10 Cultural Differences Between America vs. The Philippines
- Culture
The Savvy Expat
- 42
- 3 minutes read
Today we tackle the cultural differences between America and the Philippines. Everything from slang, etiquette, quirks, attitude, and standards from both countries is discussed in this video. The Philippines is, without a doubt, one of the most diverse countries in the world, so seeing how the Philippines compares to a westernized country like America is interesting to say the least.
Bear in mind that this list of cultural differences is a generalization of both nationalities so not all Filipinos and Americans do the things we talk about. There are plenty of differences between America and the Philippines, some big and some small, but at the end of the day both countries are rich in culture.
This list of cultural differences is speaking from my personal experience, being that I was raised in the U.S and now currently living in the Philippines. Everything spoken of in this video, I have experienced because I’ve lived in the Philippines for a couple years now.
If you want “Similarities Between America and The Philippines” next, let’s get this video to 150 likes. Subscribe to stay tuned on more content coming from the U.S and the Philippines. Appreciate you Savvy Expats!
Timestamps:
0:00 10 Cultural Differences Between America vs. The Philippines
0:22 Cultural Difference #1: Quirks & Expressions
2:13 Cultural Difference #2: Use of Words & Slang
3:34 Cultural Difference #3: Philippine Culture is Polite & Sensitive
5:33 Cultural Difference #4: Pace of Life
6:22 Cultural Difference #5: Sharing in Philippine Culture
7:25 Cultural Difference #6: Americans Are Adamant About Personal Space
8:24 Cultural Difference #7: Respect for Elders
9:01 Cultural Difference #8: Rules Aren’t Followed
9:49 Cultural Difference #9: Meal Structure
10:41 Cultural Difference #10: Tipping
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Tags:
Differences Between America and The Philippines, Philippines vs. America Differences, American Culture, Philippine Culture, American in The Philippines, Philippines, America
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42 Comments
If you want the similarities between America and the Philippines next, let's get this video to 150 likes! Subscribe to stay tuned for more U.S and Philippine content. Appreciate you Savvy Expats!
You have limited idea in Philippines cultures, anyways.
Appreciate the info
Correction Filipino culture is more severe due to poverty.
1.Prostitution is high
2. Poverty
3. girls easy to open their legs for foreign.
Especially outside marriages they don't believe sex after marriage.
4. Gossip
5.backstabbing
6. you can't find virgin woman in the PH due to its adopted Spanish colonial culture.
7. Money minded
8. Loud
9. party go
10. Cheaters.
Im here in america but i will never change my FILIPINO CULTURE …..
Great tips! Very interesting differences.
I like the hula hoop personal space illustration. LOL! I'll try that around my Filipina wife
okay one thing bout umbrellas, yes what you said is true (to some individuals) but tbh the reason why we use it on a sunny day cause holy shi the sun is really hot, especially in April and May or even June, bruh you dont want to be direct to the sun, the temp her usually is 28-32 but tbh if the sun decided to be a bijj it could even reach like 33+ , so yeh, some people also bring small water bottles just in case, walking around in the heat aint easy.
and ways of saying yes well yeh the eyebrow but also u can use the western ones too, its understandable here (so yeh its basically 4 ways or who knows how many depending on the island)
in well the ref thing, its actually both fridge and ref but ye ref is more common same goes for the off and on, its both
margarine is actually a different product
Butter is made from heavy cream, Margarine is made from vegetable oils
Hey Evan–
Well-meaning video with good info but
It's the United States of America you are comparing the Philippines–not the overbroad "Anerica"
AMERICA is too broad for you to use for this purpose–after all, Mexico Canada are part of North America.
Brazil chile ecuador Argentina etc are an integral part of the Americas–
We all need to recalibrate and reflect. It's just more leaning into accuracy of going away from ethnocentrism and towards zeitgeist of emptiness–
Peace and good work overall
I been to both Japan and the Philippines, and I also noticed that both Japanese and Filipino people are sensitive as well. Plus, being polite is embedded in both Japanese and Filipino culture.
Putting hands of the elders on your forehead is a practice that Filipinos share with our austronesian brothers in Indonesia and Malaysia where they call this practice "salim". That means they too take the hands of their elders and put it in their foreheads. Another austronesian practice we share with them is when the whole neighbor helps out in transferee houses by literally carrying it from one place to another.
Remember as a Filipino do not forget that aside from our Spanish and American colonial roots, we also share strong ties with our austronesian brothers. Are you even aware that a lot of tagalog words are similar to Bahasa Indonesia. Yes.
We hide from the sun not because we're afraid of getting dark but because the heat of the sun is uncomfortable
Your 🇵🇭 flag in your background thumbnail is reversed, in a vertical orientation, the blue should appear on left from a viewers perspective
It’s sooo on point! I get crazy when Filipinos break traffic rules.
10:20
merienda is Spanish
6:50
When somebody says "Kain tayo" to a total stranger, they are just being polite. They don't really mean to invite you to eat with them. The expected answer is "salamat" or "sige" (down south in the Visayas)
A break room in an office is called "Pantry" instead of breakroom.
A day off from work is a "rest day" as opposed to "day off".
The reason that Filipinos don't want to offend someone is that when another Filipino gets really offended to the point of feeling that his honor has been insulted, he may become violent enough to attack and fight to the death. This has happened a lot in the slums as recently as a decade ago, sometimes with firearms involved. In ancient times, a major insult would have resulted in a short but deadly duel using knives and short swords. Thankfully, that trait has gradually been reduced although it could still erupt into violence, especially in the smaller towns in the provinces. So be very careful not to insult a Filipino that he thinks he has no choice ("patay kung patay" = to the death; "matira ang matibay" = to the last man standing) except to slice you up multiple times with his balisong or bolo.
America (USA) is not that great anymore.
Well done buddy👍
Your vlogs are informative and entertains your viewers. Keep it up & God bless!!!
Tuli,
How abou expressions:
Push the envelope (take things to extremes) or shake the mouse, (use the computer).
The being late for appointments kills me.
Also if you are a friend of one Filipino you will A Friend of all his friends friends.
Filipinos need less personal space.
These are just examples…
Where in the Midwest are you from? Also considering this is a more polite area of America I can only imagine what someone from NYC must think about the politeness of Filipino culture.
Yes, true I went to Disney there in Cali one time and we really need to prepare minimum of 4 dollars to a resto we had tried to in Anaheim, We were culture shocked again because in the Philippines we give tips but 4 dollars is already big.
I can testify the sensitivity here though. You have to avoid sarcasm and insulting statements to avoid disrespect and fights to Filipinos. I once dated a westerner and I also went to The US once I was extremely culture shocked because I was born and raise in the Philippines and We got to a lot of arguments for one year of dating because of my sensitivity.
It depends on the pointing though, I am Filipina I use finger to point, maybe it depends with the upbringing of an individual.
A tipping story. When I was in the Philippines in 2018 (I plan to go back permanently hopefully soon) my friends treated me out to a buffet lunch and the bill was about P1,500. I told them that I would give the tip. After they paid I pulled out a P500 bill for the tip and they complained that it was too much. My reply was "I normally give anywhere from $10 to $30 tips in the US so why shouldn't I give the same to my kababayan waiters?"
This information is very helpful, thank you for it. I hope to have a successful mission in Mindanao helping families. This helps with understanding from a USA point of view.
Oh here's another one that you didn't include in the list their women in the US are hot
I like your videos, but the fact that you seem to be looking away is a bit distracting.
Thanks for this. Share more differences like this after 5 years of visiting the Philippines 4 or 6X a year I still miss a lot of different customs or nice to remember them. Americans you should still tip in the Philippines!!! Philippinos love us for this so bring it to them. But be careful there are Service Charges added, usually 10%, too bad for them because I tip 15-20% like the US custom so I just give them the 10% they demand. BTW I love the Lips pointing Info. I see that and I could not understand what that met. I thought they were making fun of me when I asked where something was. Usually I would say "Huh???" then they would say it in English🤣😜.
This was really informative and helpful. I am looking forward to more of your videos. You have such a pleasant delivery.
Thank you for doing this video. Love that we can learn about each other’s culture. I love that you know and can explain both cultures so well and can speak about them. 😊
I live in Hawaii. I was born here yet I am Portuguese. My friends growing up was of many nationalities. Many were and still is Filipino. I love the Filipino people here in Hawaii. Many words and expressions are the same as the Philippines in Hawaii.
We are advice by the health experts to use umbrella to protect us from sun rays which is dangerous to the skin especially from 10am to 3pm
shaking hands was first used to show you did not have a weapon?
You said Americans are direct when ordering food, but didn't mention how a Filipino would order food.
Excellent video. It's always fun to learn about cultural differences.
Thanks for sharing god bless u ameen
If you look poor or not well dressed up they will not entertain you here in the Philippines, they are so prejudice to their own kind, it's sad.
Great video, thanks! I love hearing about the similarities and differences between us. You channel is gonna blow up. I have a channel also, the trick is consistent uploading and quality content. You’re on the way.