9 Things You're Doing Wrong With Chopsticks

05/26/2015 12:42 pm ET | Updated May 26, 2016

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As if just using chopsticks -- the utensils, not the song from Big -- weren't hard enough, it turns out there's a whole code of conduct that comes along with them. Use them incorrectly and you've performed the Eastern equivalent of putting your elbows on the table and chewing with your mouth open.

To help avoid those faux pas, we consulted a group of experts and asked them to share a few basic protocols. Heed this advice. Not only will it help you save face, but it'll also help you avoid pissing off slumbering ghosts.

Don't assume that all Asian foods require them.
"Chopsticks are technically the major eating utensils for the four East Asian countries -- China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam," says Andrea Nguyen, the cookbook author behind Viet World Kitchen. So in the Philippines, for example, most dishes are actually eaten with a fork and spoon. Next time you're at Jollibee, don't bother asking for sticks to eat your spaghetti.

Don't use the same ones for every cuisine.
The shape and materials change depending on the country. "The pointier tips are more typical of Japanese chopsticks," explains Cathy Erway, author of The Food of Taiwan. "In general, there are more dainty, individual pieces of food eaten in Japanese cuisine, and the rice tends to be stickier, whereas the blunter ends of Chinese chopsticks are more ideal for grabbing sizable hunks and scoops of rice."

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Don't stick them vertically into a bowl of rice.
This is true in most Asian countries, including China and Japan. "You only do that when making offerings to dead people," warn Harris Salat and Tadashi Ono, the owners of Brooklyn's Ganso and Ganso Yaki. It's also a no-no to pass food from chopstick to chopstick because it resembles a Buddhist funeral rite. Nobody wants to contemplate mortality while eating.

Don't pick up nigiri with them.
The proper technique? Lift sushi up with your fingers, turn it over, and dip it into soy sauce fish-side first. That way the rice won't start to break apart before it hits your mouth.

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