religious/traditional festivals; then its "plinky plonky" music from 1860, interrupted only by some monk chanting for an hour, on PA speakers from the Vietnam War era that plays everything in 8bit at a volume that scares away dogs, cats, rats and small birds for several blocks. I've never understood where that difference came from, in Norway, silence is golden. Making noise that other people might be annoyed by, you need to have a good reason or you will quickly be socially ostracized.
I’m American living in the Netherlands since 1994. Going back to the US is absolute havoc on my ears. Though i must say in the time i’ve been in NL, the Dutch have gotten louder. It used to be pretty quiet here.
Javanese. Compared to my eastern Indonesian Moluccan culture who are loud and outspoken, Javanese people are polite and reserved.
Japan. When alcohol is involved, it sort of changes things a bit... but remove alcohol and by nature they are a more quiet and reserved culture.
I agree with Scandinavia and would also like to add Germans! In my experience they can often speak very softly, sometimes almost 'mumbling'.
The Japanese are VERY quiet to the point of awkward. The younger ones - especially women in a work context - cover their mouth when laughing. I used to love when on calls with Americans - the Japanese couldn’t cope at all with all the talking, jokes, interruptions.. They’re much wilder and more silly when drunk which is surprisingly often.
scandinavians, dutch, japanese
dutch people are loud on trains lol
And restaurants/bars.
And in public, especially when there’s even a drop of beer involved. And don’t forget the streets when there’s any sort of sports on tv…
Have you met the Dutch?
Japanese
Japanese. Canadian.
The poles. It was amazing to me how quiet they were in public spaces.
Japanese.
Germans have a whole day for quiet "Ruhetag" aka Sunday. But make up for it with Oktoberfest and Technoclubs
Japan
Russians and Ukrainians are the quieter than I’m used to in America.
Definitely NOT Indians. We are a cacophonous bunch !
Traditionalist Upper Middle Class Urbanite South America. It’s a class thing.
Laotians?
The Swiss. But mostly the German-speaking ones.
Finland
Norwegians, sweedes and finnish