This is a fun one. How do you show the number ’2′ on your fingers? Do you show it the Czech/Slovak way – using the thumb and the index finger or do you do it the American way – using the index finger and the middle finger? I am proud to say I am still a true Czech since I use my thumb. Don’t take me wrong, I have tried to do it the American way but it just seems too much work. My fingers are simply not trained that way; plus, why would I start counting off with the index finger if the thumb is the first finger on my hand? It just does not make sense to me. Vote bellow on what you do (and comment on what you think about this):
PS: bottom line, if you see someone in America doing this sign above, he/she is either Czech counting to two or he is telling you you are a looser. Let’s hope he is counting…. 
))
CZ: Tato otazka vas pobavi: uzkazujete cislo dve na vasi ruce po cesku (po slovensku) – tedy pomoci palce a ukazovacku, nebo jste se jiz poamerictili a pouzivate pouze ukazovacek a prostrednicek? Ja se vam pysne priznam, ze nadale pouzivam cesky zpusob. Navic, prominte, ale komu by se chtelo zacit pocitat pomocim uzazovacku, kdyz prvni prst v rade je palec??? Volte v nize uvedene ankete, co delate vy:
PS: Kdyz tedy v Americe uvidite nekoho jak si ‘pocita’ do dvou, nezapomente ze to take muze znamenat to, ze vam naznacuje vase ‘looserovstvi’. Doufejme tedy, ze pan pocita…. :0))
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
After having ended up with three beers once I learned to do it the Czech way
Real Czechs also divide time in before the velvet revolution and after, rather than before or after Christ! I kind of like that!
Yes, if Czechs say “after the revolution”, they always mean the last one
I have always used the American way of showing #2.
As a child, I never thought I was different because of it …After coming to USA, I was excited to learn that Americans adopted my own way of showing #2
The Czech way of counting on one’s fingers becomes problematic when you get to 4, because the human hand isn’t built to hold the pinkie down while displaying the other four fingers. But in Europe, if you ask for two of something in the American manner, you’re liable to get three, because Europeans perceive a ghost thumb there even if you don’t display it. And Tanja, the index finger is your first finger. The thumb has only marginal status among fingers. Think of it as a finger with only a green card.
To Micahel: hahaha
To Lorenzo: hahaha
To Vlastimil: hahaha
To Jamie: hahaha AND how come the thumb is not my first finger? I still don’t get it. But you are right, when you get to ’4′ it gets a little more difficult
Hmmm,
My right hand is American
but
my left hand is Czech.
I remember in one pub on Prague, one guy had no fingers , only a thumb. He shouted at waiter:” bring me three beers”…and waived with his only thumb…
And waiter told him: ” Sorry, we are not allowed to serve drunk people”….
Ahoj,
Asking myself why my two hands do some thing differently I needed to whisk away some cobweb from old memories.
During WWII Winston Churchill popularized the two finger salute to mean “V for Victory”. I only remember using my right hand to make that salute. Read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_sign for more details. In any case only my right hand learned the gesture and uses it for the digit 2. I must remember to avoid using it at an Irish Pubs
I find that my right hand signals 3 by using the Boy Scout salute.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scout_sign_and_salute
I was never a real boy scout. For the digit 3 my left hand displays thumb, index and middle fingers.
Both hands use only the fingers spread apart with the thumb hidden from the viewer to represent the digit 4.
I don’t use the “Live long and prosper” Vulcan V-salute.
http://www.tvacres.com/greetings_spock.htm
Slán,
Albert
Hi Albert, thank you for the informative answer! I have to make sure to check out all of your links
czech way.If I show it the american way – I allways se it as V – victory and sign of revolution OF politic part.
Kdyz se dostanu na cislo 4, zjistila jsm,ze si malicek drzim prostredkem dlane( jakoby ho zapichnu do prostred a drzim) – odakziva a ani jsem o to nevedela
Ahoj Janney, ja to delam uplne stejne! Mas pravdu, malickem si drzim palec!! No, vidis jak jsme nad tou anatomii vyhraly
ja pocitam Cesky a moje deti take pocitali jako ja, az nez sli do skoly.
A mate pravdu, ze u ctvrteho prstu to zacne byt tezke a tak moje maminka zvedne prostrednicek pak malicek a nakonec prstenicek a je to zvlastni, ale opravdu jednodussi
Aha, takze maminka te nejdriv ‘flip off’ a pak teprve napocita do ctyr..