Glossary of Cultural Terms

A reference list of the key concepts and non-English terms used throughout this book. Pronunciations are rough English approximations. Where a term is central to a chapter, that chapter is noted.

Cross-cultural concepts (English)

Collectivism — A cultural orientation in which the group (family, community, organization, nation) is the basic unit of society and its needs generally take priority over the individual's. The dominant orientation across most Eastern cultures. Contrast individualism. (Chapter 2)

Cultural intelligence (CQ) — The learnable capacity to function effectively across cultures, made of four parts: drive (motivation), knowledge (understanding), strategy (planning), and action (adapting behavior). The book's overall goal. (Chapter 40)

Cultural humility — The working assumption that your way is a way, not the way, and that others are rational by a logic you may not yet have learned. The starting posture of the book. (Chapter 1)

Face — A person's social dignity, reputation, and standing in the eyes of others. Causing public loss of face is deeply damaging; giving face (public respect, praise, graceful exits) is powerful. The master concept of the book. (Chapter 3)

Filial piety — The deep duty of respect, care, and obedience owed by children to parents and ancestors; a cornerstone of Confucian cultures. (Chapters 6, 7)

High-context communication — Communication in which meaning lives in context, relationship, tone, and what is not said, rather than in explicit words. Characteristic of most Eastern cultures. Contrast low-context. (Chapter 4)

Holistic vs. analytic thought — A cognitive difference (per Richard Nisbett) in which East Asians tend to attend to whole fields, relationships, and context, while Westerners tend to attend to focal objects, categories, and rules. (Chapter 5)

Individualism — A cultural orientation in which the individual is the basic unit of society and personal choice, achievement, and autonomy take priority. The dominant Western orientation. Contrast collectivism. (Chapters 1, 2)

Long-term orientation — A cultural tendency (per Hofstede) to value perseverance, patience, and future reward over short-term results; pronounced in East Asia. (Chapter 5)

Low-context communication — Communication in which meaning is carried explicitly in the words. Characteristic of the West, especially the US, Germany, and the Netherlands. (Chapter 4)

Monochronic / polychronic time — A distinction (per Edward Hall) between cultures that treat time as linear and segmented (do one thing at a time, keep the schedule) and those that treat it as fluid and relationship-driven (many things at once, the person before the clock). (Chapter 5)

Orientalism — Edward Said's term for the West's historically constructed, exoticized, and essentialized image of "the East" — a way of seeing that says more about the viewer than the viewed. (Chapter 38)

Reciprocity — The obligation to return a favor, gift, or hospitality; the engine of gift-giving and relationship-building across Eastern cultures. (Chapters 10, 14, 22)

WEIRD — Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic. A flag (per Henrich and colleagues) that the populations most studied by Western psychology are global outliers, not the human baseline. (Chapter 1)

East Asia — China

Ganbei (gahn-bay) — "Dry the cup"; a toast inviting all to drain their glasses, central to Chinese business drinking. (Chapters 9, 21, 27)

Guanxi (gwan-shee) — The web of personal relationships and mutual obligations through which business and life get done in China; social capital as infrastructure. (Chapters 14, 27)

Hongbao (hong-bao) — A red envelope containing money, given at New Year, weddings, and other occasions. (Chapters 10, 25, 27)

Lianzi / liǎn (lyen-dzr) — "Moral face"; one's integrity and good character. Losing lian is graver than losing mianzi. (Chapter 27)

Mianzi (myen-dzr) — "Prestige face"; the social standing and reputation one accumulates through success, status, and connections. (Chapters 3, 27)

East Asia — Japan

Honne (hon-neh) — One's true, private feelings, shown only to intimates. Paired with tatemae. (Chapter 28)

Meishi (may-shee) — A business card, and the formal two-handed ritual of exchanging it. (Chapters 15, 28)

Nemawashi (neh-mah-wah-shee) — "Root-binding"; the practice of building consensus quietly and individually before a formal meeting, so the meeting merely ratifies the decision. (Chapters 15, 28)

Omotenashi (oh-moh-teh-nah-shee) — Wholehearted, anticipatory hospitality and service. (Chapters 21, 28)

Shokunin (shoh-koo-neen) — The artisan or craftsman, and the ethic of lifelong devotion to mastering one's craft. (Chapter 28)

Tatemae (tah-teh-mah-eh) — One's public face and the socially appropriate things one says and does, which may differ from honne. Not dishonesty but social architecture. (Chapter 28)

Wa (wah) — Group harmony; the supreme social value in Japan, to be preserved even at the cost of frankness. (Chapters 12, 28)

East Asia — Korea

Chaebol (jae-bol) — A large, family-controlled business conglomerate (e.g., Samsung, Hyundai). (Chapter 29)

Hweshik (hwe-shik) — A company dinner/drinking gathering for team bonding. (Chapters 21, 29)

Jeong (jung) — A deep, often unspoken bond of affection and attachment that grows between people over time; largely untranslatable. (Chapter 29)

Nunchi (noon-chee) — "Eye-measure"; the cultivated art of reading a room and sensing others' feelings and the unspoken mood. (Chapter 29)

Ppalli-ppalli (pal-li pal-li) — "Hurry, hurry"; Korea's fast-paced, get-it-done-now cultural tempo. (Chapter 29)

South Asia

Biraderi (bi-rah-deh-ree) — A patrilineal kinship/brotherhood network central to social and business life in Pakistan. (Chapter 31)

Dharma (dhar-ma) — One's duty, righteousness, and proper role in the cosmic and social order; a foundational Hindu concept. (Chapters 11, 30)

Izzat (iz-zat) — Honor and social respect, held by a person and their family; its protection drives much South Asian and Middle Eastern behavior. (Chapters 3, 30)

Jati (jah-tee) — A local sub-caste or community group, the level at which caste is most often lived in practice. (Chapters 6, 30)

Jugaad (joo-gaad) — Frugal, flexible, improvised problem-solving; an Indian business and life ethic. (Chapters 14, 30)

Karma (kar-ma) — The moral law of cause and effect across actions and lifetimes; shapes Hindu and Buddhist worldviews. (Chapters 11, 30)

Moksha (mohk-sha) — Liberation from the cycle of rebirth; the ultimate goal in Hindu thought. (Chapter 30)

NRI — Non-Resident Indian; a member of the global Indian diaspora. (Chapter 30)

Southeast Asia

Gotong royong (go-tong roy-ong) — Communal mutual aid and shared burden-bearing; an Indonesian social value. (Chapter 33)

Hiya (hee-yah) — A sense of shame or propriety that regulates Filipino social behavior. (Chapter 33)

Jam karet (jahm kah-ret) — "Rubber time"; the flexible Indonesian approach to schedules. (Chapter 33)

Kiasu (kya-soo) — "Afraid to lose"; a Singaporean (Hokkien) term for the competitive fear of missing out. (Chapter 33)

Kreng jai (kreng jai) — Thai consideration and reluctance to impose on or trouble others. (Chapter 32)

Mai pen rai (my pen rye) — "Never mind / it's okay"; a Thai expression of easygoing acceptance. (Chapter 32)

Pakikisama (pa-kee-kee-sah-ma) — Filipino smooth interpersonal harmony and getting along with the group. (Chapter 33)

Sanuk (sa-nook) — The Thai value of finding fun and enjoyment in activity. (Chapter 32)

Utang na loob (oo-tang na loh-ob) — Filipino "debt of gratitude"; a deep, lasting obligation to those who have helped you. (Chapter 33)

Wai (why) — The Thai palms-together bow of greeting and respect. (Chapters 8, 32)

Middle East

Majlis (maj-lis) — A sitting room or gathering for conversation, hospitality, and informal decision-making in Arab (especially Gulf) culture. (Chapters 15, 34)

Ta'arof (tah-ah-rof) — The elaborate Iranian system of ritual politeness, including offers and refusals that are not meant to be taken literally. (Chapter 35)

Wasta (was-ta) — Connections and influence used to get things done; the Arab analogue to guanxi. (Chapters 14, 20, 34)

Religion and philosophy (cross-regional)

Buddhism — A tradition centered on impermanence, compassion, and release from suffering; shapes Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka, and beyond. (Chapter 11)

Confucianism — An ethical-social philosophy of hierarchy, reciprocal obligation, education, and harmony; the cultural backbone of China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. (Chapter 11)

Halal — That which is permitted under Islamic law, especially regarding food and drink. (Chapters 9, 11)

Hinduism — The diverse family of traditions built on dharma, karma, and moksha; shapes India, Nepal, and Bali. (Chapter 11)

Islam — The faith ordering daily life across the Middle East and much of South and Southeast Asia, through prayer, Ramadan, halal, modesty, and hospitality. (Chapter 11)

Ramadan — The Islamic month of dawn-to-sunset fasting, reflection, and community. (Chapters 11, 25)

Shinto — Japan's indigenous tradition of purity, ritual, and reverence for kami (spirits) in nature. (Chapter 11)

Taoism (Daoism) — A Chinese tradition of harmony with the natural way (dao) and the balance of yin and yang. (Chapter 11)

Terms are introduced and developed in the chapters noted. For frameworks (Hofstede, Hall, Meyer, Nisbett, Trompenaars), see Appendix A; for full source citations, see the Bibliography.