A kiss on forehead-

A forehead kiss is a gentle and personal gesture—but it can be hard to tell what someone means when they give you one. Do they just care about you in a friendly way? Do they like you as more than a friend? Or, are they in love with you?

While there are many reasons behind this intimate gesture, there are a lot of factors to consider, including the context of the situation and your relationship to the other person.

In this article, we’re going over all the possible meanings behind a forehead kiss (plus, what they symbolize)!

A forehead kiss is a heartfelt gesture that shows someone truly cares about you. Depending on the context and your relationship with the other person, it can be romantic.

If your crush kisses you on the forehead, watch their behavior: if they kiss you in private or after a deep conversation, they might be expressing their romantic feelings toward you.

If your partner or a loved one kisses you on the forehead, it’s usually a sign of love and protection—they want you to feel safe, secure, and supported.

A forehead kiss is a heartfelt gesture that shows they really care about you.

It’s another way to express respect and admiration, and it can indicate they feel a deep connection to you. While a forehead kiss is an intimate gesture, it can be romantic or platonic—depending on your relationship with the other person.

If your crush kisses you on the forehead, watch their body language and consider the context of the situation. For example, if they become touchy or kiss you in private after a deep conversation, it might be their way of admitting their romantic feelings toward you.

If a loved one gives you a kiss on the forehead, it’s usually a sign of affection or protection (or both). They love you, and they want you to feel safe and secure in their arms.

If your friend gives you a forehead kiss, it might be their way of expressing their platonic love for you—especially if you’re experiencing a loss or hardship. It's a comforting gesture to let you know that they have your back at all times.

When someone kisses you on the forehead, it might be their silent way of saying “You’re safe, and I’ve got your back.” They want you to know that you can always count on them, and they're willing to do anything to keep you safe.

While a kiss on the lips indicates sexual attraction, a kiss on the forehead signals emotional intimacy—it’s a powerful expression of trust, vulnerability, and affection. Since they feel connected to you, they’re not afraid to open up and be their most authentic self. They feel safe and secure in your arms, and they hope you feel the same.

A forehead kiss from your romantic partner says something very different than tonguing in the bedroom. “While the lip kiss indicates sexual attraction, the forehead kiss tells a more meaningful story about the emotional closeness of the relationship,” explains Steinberg.

That’s why a small forehead kiss can appropriately come from a parent or grandparent as well—the gesture is one of emotional fondness.

A kiss on cheek-

Cheek kissing is a ritual or social kissing gesture to indicate friendship, family relationship, perform a greeting, to confer congratulations, to comfort someone, or to show respect.

Cheek kissing is very common in the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Southern, Central and Eastern Europe, the Low Countries, the Horn of Africa, Central America and South America. In other countries, including the U.S. and Japan, cheek kissing is common as well at an international meeting between heads of state and First Ladies or members of royal and the Imperial families.

Depending on the local culture, cheek kissing may be considered appropriate among family members as well as friends and acquaintances: a man and a woman, two women, or two men. The last has different degrees of familiarity.

In Eastern Europe, male–female and female–female cheek kissing is a standard greeting among friends, while male–male cheek kisses are less common. Eastern European communist leaders often greeted each other with a socialist fraternal kiss on public and state occasions.

In a cheek kiss, both persons lean forward and either lightly touch cheek with cheek or lip with cheek. Generally the gesture is repeated with the other cheek, or more, alternating cheeks. Depending on country and situation, the number of kisses range from one to four. Hand-shaking or hugging may also take place.

Cheek kissing is used in many cultures with slightly varying meaning and gesture. For example, cheek kissing may or may not be associated with a hug. The appropriate social context for use can vary greatly from one country to the other, though the gesture might look similar.

In cultures and situations where cheek kissing is the social norm, the failure or refusal to give or accept a kiss is commonly taken as an indicator of antipathy between the people, and to dispel such an implication and avoid giving offense may require an explanation, such as the person has a contagious disease such as a cold.

Cheek kissing is a standard greeting throughout Southern Europe between friends or acquaintances, but less common in professional settings. In general, men and women will kiss the opposite sex, and women will kiss women. Men kissing men varies depending on the country and even on the family, in some countries (like Italy) men will kiss men; in others only men of the same family would consider kissing.

Greece is an example of a country where cheek kissing highly depends on the region and the type of event. For example, in most parts of Crete, it is common between a man and a woman who are friends, but is very uncommon between men unless they are very close relatives. In Athens it is commonplace for men to kiss women and women to kiss other women on the cheek when meeting or departing. It is uncommon between strangers of any sex, and it may be considered offensive otherwise. It is standard for children and parents, children and grandparents etc., and in its "formal" form it will be two kisses, one on each cheek. It may be a standard formal form of greeting in special events such as weddings.

However, in Spain, usually, the gender of the kisser doesn't matter as long as they are family or very close friends. In Portuguese families men rarely kiss men (except between brothers or father and son); the handshake is the most common salutation between them. However, men kissing is common in Spain as well particularly when congratulating close friends or relatives. Cheek to cheek and the kiss in the air are also very popular. Hugging is common between men and men and women and women; when the other is from the opposite sex, a kiss may be added.[citation needed] In Italy (especially southern and central Italy) it is common for men to kiss men, especially relatives or friends.

A kiss on nose-

An Eskimo kiss, nose kiss, or nose rub is a gesture of affection where one rubs the tip of one's nose against another person's face. In Inuit culture, the gesture is known as a kunik, and consists of pressing or rubbing the tip of one's nose against another's cheek.

In non-Inuit English-speaking culture, two people Eskimo kiss by rubbing the tips of their noses together. Nose-to-cheek kisses are found in other cultures as well.

When early Western explorers of the Arctic first witnessed Inuit nose rubbing as a greeting behavior, they dubbed it Eskimo kissing. The practice was also prevalent in nearby non-Inuit cultures.

Among the Inuit, kunik is a form of expressing affection, usually between family members and loved ones or to young children, that involves pressing the nose and upper lip against the skin (commonly of the cheeks or forehead) and breathing in, causing the loved one's skin or hair to be suctioned against the nose and upper lip. A common misconception is that the practice arose so that Inuit could kiss without their mouths freezing together. Rather, it is a non-erotic but intimate greeting used by people who, when they meet outside, often have little except their nose and eyes exposed.[citation needed]

The greeting was described in reports of Kerlungner and Wearner, part of a group of Alaskan Native people touring the United States with entrepreneur Miner W. Bruce in the 1890s: "Mr. Bruce yesterday instructed Kerlungner and Wearner that in this country they should not rub noses, and to close the lesson the two young women kissed each other in the new style for a beginning, both seeming to fear that they looked silly as they did it."

Other peoples use similar greeting practices, notably the Māori of New Zealand and Hawaiians, who practice the hongi and honi greetings, respectively. Mongolian nomads of the Gobi Desert have a similar practice, as do certain Southeast Asian cultures, such as the Bengalis, Khmer people, Lao people, Thai people, Vietnamese people, Timor, Savu people, Sumba people and Iban people. Nose kissing is also employed as a traditional greeting by Arab tribesmen when greeting members of the same tribe.

The hongi is a traditional Māori greeting performed by two people pressing their noses together, often including the touching of the foreheads. The greeting is used at traditional meetings among Māori people, and at major ceremonies, such as a pōwhiri. It may be followed by a handshake.

In the hongi, the ha (breath of life) is exchanged in a symbolic show of unity. Through the exchange of this greeting, manuhiri, visitors, blend with tangata whenua, the people of the land, and establish a connection.

A rāhui (temporary ban) was placed on the use of the hongi by some iwi and rūnanga (tribes and tribal councils) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

When Māori greet one another by pressing noses, the tradition of sharing the breath of life is considered to have come directly from the gods. In Māori mythology, woman was created by the gods moulding her shape out of the earth. The god Tāne embraced the figure and breathed into her nostrils. She then sneezed and came to life, creating the first woman in Māori legends, Hineahuone.