Zimbabwe is a beautiful country. It is famous for the mighty Victoria Falls, amazing wildlife, and some of the friendliest people in the world. When you visit Zimbabwe, you will feel welcomed. People will smile at you, help you, and invite you into their homes.

However, every country has its own culture. Culture is the way people live, think, and act. If you are a foreigner visiting Zimbabwe or meeting Zimbabweans for the first time, you might see them do things that seem strange to you. You might get confused. This is completely normal! What is polite in one country can be rude in another country.

To help you understand this beautiful culture, we have made a list. Here are 15 things Zimbabweans do that often confuse foreigners, why they do them, and how you should react.

1. Refusing Food When They Are Actually Hungry

If you invite a Zimbabwean to your house and offer them food or a drink, their first answer will almost always be, “No, thank you.” As a foreigner, you might think, “Okay, they are not hungry,” and put the food away. This is a big mistake!

In Zimbabwean culture, it is considered greedy to say “yes” the first time someone offers you food. Children are taught from a very young age that they must politely decline at first. They want to show that they are well-mannered and not just visiting you for your food.

What you should do: You must offer the food a second or even a third time. You can say, “Are you sure? It is just a small snack.” Usually, after the second or third time, they will smile and accept. If they refuse three times, then they are truly full!

2. Greeting Elders Properly (It is More Than Just “Hello”)

In many Western countries, you can greet an older person by simply waving and saying, “Hi!” In Zimbabwe, doing this will shock people. Greeting elders is a very serious and respectful process.

When greeting an older person, a Zimbabwean will often avoid direct eye contact because staring at an elder is seen as challenging their authority. They will also use physical gestures. Men and boys will often clap their hands with hollowed palms. Women and girls will clap with their hands crossed, and they will bend their knees in a small curtsey (called kutyora muzura). Sometimes, women will even kneel on the floor to greet an elder who is sitting down.

What you should do: As a foreigner, you are not always expected to kneel. However, you should lower your head, avoid staring deeply into the elder’s eyes, and try clapping your hands a few times while saying, “Makadii?” (How are you?). They will highly respect your effort.

3. The Strict Rules of Respect and Titles

In places like America or Europe, you might call your boss or your friend’s parents by their first names, like “John” or “Mary.” In Zimbabwe, calling an older person by their first name is extremely disrespectful.

Zimbabweans use a strict system of respect titles. Everyone is treated like family. If someone is older than you, you must use a title.

• Mukoma: Older brother.
• Sisi: Older sister.
• Baba: Father (used for any older man).
• Amai: Mother (used for any older woman).

Even if a man is just the person selling vegetables on the street, if he looks old enough to be your father, you call him “Baba.”

What you should do: Listen to how other people talk. Never use the first name of someone older than you unless they specifically beg you to. Use “Baba” and “Amai” to show that you have good manners.

4. The Three-Part Handshake

When men greet each other in Zimbabwe, a simple up-and-down handshake is not enough. They use a special, three-part African handshake.

First, they shake hands normally. Second, they slide their hands up and grab each other’s thumbs. Third, they slide back down to the normal handshake position. Sometimes, it ends with a loud snap of the fingers. It looks like a secret code, but it is just the normal way to say hello.

What you should do: Watch closely when people shake your hand. Let your hand be loose and follow their lead. After a few tries, you will be grabbing thumbs like a local!

5. Answering “How Are You?” With a Condition

In English, if someone asks, “How are you?” you say, “I am fine, thanks.” In the Shona language (the most widely spoken language in Zimbabwe), the greeting is much more communal.

Someone will ask, “Makadii?” (How are you?). The proper answer is, “Ndiripo kana muripo.” In simple English, this translates to: “I am fine, if you are fine.”

This shows the deep sense of community in Zimbabwe. A person is saying, “My happiness depends on your happiness. I cannot be truly fine if you are not fine.” It is a beautiful way to show care for another person.

6. Eating Sadza With Their Hands

Sadza is the staple food of Zimbabwe. It is a thick, white porridge made from ground maize (corn) meal. It is eaten for lunch and dinner, usually with green vegetables and meat stew.

Foreigners are often confused when they see Zimbabweans eating this hot, sticky food with their bare hands instead of forks and knives. Eating with your hands is the traditional and most delicious way to enjoy sadza!

Before the meal, someone will bring around a bowl of warm water and a towel for everyone to wash their hands. Then, you roll a small ball of sadza in your hand, make a small dent in it with your thumb, and use it to scoop up the stew and vegetables.

What you should do: Never use your left hand to eat! The right hand is the only acceptable hand for eating. Wash your hands in the provided bowl, and try eating with your fingers. The food actually tastes better this way!

7. Pointing With Their Lips

If you ask a Zimbabwean for directions, or ask them where an object is, do not expect them to point with their index finger. Pointing your finger at something, especially at a person, is considered aggressive and rude.

Instead, a Zimbabwean will often point using their lips. They will stick their lips out in a “pout” and lift their chin slightly in the direction they want you to look. To a foreigner, it might look like they are preparing to give a kiss, but they are simply showing you the way!

8. Hissing to Get Someone’s Attention

Imagine you are in a restaurant, and you hear a sharp “Tss! Tss!” sound. In many Western cultures, making a hissing sound at someone is rude. You would usually say, “Excuse me!”

In Zimbabwe, making a “Tss” sound is a completely normal and polite way to get someone’s attention. People use it to call waiters, to get a friend’s attention across a noisy street, or to stop a minibus taxi. It is sharp, it cuts through the noise, and it works perfectly.

What you should do: Do not be offended if someone hisses at you to get your attention. They are not treating you like an animal; they just want you to look their way.

9. “Now” vs. “Now Now” vs. “Just Now”

Time works differently in Zimbabwe. If a foreigner is waiting for a plumber, and the plumber says, “I am coming now,” the foreigner expects the plumber to arrive in five minutes. Three hours later, the plumber is still not there.

Zimbabweans have different categories of time:

• Now: This means “sometime today.” It could be in one hour, or it could be in six hours.
• Just now: This means “in the near future.” Maybe in 30 minutes, maybe in two hours.
• Now now: If someone repeats the word, it means immediate urgency. “I am coming now now” means they are actually on their way and will be there in five minutes.

What you should do: Learn to be patient. Life moves at a slower, more relaxed pace in Zimbabwe. Always clarify by asking, “Do you mean now now?”

10. Drinking Hot Tea on a Boiling Hot Day

Zimbabwe has a very hot climate, especially in October and November. You would think people only want to drink cold water or ice-cold juice. But if you visit a Zimbabwean home at 10:00 AM or 4:00 PM, they will serve you boiling hot tea.

This is a mix of British colonial history and local culture. “Tea time” is a sacred ritual. Families sit together, drink strong tea with lots of milk and sugar, and eat thick slices of bread with margarine. The heat outside does not matter. The tea warms the body, but the ritual warms the soul.

11. Overfeeding Guests (The Clean Plate Trap)

In some cultures, finishing all the food on your plate means, “That was delicious, thank you!” In Zimbabwe, finishing all the food on your plate means, “I am still very hungry, please give me more!”

Zimbabwean hosts are very generous. They want to make sure you are completely full. If you eat everything, they will immediately put another large scoop of sadza and meat onto your plate. If you finish that, they will give you more. They will not let you leave their house hungry.

What you should do: When you are full, you must leave a small amount of food on your plate. This small piece of leftover food is a polite signal to the host that you have had enough to eat and your stomach is completely satisfied.

12. Having No “Cousins”

Family structures in Zimbabwe are very broad and deep. The English language has words like “cousin,” “aunt,” and “uncle.” Zimbabweans translate their family trees differently.

In traditional culture, your mother’s sister is not your aunt; she is also your “Mother” (Mainini for younger sister, Maiguru for older sister). Your father’s brother is not your uncle; he is also your “Father” (Babamunini or Babamukuru).

Because of this, the children of your mother’s sister or father’s brother are not your cousins—they are your brothers and sisters. If a Zimbabwean introduces someone by saying, “This is my brother,” they might be referring to what a foreigner would call a cousin. Family is everything, and the circle is kept very close.

13. Receiving Things With Two Hands

If you hand a Zimbabwean a gift, a pen, or even a cup of tea, they will not just reach out and grab it with one hand. Reaching for something with one hand is seen as careless and ungrateful.

Instead, they will use both hands to receive the item. Sometimes, they will reach out with their right hand to take the item, and place their left hand under their right elbow or forearm. This gesture shows deep appreciation, respect, and gratitude.

What you should do: Try to give and receive items with two hands, or support your right arm with your left hand. It is a small gesture that will make you look very polite and respectful to the local people.

14. Smiling or Laughing When Giving Bad News

This is a behavior that confuses foreigners the most. Sometimes, a Zimbabwean might smile or give a nervous laugh when telling you something sad, embarrassing, or stressful. For example, they might smile while saying, “I am so sorry, but I broke your favorite cup,” or “The bus broke down and we are stuck.”

Foreigners might think the person does not care, or thinks the bad news is funny. This is not true! In Zimbabwean culture, smiling or laughing during a stressful moment is a coping mechanism. It is a way to ease the tension, show humility, and stop the other person from getting too angry or upset. They are trying to soften the blow of the bad news.

15. The Long, Elaborate Greetings

If you bump into a friend in a supermarket in a Western country, you might say, “Hey! Great to see you. Gotta run, bye!”

In Zimbabwe, you cannot rush a greeting. A greeting is a whole conversation. You must stop what you are doing. First, you ask how they are. Then, you must ask about their family. “How is your wife? How are the children? How is work? How is the health of your parents back in the rural areas?”

Only after asking all these questions can you move on to the actual reason you are talking to them. Rushing a greeting shows that you do not care about the person’s life.

Conclusion

Traveling to a new country is always an adventure. The scenery and the animals are wonderful, but the true beauty of Zimbabwe is in its people and its culture.

Yes, the culture can be confusing at first. You might wonder why someone is hissing at you, why they won’t take the food you offered, or why they are calling you “Father” when you are not related. But once you understand the reasons behind these actions, you will see that Zimbabwean culture is built on deep respect, strong community, and a wonderful sense of togetherness.

When you visit Zimbabwe, keep an open mind. Watch what the local people do. Do not be afraid to ask questions. If you try to learn their ways—if you use both hands, call elders by their proper titles, and remember to leave a little bit of food on your plate—you will not just be a foreigner anymore. You will be a welcomed friend.