How To Properly Hold and Use Wooden Chopsticks

• Place one chopstick in the valley between your thumb and index finger, resting the center of the chopstick on your ring finger.
• Grip the top of the second chopstick between your thumb and index finger and rest the center on your middle finger.
• Keep the bottom chopstick still and move the top chopstick up using your middle and index finger to grab food.

Holding the Chopsticks

Break disposable wooden chopsticks apart before using them. Take the chopsticks out of their packaging and hold one chopstick in each hand. Pull one chopstick toward you and push the other one back away from you until they snap apart. To avoid hitting any dishes or other objects on the table, lower your chopsticks toward your lap when you break them. If there are splinters in the chopsticks after you break them apart, rub the chopsticks together to smooth them out. However, keep in mind that this is considered rude in some cultures since it implies that the quality of the chopsticks is poor. Avoid rubbing wooden chopsticks together that have a higher quality than disposable ones, such as ones made of bamboo or lacquered wood. Don’t break off the wooden block at the end of the chopsticks since this could cause them to splinter.

Balance one chopstick between your thumb and pointer finger. Take one chopstick and rest it on the webbing between your thumb and pointer finger on your dominant hand. Press your thumb against your pointer finger to tighten your grip and keep the chopstick still. Then, rest the center of the chopstick on your ring finger. This will be your bottom chopstick, and it’ll stay still when you pick up food. Position the chopstick so that only about 2 inches (5 cm) extend past your hand at the top. Holding your chopsticks too low will make it harder to open them wide to pick up food.

Hold the second chopstick with your thumb, index, and middle finger. Place the second chopstick between your thumb and index finger and balance the center of it on your middle finger. Press your thumb and index finger together to tighten your grip and gain more control over the movement of the top chopstick.

Move the top chopstick and keep the bottom one still. Use your index and middle finger to move the top chopstick up and down. Press the base of your thumb into your index finger to keep the bottom chopstick from moving. Practice making the top chopstick touch the bottom one repeatedly until you feel comfortable with the movement. Wooden chopsticks can vary in length. Simple disposable wooden chopsticks that you might get with your take-out tend to be shorter, while chopsticks made of bamboo or lacquered wood are usually on the longer side. Take some time to get used to the feel and adjust your grip as needed until you feel like you have good control over your chopsticks.

Handling Food

Move the top chopstick away from the bottom to grab food. Use your middle and index fingers to move the top chopstick up and away from the bottom one. Then, bring the chopsticks down toward the food you want to pick up. Use your middle and index finger once again to bring the top chopstick down and pinch the food between the two chopsticks. It’s generally easier to pick up food with wooden chopsticks compared to chopsticks made of plastic or metal, especially slippery foods like noodles. If you’re eating family-style from a single dish, avoid touching your chopsticks directly to your mouth to keep things sanitary.

Keep your grip gentle to avoid crossing your chopsticks. When picking up food with your chopsticks, make sure the ends don’t cross over one another and make an “X.” This usually makes it a lot harder to pick up food and control your chopsticks. If your chopsticks cross at the ends, it’s usually a sign that you’re gripping your food too tightly. Relax your grip slightly around your chopsticks and apply less pressure when picking up your food.

Push rice into your mouth with your chopsticks. When eating rice, hold the bowl up near your face. Then, hold your chopsticks together and use them to gently push the rice into your mouth. Alternatively, if the rice is sticky enough, clump the rice together in your bowl with your chopsticks and then scoop it up with your chopsticks. In Korean culture, it’s often considered rude to lift up your rice bowl. So in this case, use your chopsticks to clump the rice together and pick it up like any other food.

Hold the chopsticks horizontally to eat noodles. When you’re eating noodles with chopsticks, dip your chopsticks into the dish, then hold your chopsticks parallel to the table when you lift the noodles out. It’s like draping clothes on a clothesline. In many Asian cultures, it’s actually considered polite to slurp your noodles since it signals that you’re enjoying your meal. So don’t be shy about slurping up your noodles once you get a grip on them.

Practicing Proper Etiquette

Use both chopsticks instead of impaling food with just one. While it seems like an easy solution if you're having trouble grabbing food, avoid use a chopstick to impale food and bring it to your mouth. This is often considered bad etiquette since chopsticks are meant to grab food, not stab it. If you have a large piece of food that you can’t easily eat in one bite, squeeze the food between your chopsticks until it splits into smaller pieces.

Avoid sticking your chopsticks upright in your bowl of rice. Sticking your chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice may be seen as rude since this is usually done during funeral rituals in some Buddhist cultures. If you need to put your chopsticks down, place them beside your plate on the table. If you’re dining at a restaurant or someone else’s house, they might have a special chopstick rest for you to place your chopsticks on when you’re not using them.

Do not leave your chopsticks crossed on your plate or bowl. Chopsticks crossed on a bowl or plate are sometimes used in funeral rituals in some Asian cultures. If you're not eating, set your chopsticks side by side near your plate instead of leaving them crossed on the plate. In Japanese culture, the proper place setting of chopsticks is directly in front of you with the thinner tips of the chopsticks facing to the left.

Don’t wash your chopsticks in drinks or soup. It is generally considered unsanitary to wash your chopsticks in your drinks or your soup after using them. If your chopsticks are dirty, wipe them off with a napkin or get a clean pair instead of contaminating soup or water with food particles. To properly wash your wooden chopsticks when you’re done eating, hand-wash them in warm, soapy water for about 30 seconds and let them air-dry completely before using them again. Don’t throw your nice pair of bamboo chopsticks or chopsticks made with lacquered wood into the dishwasher since they might become warped that way. Wash your disposable chopsticks by hand to reuse them or recycle them when you’re done eating.

Avoid passing food from chopstick to chopstick. Some Buddhist funeral rites involve passing the bones of the deceased from chopstick to chopstick after cremation. Therefore, it's generally considered improper and also unlucky to pass food from one set of chopsticks to another. If you want to give food to another person, simply place it on their dish.

Avoid pointing at anyone using your chopsticks. In some cultures, it can be considered rude to point at someone or something using your chopsticks. If you plan on gesturing toward someone or something, be sure to place your chopsticks down first.