KZBlog

This article was originally posted by me at Atyrau Online. Since a surprising amount of my visitors here seem to be people 1) new to Kazakhstan and 2) planning to visit here for business, tourism, Peace Corps or adoption, I thought an article on manners in Kazakhstan might be useful. As usual I love comments telling me how right or wrong I am on this stuff–or interesting anecdotes.

It’s well worth it to learn a few words of Kazakh and/or Russian. Everyone likes to hear their native language. And Kazakhs are especially pleased when foreigners learn Kazakh, since it is the more obscure language. In Kazakh, salaamatsiz be? means “Hello/How are you?” Some people may say amanatsiz be? or “Are you well?”. The answer is jakhse or “Good”.

In Russian, zdrastvitye is “Hello” and Kak dela? is “How are you?”. Khorosho means “Good”.

If you are a man, shake hands with every other man you greet everyday. Kazakhstani shake hands when they see each other for the first time in the day or when they come to a meeting or party. They also shake hands ‘goodbye’ when they leave a meeting or leave work. They do not necessarily say anything while shaking hands, unlike in the US where it is common to say “Hi” or “How are you?”. In fact, some people may approach you silently and just stand there with their hands out-stretched waiting for a shake. The handshake is usually quick and not particularly firm.

Some women do shake hands with men although the majority do not; wait for the woman to make the first move and don’t insist if she doesn’t extend her hand. If you are a woman, decide if you want to shake hands or not, but don’t get upset if a man doesn’t feel comfortable. He may not say anything, simply refraining from taking your hand.

Also younger people or subordinates will initiate greetings with elders or their superiors. In other words, I say hello to my boss and my grandfather first, before they will acknowledge me. Talking of elderly people, some elders and more religious people may put their hand on their heart as they shake hands and/or take your hand in both of their hands. This is a traditional Muslim greeting. They probably won’t expect you to do the same, but it’s easy to mirror and it will please them if you copy it.

People usually do not say hello or shake hands with people they have already seen that day. If you do so, it may seem like you have forgotten them. Also, don’t shake hands across a doorway. Wait until you are fully inside to shake. Otherwise, it brings bad luck.

Finally, addressing people: Many Kazakhstani businessmen and politicians are familiar with Western-style addresses. In fact, they may assume Westerners are more casual than we actually are! They may be comfortable calling you by your first name and having you call them by their first name. Especially younger people will introduce themselves by first name only. If you prefer to be called by a title and your last name, introduce yourself that way. Older people in Kazakhstan and people in higher positions are typically called by their first name and their patronymic: Ivan Ivanovich. Calling them by a title will likely be acceptable if you can’t get their patronymic immediately. If you get a business card, the order of names will go: Last Name, First Name, Patronymic so you can cheat off of that.