How to hold chopsticks?

If you do not know how to hold chopsticks, it can be tricky for you to use them. If you love to eat Japanese food, you should know how to hold chopsticks. Here are some easy methods that you can use to hold and use chopsticks.

What chopsticks are:

Chopsticks are mainly used to eat food in Japan. It is also called hashi in the Japanese language. It is the main part of Japanese cuisine, where you can eat only with chopsticks.You can also use them to eat noodles like udon or soba instead of eating rice and other dishes.

How the Japanese used chopsticks:

Pick a single chopstick and place it between your index finger and thumb like a pen. You can hold the upper chopstick like that. You can move it. Hold the other chopstick between your thumb and index finger so it can touch the ring finger side of your hand.

1. Hold the chopsticks from one-third part down.
2. Support the chopsticks with your ring and little finger naturally.
3. Chopsticks should fit in your hand properly.

How to hold and move chopsticks:

If you can hold the chopsticks, then try to move them. Support the first chopstick with the first joint of the middle finger and hold it perfectly. The tips of your fingers should touch each other, and do not let other parts connect.

Move the upper chopstick between your index and middle fingers up and down. Do not try to move the bottom chopstick while doing this. If you did it correctly, you could open or close the tips of chopsticks. Here are some steps below.

1. Grab a chopstick and place it between your thumb and pointer finger. You should balance it on your ring finger.
2. Take the other chopstick, place it between your pointer fingers and thumb, and let it rest on your middle finger.
3. Use your pointer, thumb, and middle finger to hold the chopstick strongly.
4. You can use your middle and index fingers for lifting purposes.
5. Place the chopsticks on the food and move your middle and index fingers to close their tips.

The trick that you can use to move chopsticks:

When you are moving the chopsticks, the main point you should know is that only move the upper chopstick, and the bottom chopstick should be still. You can grab some small things like beans or rice grains if you do it properly.

Etiquettes for chopsticks in Japan:

There are some rules for using chopsticks. Do not put the chopsticks on the bowel edge, which is called Watashi-Bashi. You also do not use them to pull dishes; it is called yose-Bashi.

It is considered bad in Japan to pass the food with chopsticks or leave them in the bowl. These actions are linked to the funeral. Always keep the chopsticks in an equidistant position, and do not let them cross each other.