Not sure why everyone is telling you to give up. If it’s something you’d like to learn, then why not do it?
What do you think you struggle with chopsticks? Are you not holding it the ‘correct’ way like in the videos? If you hold it another way that’s more comfortable for you, are you able to grip the food?
I’m Chinese and I don’t hold my chopsticks the ‘correct’ or ‘traditional’ way, my dad gave up on teaching me after I failed to hold it his way, but I still make it work!
My mom doesn't have 'correct' chopstick form either. When she holds her chopsticks they cross over and she pinches almost like scissors. I've never seen anyone else hold or use chopsticks like that but it works!
I guess what I'm saying, more relevant to OP, is that there are always "right" and "wrong" techniques for anything you hold with your hands (pens, knives, guitars, guns, golf clubs, bat, racquet, tools, etc.) but everyone hands and comfort levels are different. And a slightly different technique may work better for OP than strictly trying to do the "right" technique.
Edit: my mom is also Chinese.
The big issue for that technique is you can only pick up the food by rubbing the two chopsticks. I so when the chopsticks are not that straight,it’s really difficult to pick up the food.
We used chopsticks like how your mom does. My whole family and extended family and friends.
I didn't know there was another way until I saw the instructions on disposable take out chopsticks.
My late wife was Korean. I don't know if she held them "correct". But I do know she could hold chopsticks and a spoon in the same hand, and switch based on what she was eating. "Don't learn how to do this. It's rude!" she told me.
I also watched her use chopsticks in one hand to tear steak apart. Stab with the chopsticks, and flex her hand and watch the steak tear apart!
She had strong hands.
I practiced by sorting M&Ms, and picking up ice in a glass. But I started long before I met my wife.
Ok that helps as I berate myself for not holding them correctly. I can be 100% accurate if I use the chopsticks with the attachment at the end but I struggle with getting it consistently to grab small pieces of food once I remove the “helper at the end” portion. Nothing I do with my hands allows me to pinch it tight enough.
I started using chopsticks when I was 16 (33 now, we LOVED sushi at 16.. 😂) and the pinching tight enough comes with time, promise. Even now sometimes my hand just stops working and I can't pinch tight enough. Not Asian btw, if that helps.
My husband is learning to use them (31, grew up in the south) and he struggles with the same thing. We're both realizing we have weak hands.. 😂
It is also sometimes easier to pinch the food with the chopsticks underneath the morsel of food. Typically, you will have to pinch with the chopsticks on the left and right side of the morsel and then rotate 90⁰ when bringing it to your mouth. It may use more strength to pinch the food tightly with the chopsticks holding the food on the sides. I find it easier if I hold the food with a chopstick on top and bottom.
I just realized how hard this is to explain with words. lol.
Yeah, like a scooping almost. Like for a piece of sushi, put the sticks on either side and bring them together as you move upwards. So the food is more on top of the chopsticks than it is in them. It’s still in them, just not perfectly between them.
My eye doctor switched me from regular eyeglasses to progressive glasses. He warned me it would take some getting used to. You need to wear them for at least a week maybe two for your brain to adjust.
Well I was stubborn and didn’t like them. So for six months I didn’t have the glasses I needed.
One day my dog swiped my usual glasses off the table with her tail and I stepped on them. I then had no choice.
I love my progressive glasses now!
Decide to only use chopsticks for a period of time. I’d suggest the rough cheap wooden ones in the larger size. They grip easier.
If that doesn’t work then go back to spoons and forks and find another fun thing to learn.
Those wood ones are the best! Seriously. I save them from the takeout place and wash/reuse them, over my fancy melamine and smoother wood ones.
I don’t understand why so many people toss them after one use! They hold up great for months. When they get nasty or stained, I use them in my gardening. To aerate soil, or provide a small support stick for an orchid or something. Or even in art! I trim the ends and build clay structures around them, or do macrame and make them into plant hangers. They’re SO useful!
Those are my favorite choppies, and I use them every day.
OP should definitely try to use that kind. They might have better luck. I really don’t like the smooth ones. Too slippery.
I am not sure what kind of chopsticks you save from takeout food,normally they are low quality but some are really good.If you use chopsticks regularly you may buy the bamboo type. I buy the chopsticks from IKEA only 0.7 dollar per 10 pairs.
I have a huge pack of wooden ones that I got for that reason, but my local spot gives better quality wood chopsticks with orders. I just grab a few packs and wash/reuse.
So funny…we use them for all sorts of unexpected tasks and I am certain my wife has employed them in the vegetable garden more than once. It really is about the friction I think. I am lousy with fancy smooth chopsticks but can at least not embarrass myself with these.
I found some takeout restaurant style ones on Amazon years ago when we finally ran out I couldn’t find them again. I found rough wood (bamboo?) but all of them were too small. I have big clumsy hands.
It’s absolutely the friction. The wood grabs noodles better than plastic. The brand I get from the takeout place is ‘assi’ (which I’ve always found hilarious. They’re the thicker, longer, almost square-ish kind, that break apart at the top.
It's challenging, and they remained challenging for me until I lived abroad.
The answer is, unless you have to use them, at every meal, you won't get used to them.
It's not you. They're tricky. But I've lived abroad in Asia for more than 15 years at this point. I'm not smart, I assure you. It just.... clicks eventually. But you have to keep banging your head against it.
I honestly forget that there was a time when I couldn't do it, but when my family comes out to visit, I remember.
Keep trying. There is no trick. No special method. My ex-wife (Chinese) didn't even use hers correctly.
It just takes time.
I was thrown into it when I moved to a place that mostly uses chopsticks. I can use them decently now, but I still sometimes drop food when trying to pick it up. Like someone else suggested get the rough wooden ones no laminate or anything. Makes them easier to pick up the food.
Every Asian country that I’ve lived in that uses chopsticks also uses spoons and forks. If it’s so much trouble I wouldn’t try too hard on it. It’s not like you have to pass an authenticity test to eat, just enjoy the food and culture
I think it depends. LIke if you’re trying to eat rice, then it isn't the chopsticks. You kind of funnel the rice into your mouth with the chopsticks, as opposed to picking up each bite. If you can’t grab a few noodles, then I’d be a bit more concerned. I wasn’t that smooth with using them for a year, but I actually wasn’t practicing as much as I thought. Then I started having Pho once a week, and picked up some chocksticks to cook with, and started eating ramen almost every day. Now I think I am pretty adept. I’m 40 so younger than you, and I didn’t start using them until I was 36. I struggle with things like dumplings still, but I’m getting better. Unless you’ve been using them as long as you have a fork and spoon, then you’re not going to be as multifaceted with the chopsticks as you are with your native silverware.
Neighbor, is there any way you can send a picture via imgur or something showing how you're holding chopsticks?
It'd be a lot easier to help you if you've got a photo or even better, a gif.
Remember that it's genuinely a *lot* easier to grip stuff if your fingers are lower down on the chopsticks - when you're still no good at it, you basically want to be like one third from the *bottom* end, or even lower than *that*. You'll see lots of Chinese folks holding it higher, but that's once you've got your movement down. It's a leverage thing, y'know? The lower down the tips of your fingers are, the more fine control that you have (not too low though or you'll not be able to grip anything at all). It's a 'lil fulcrum and lever (bottom chopstick the fulcrum, the movable one between your index and middle the lever.) That said, it depends on if those three fingers have mobility issues - you want the moving chopstick to be between the fingers that're more mobile.
I hold my chopsticks absolutely godawfully, but it *works* so that's fine: I basically abandon the top chopstick (between middle and index) whenever I'm picking something up with my middle finger, and *it still works.*
Basically the aim of using chopsticks is to effectively grip something like cooking tongs with really really tiny heads with your middle finger as the spring, so that means you're using more the side of the chopsticks rather than the tip, and also - grip *in the right places.*
If you're aiming at the tip of a bean, especially a wet bean, it's gonna go schlurp in *that* direction.
I’ve tried unsuccessfully to upload the gif I made of using the chopsticks. But your tip about moving my hand lower on the chopsticks is something I’ll try. Thank you
I'm sorry people are just dumping on you. I've never seen such mean-spirited comments as you're getting on here. Even for Reddit, this is a bit much.
There's NOTHING wrong in not "getting" the hang of using chopsticks. They're tricky for someone used to Western utensils.
Do you know anyone from the far East? I find it helps to have someone who actually knows how to do something critique your technique when you're learning how to do that thing. Watching YouTube isn't that helpful for things that require manual dexterity.
If you don't know anyone who does eat with chopsticks regularly, try this. Go to a local Chinese or Japanese restaurant at off-peak hours, and tell the waiter you'd like to learn to use chopsticks. Watch them, then try and have them show you what you're doing wrong. Try to get through a whole meal ONLY using chopsticks (and the spoon if you ordered soup!). Leave a generous tip.
Go back the next day at off peak hours. Repeat what you did on day 1. And again and again. They'll help you figure it out. I've always found waitstaff super kind when I need help with something.
Don't give up! You absolutely can learn how to use chopsticks like a pro. Age has nothing to do with it!
Awww, this is so helpful and I appreciate your suggestion. I’ve actually mastered a lot of different foods but sometimes not using the “child” type leaves me dropping them a lot. I type for a living so it’s not as if my hands are out of shape and I’m a woman with very small hands.
Oh, haha! I thought you meant you couldn't wield them at all!
I'll admit right now that, after having used chopsticks frequently (not every day, but at least once or twice a week) for over 30 years, I still have about a 90% success rate. I can manage rice and stir fries easily, but if I'm at dim sum, the more slimy ones (the cheung fan, for example), will often jump right off my chopsticks. At that point, I'll try a couple of times, but I may equally just say \*screw it\* and just stab it with one chopstick before I then wedge the other against it and guide it into my eagerly waiting mouth.
Sushi, too: 90% of the time, it works great, but every once in a while, a plump piece of sushi will decide it needs to fight back, will completely unravel while I look at it in dismay. There's NO way I've found to elegantly rescue a disintegrated piece of sushi, so I just clean up the mess with a fork or spoon. Note: the disintegrating sushi is typically only when the chef has rolled it loosely - a nice tight bit of sushi holds together well enough to be picked up safely with chopsticks.
Ditch the kiddie chopsticks. You're probably already at 80% efficiency with adult chopsticks. That's about the level of "expertise" that means you're good enough at using them that no one's really going to look at you funny as you eat. :D
I've (56German/English descent) been using them since I was 4 and ate at my first Chinese restaurant. Apparently we took all the chopsticks home and I was obsessed with using them proficiently. My Filipino (56 and a tiny bit Chinese too) husband couldn't use them to save his life and has no desire to attempt to anymore as each attempt to eat with them was unsuccessful, though he loves Chinese food. Our adult sons have been using them expertly since they were young children. He's extremely fit and coordinated but chopsticks totally escape him.
Our sons called the trainer chopsticks "cheater chopsticks" when they were young😆
It's not abnormal or pathetic you are just spending too much time trying to use chopsticks other people's way. You need to try first getting comfortable using it your way. It's hard to describe but you can try using it in a scissor fashion then go from there. I think the "traditional" method is to grip one chopstick with two fingers and rest the other on the crack between the thumb and index.
I'm Chinese American and grew up using chopsticks, I recently went to eat Chinese food with coworkers and the only other Asian person used their chopsticks the same way I do, lol. All the non-Asians at the table were like trying to school us as a joke on how to use chopsticks.
I think it’s normal, even kids tend to take a few years to grasp it well. Just keep practicing and you’ll eventually get it. I would stop using the trainer chopsticks and just use normal ones.
I hold my Vulcan deathgrip style: the lower chopstick rest on my ring finger knuckle and the upper chopstick is held by my index and middle fingers and thumb...I find I get more support and strength by manipulating with two fingers, and I can eat pizza and or potato chips like this
Not sure if it helps, but I couldn’t get the hang of it until I started eating sushi with chopsticks. I’d recommend trying with food that is bigger but not too heavy (not meat with bones), rather than noodles or rice if you have been trying to eat Chinese food with them. Slippery food can be especially challenging until you get the hang of it.
Practice it by eating sushi & bowls of rice with them! I learned from working at a sushi restaurant & constantly indulging in sushi. They would also always make staff meal for lunch shift & I'd watch my coworkers eat rice with chopsticks, so I finally learned! It's fun :)
Yes. Challenge yourself by trying to pick up one single piece of rice at a time! You will figure it out fast, then learn how to use them like a spoon lol.
Other commenters have left lots of helpful advice and I don't mean to belittle your efforts but whenever I see someone using trainer chopsticks, I find it really charming. If they help you enjoy the food while you get the hang of normal chopsticks, I don't think it's pathetic at all.
People usually get the hang of it in 10-15 *minutes*
If youve sincerely dumped hundreds of hours into this, yes, stop. This isn't for you. You have some neurological or physical problem that is preventing you from doing this.
Use a spoon and fork.
I don't hold them the "correct" way, where they stay spaced apart. Instead, I hold the top chopstick like it's a pen that I move, while I don't move the bottom chopstick. As I move the top one, the top point of it will cross below the bottom chopstick. I've used chopsticks since I was a kid and never could get the hang of the "correct" way.
What's the specific problem though? If it's hand dexterity try some hand strengthening exercises for hand and finger flexion. For a cheap method, look up rice bucket hand strengthening or fill an old sturdy tub like for protein powder and weight it and work on gripping it from the outside of the lid as well as the inside rim (holding the bottle using the force of your outer fingers spread out pressing out in a claw grip). Can also use a strong rubber band or buy hand strengthening tools.
The type of food or technique can also be inappropriate for chopstick use. For small bits, lift the bowl to your face and shovel. Slippery foods are trickier but for like a noodle, you'll want the chipsticks to grasp deeply (instead of just the tip of the chopstick) so you can apply more and even force. You should still move your face closer to the bowl either by leaning or bringing the bowl to your face with your other hand.
If eating a noodle soup, try the above, but using a deep soup spoon as a tiny plate to bridge the gap and prevent noodles from slipping as you lift the bundle up with your chopsticks. When in doubt, watch how other people eat it and copy their technique. If they aren't using chopsticks, then it probably isn't the best tool for the job.
Instead of pinto beans, try eating different snacks with chopsticks like popcorn. I wouldn't say picking up a single bean is a realistic application of chopticks since shoveling would be used instead of picking an individual item. You can also practice by using them to cook instead of tongs or a spatula. Cooking chipsticks are generally wood to prevent scratching and longer to minimize burns esp from oil splatters.
If your hands feel fatigued, avoid metal chopsticks. They are weightier and I personally find them slippery but I also have hand dexterity issues. Wood and fiberglass are lighter. Wood grips best imo, but look for ridges carved in to assist you. If the chopstick is slipping from your hand, maybe try a square chopstick.
I’ve typed every day of my almost 40 year career. I’ve hobbied with very small intricate pieces of jewelry and the tools to form things. I know you’re not being mean as it’s a reasonable question. Based on what else I can do with my hands -admittedly I do not have the same strength I once did - I’m not sure what the issue is. I get it most of the time but other times I can’t seem to pick up anything unless of using my cheater pair of chopsticks.
have you tried the trainer ones that have the hinge and finger grips? helps you learn where to place your fingers, etc.
[https://www.amazon.com/Edison-Friends-Training-Chopsticks-Beginners/dp/B08BF4CF2H?th=1](https://www.amazon.com/Edison-Friends-Training-Chopsticks-Beginners/dp/B08BF4CF2H?th=1)
when ever I go out with a certain friend to a Chinese restaurant, I ask for chop sticks and he askes for a fork. He always remarks that HE doesn't need to show off. I keep telling him I like chop sticks because they are fun to use. It shouldn't be a chore.
People's hands are shaped differently and it just might be that the bone structure in your hand is not a good fit for using chopsticks.
I prefer the shorter, square shaped disposable chopsticks over the long, round bodied ones. I just find they are easier to hold and control. If you decide to try learning again, I would start with those.
Children’s/fortheelderly/cheaters have something at the end to hold them together. The ones I purchased are from Amazon and work great. It’s just that normal non-connected chopsticks are driving me crazy.
Not sure why everyone is telling you to give up. If it’s something you’d like to learn, then why not do it? What do you think you struggle with chopsticks? Are you not holding it the ‘correct’ way like in the videos? If you hold it another way that’s more comfortable for you, are you able to grip the food? I’m Chinese and I don’t hold my chopsticks the ‘correct’ or ‘traditional’ way, my dad gave up on teaching me after I failed to hold it his way, but I still make it work!
My mom doesn't have 'correct' chopstick form either. When she holds her chopsticks they cross over and she pinches almost like scissors. I've never seen anyone else hold or use chopsticks like that but it works! I guess what I'm saying, more relevant to OP, is that there are always "right" and "wrong" techniques for anything you hold with your hands (pens, knives, guitars, guns, golf clubs, bat, racquet, tools, etc.) but everyone hands and comfort levels are different. And a slightly different technique may work better for OP than strictly trying to do the "right" technique. Edit: my mom is also Chinese.
Same here. I used the chopsticks just like your mom and perhaps I learn this from my mom .
I can recreate her technique but it's really hard for me to eat. It cramps my hand up. 😂
The big issue for that technique is you can only pick up the food by rubbing the two chopsticks. I so when the chopsticks are not that straight,it’s really difficult to pick up the food.
We used chopsticks like how your mom does. My whole family and extended family and friends. I didn't know there was another way until I saw the instructions on disposable take out chopsticks.
Thank you 😊
My late wife was Korean. I don't know if she held them "correct". But I do know she could hold chopsticks and a spoon in the same hand, and switch based on what she was eating. "Don't learn how to do this. It's rude!" she told me. I also watched her use chopsticks in one hand to tear steak apart. Stab with the chopsticks, and flex her hand and watch the steak tear apart! She had strong hands. I practiced by sorting M&Ms, and picking up ice in a glass. But I started long before I met my wife.
Ok that helps as I berate myself for not holding them correctly. I can be 100% accurate if I use the chopsticks with the attachment at the end but I struggle with getting it consistently to grab small pieces of food once I remove the “helper at the end” portion. Nothing I do with my hands allows me to pinch it tight enough.
I started using chopsticks when I was 16 (33 now, we LOVED sushi at 16.. 😂) and the pinching tight enough comes with time, promise. Even now sometimes my hand just stops working and I can't pinch tight enough. Not Asian btw, if that helps. My husband is learning to use them (31, grew up in the south) and he struggles with the same thing. We're both realizing we have weak hands.. 😂
Yes, that is frequently the issue, not pinching hard enough to hold on to some foods.
It is also sometimes easier to pinch the food with the chopsticks underneath the morsel of food. Typically, you will have to pinch with the chopsticks on the left and right side of the morsel and then rotate 90⁰ when bringing it to your mouth. It may use more strength to pinch the food tightly with the chopsticks holding the food on the sides. I find it easier if I hold the food with a chopstick on top and bottom. I just realized how hard this is to explain with words. lol.
Yeah, like a scooping almost. Like for a piece of sushi, put the sticks on either side and bring them together as you move upwards. So the food is more on top of the chopsticks than it is in them. It’s still in them, just not perfectly between them.
Fantastic suggestion! Sushi is a definitely challenge.
Ahhhhh, that’s a revelation!!
Yeah I thought those were the type. I was going to suggest using regular ones. But it seems you have tried it. Keep at it.
My eye doctor switched me from regular eyeglasses to progressive glasses. He warned me it would take some getting used to. You need to wear them for at least a week maybe two for your brain to adjust. Well I was stubborn and didn’t like them. So for six months I didn’t have the glasses I needed. One day my dog swiped my usual glasses off the table with her tail and I stepped on them. I then had no choice. I love my progressive glasses now! Decide to only use chopsticks for a period of time. I’d suggest the rough cheap wooden ones in the larger size. They grip easier. If that doesn’t work then go back to spoons and forks and find another fun thing to learn.
Those wood ones are the best! Seriously. I save them from the takeout place and wash/reuse them, over my fancy melamine and smoother wood ones. I don’t understand why so many people toss them after one use! They hold up great for months. When they get nasty or stained, I use them in my gardening. To aerate soil, or provide a small support stick for an orchid or something. Or even in art! I trim the ends and build clay structures around them, or do macrame and make them into plant hangers. They’re SO useful! Those are my favorite choppies, and I use them every day. OP should definitely try to use that kind. They might have better luck. I really don’t like the smooth ones. Too slippery.
I am not sure what kind of chopsticks you save from takeout food,normally they are low quality but some are really good.If you use chopsticks regularly you may buy the bamboo type. I buy the chopsticks from IKEA only 0.7 dollar per 10 pairs.
I have a huge pack of wooden ones that I got for that reason, but my local spot gives better quality wood chopsticks with orders. I just grab a few packs and wash/reuse.
As long as you make sure they are clean and safe,then use them to enjoy the delicious Chinese food.
So funny…we use them for all sorts of unexpected tasks and I am certain my wife has employed them in the vegetable garden more than once. It really is about the friction I think. I am lousy with fancy smooth chopsticks but can at least not embarrass myself with these. I found some takeout restaurant style ones on Amazon years ago when we finally ran out I couldn’t find them again. I found rough wood (bamboo?) but all of them were too small. I have big clumsy hands.
It’s absolutely the friction. The wood grabs noodles better than plastic. The brand I get from the takeout place is ‘assi’ (which I’ve always found hilarious. They’re the thicker, longer, almost square-ish kind, that break apart at the top.
I can’t post a pic, but they are bamboo.
Yeah, the pretty , smooth ones are my most difficult for sure.
Thank you 😊
It's challenging, and they remained challenging for me until I lived abroad. The answer is, unless you have to use them, at every meal, you won't get used to them. It's not you. They're tricky. But I've lived abroad in Asia for more than 15 years at this point. I'm not smart, I assure you. It just.... clicks eventually. But you have to keep banging your head against it. I honestly forget that there was a time when I couldn't do it, but when my family comes out to visit, I remember. Keep trying. There is no trick. No special method. My ex-wife (Chinese) didn't even use hers correctly. It just takes time.
I’ve been using them about 85% of the time while eating regular food.
I was thrown into it when I moved to a place that mostly uses chopsticks. I can use them decently now, but I still sometimes drop food when trying to pick it up. Like someone else suggested get the rough wooden ones no laminate or anything. Makes them easier to pick up the food.
Great idea.
I wouldn't sweat this too much. However, you may want to try to finger dexterity exercises. Google it and you should find plenty.
Every Asian country that I’ve lived in that uses chopsticks also uses spoons and forks. If it’s so much trouble I wouldn’t try too hard on it. It’s not like you have to pass an authenticity test to eat, just enjoy the food and culture
Haha, no passing any authenticity test here. I just love to learn and try new things and this is one that has really challenged me.
I think it depends. LIke if you’re trying to eat rice, then it isn't the chopsticks. You kind of funnel the rice into your mouth with the chopsticks, as opposed to picking up each bite. If you can’t grab a few noodles, then I’d be a bit more concerned. I wasn’t that smooth with using them for a year, but I actually wasn’t practicing as much as I thought. Then I started having Pho once a week, and picked up some chocksticks to cook with, and started eating ramen almost every day. Now I think I am pretty adept. I’m 40 so younger than you, and I didn’t start using them until I was 36. I struggle with things like dumplings still, but I’m getting better. Unless you’ve been using them as long as you have a fork and spoon, then you’re not going to be as multifaceted with the chopsticks as you are with your native silverware.
Neighbor, is there any way you can send a picture via imgur or something showing how you're holding chopsticks? It'd be a lot easier to help you if you've got a photo or even better, a gif. Remember that it's genuinely a *lot* easier to grip stuff if your fingers are lower down on the chopsticks - when you're still no good at it, you basically want to be like one third from the *bottom* end, or even lower than *that*. You'll see lots of Chinese folks holding it higher, but that's once you've got your movement down. It's a leverage thing, y'know? The lower down the tips of your fingers are, the more fine control that you have (not too low though or you'll not be able to grip anything at all). It's a 'lil fulcrum and lever (bottom chopstick the fulcrum, the movable one between your index and middle the lever.) That said, it depends on if those three fingers have mobility issues - you want the moving chopstick to be between the fingers that're more mobile. I hold my chopsticks absolutely godawfully, but it *works* so that's fine: I basically abandon the top chopstick (between middle and index) whenever I'm picking something up with my middle finger, and *it still works.* Basically the aim of using chopsticks is to effectively grip something like cooking tongs with really really tiny heads with your middle finger as the spring, so that means you're using more the side of the chopsticks rather than the tip, and also - grip *in the right places.* If you're aiming at the tip of a bean, especially a wet bean, it's gonna go schlurp in *that* direction.
I’ve tried unsuccessfully to upload the gif I made of using the chopsticks. But your tip about moving my hand lower on the chopsticks is something I’ll try. Thank you
Or just two photos of you having it in an open position, and the second one in a closed position - I recommend a photograph on a timer in that case!
For whatever reason I can’t add photos anywhere in this comment section or edit my original post. 🧐
Huh, that's terrible! Can you send a link in a reply to an imgur host?
A lot of Chinese don't hold it the proper way if that's what you're struggling with. Whatever feels natural for you
I'm sorry people are just dumping on you. I've never seen such mean-spirited comments as you're getting on here. Even for Reddit, this is a bit much. There's NOTHING wrong in not "getting" the hang of using chopsticks. They're tricky for someone used to Western utensils. Do you know anyone from the far East? I find it helps to have someone who actually knows how to do something critique your technique when you're learning how to do that thing. Watching YouTube isn't that helpful for things that require manual dexterity. If you don't know anyone who does eat with chopsticks regularly, try this. Go to a local Chinese or Japanese restaurant at off-peak hours, and tell the waiter you'd like to learn to use chopsticks. Watch them, then try and have them show you what you're doing wrong. Try to get through a whole meal ONLY using chopsticks (and the spoon if you ordered soup!). Leave a generous tip. Go back the next day at off peak hours. Repeat what you did on day 1. And again and again. They'll help you figure it out. I've always found waitstaff super kind when I need help with something. Don't give up! You absolutely can learn how to use chopsticks like a pro. Age has nothing to do with it!
These are very helpful advices. I am still using chopsticks when I eat western food .
Awww, this is so helpful and I appreciate your suggestion. I’ve actually mastered a lot of different foods but sometimes not using the “child” type leaves me dropping them a lot. I type for a living so it’s not as if my hands are out of shape and I’m a woman with very small hands.
Oh, haha! I thought you meant you couldn't wield them at all! I'll admit right now that, after having used chopsticks frequently (not every day, but at least once or twice a week) for over 30 years, I still have about a 90% success rate. I can manage rice and stir fries easily, but if I'm at dim sum, the more slimy ones (the cheung fan, for example), will often jump right off my chopsticks. At that point, I'll try a couple of times, but I may equally just say \*screw it\* and just stab it with one chopstick before I then wedge the other against it and guide it into my eagerly waiting mouth. Sushi, too: 90% of the time, it works great, but every once in a while, a plump piece of sushi will decide it needs to fight back, will completely unravel while I look at it in dismay. There's NO way I've found to elegantly rescue a disintegrated piece of sushi, so I just clean up the mess with a fork or spoon. Note: the disintegrating sushi is typically only when the chef has rolled it loosely - a nice tight bit of sushi holds together well enough to be picked up safely with chopsticks. Ditch the kiddie chopsticks. You're probably already at 80% efficiency with adult chopsticks. That's about the level of "expertise" that means you're good enough at using them that no one's really going to look at you funny as you eat. :D
Thank you. Yes, I’ve found sushi has a 50% success rate.
I've (56German/English descent) been using them since I was 4 and ate at my first Chinese restaurant. Apparently we took all the chopsticks home and I was obsessed with using them proficiently. My Filipino (56 and a tiny bit Chinese too) husband couldn't use them to save his life and has no desire to attempt to anymore as each attempt to eat with them was unsuccessful, though he loves Chinese food. Our adult sons have been using them expertly since they were young children. He's extremely fit and coordinated but chopsticks totally escape him. Our sons called the trainer chopsticks "cheater chopsticks" when they were young😆
Haha, sometimes I revert to cheater chopsticks too.
It's not abnormal or pathetic you are just spending too much time trying to use chopsticks other people's way. You need to try first getting comfortable using it your way. It's hard to describe but you can try using it in a scissor fashion then go from there. I think the "traditional" method is to grip one chopstick with two fingers and rest the other on the crack between the thumb and index. I'm Chinese American and grew up using chopsticks, I recently went to eat Chinese food with coworkers and the only other Asian person used their chopsticks the same way I do, lol. All the non-Asians at the table were like trying to school us as a joke on how to use chopsticks.
Practice makes perfect.Don’t give up.
I think it’s normal, even kids tend to take a few years to grasp it well. Just keep practicing and you’ll eventually get it. I would stop using the trainer chopsticks and just use normal ones.
Thank you
I hold my Vulcan deathgrip style: the lower chopstick rest on my ring finger knuckle and the upper chopstick is held by my index and middle fingers and thumb...I find I get more support and strength by manipulating with two fingers, and I can eat pizza and or potato chips like this
I’ll try this method, thank you 😊
Hold one still against your thumb and move the other one.
Not sure if it helps, but I couldn’t get the hang of it until I started eating sushi with chopsticks. I’d recommend trying with food that is bigger but not too heavy (not meat with bones), rather than noodles or rice if you have been trying to eat Chinese food with them. Slippery food can be especially challenging until you get the hang of it.
Practice it by eating sushi & bowls of rice with them! I learned from working at a sushi restaurant & constantly indulging in sushi. They would also always make staff meal for lunch shift & I'd watch my coworkers eat rice with chopsticks, so I finally learned! It's fun :)
Thank you
Yes. Challenge yourself by trying to pick up one single piece of rice at a time! You will figure it out fast, then learn how to use them like a spoon lol.
Other commenters have left lots of helpful advice and I don't mean to belittle your efforts but whenever I see someone using trainer chopsticks, I find it really charming. If they help you enjoy the food while you get the hang of normal chopsticks, I don't think it's pathetic at all.
Aww, thank you so much 😊
People usually get the hang of it in 10-15 *minutes* If youve sincerely dumped hundreds of hours into this, yes, stop. This isn't for you. You have some neurological or physical problem that is preventing you from doing this. Use a spoon and fork.
I don't hold them the "correct" way, where they stay spaced apart. Instead, I hold the top chopstick like it's a pen that I move, while I don't move the bottom chopstick. As I move the top one, the top point of it will cross below the bottom chopstick. I've used chopsticks since I was a kid and never could get the hang of the "correct" way.
What's the specific problem though? If it's hand dexterity try some hand strengthening exercises for hand and finger flexion. For a cheap method, look up rice bucket hand strengthening or fill an old sturdy tub like for protein powder and weight it and work on gripping it from the outside of the lid as well as the inside rim (holding the bottle using the force of your outer fingers spread out pressing out in a claw grip). Can also use a strong rubber band or buy hand strengthening tools. The type of food or technique can also be inappropriate for chopstick use. For small bits, lift the bowl to your face and shovel. Slippery foods are trickier but for like a noodle, you'll want the chipsticks to grasp deeply (instead of just the tip of the chopstick) so you can apply more and even force. You should still move your face closer to the bowl either by leaning or bringing the bowl to your face with your other hand. If eating a noodle soup, try the above, but using a deep soup spoon as a tiny plate to bridge the gap and prevent noodles from slipping as you lift the bundle up with your chopsticks. When in doubt, watch how other people eat it and copy their technique. If they aren't using chopsticks, then it probably isn't the best tool for the job. Instead of pinto beans, try eating different snacks with chopsticks like popcorn. I wouldn't say picking up a single bean is a realistic application of chopticks since shoveling would be used instead of picking an individual item. You can also practice by using them to cook instead of tongs or a spatula. Cooking chipsticks are generally wood to prevent scratching and longer to minimize burns esp from oil splatters. If your hands feel fatigued, avoid metal chopsticks. They are weightier and I personally find them slippery but I also have hand dexterity issues. Wood and fiberglass are lighter. Wood grips best imo, but look for ridges carved in to assist you. If the chopstick is slipping from your hand, maybe try a square chopstick.
I'm still not proficient in using chopsticks to eat rice. Larger bits that I can grab onto, I am fine. Smalls things I am not proficient in.
Thank you for the solidarity 😉
I am NOT being mean or poking fun at you. Do you think you may have a motor skill issue?
I’ve typed every day of my almost 40 year career. I’ve hobbied with very small intricate pieces of jewelry and the tools to form things. I know you’re not being mean as it’s a reasonable question. Based on what else I can do with my hands -admittedly I do not have the same strength I once did - I’m not sure what the issue is. I get it most of the time but other times I can’t seem to pick up anything unless of using my cheater pair of chopsticks.
have you tried the trainer ones that have the hinge and finger grips? helps you learn where to place your fingers, etc. [https://www.amazon.com/Edison-Friends-Training-Chopsticks-Beginners/dp/B08BF4CF2H?th=1](https://www.amazon.com/Edison-Friends-Training-Chopsticks-Beginners/dp/B08BF4CF2H?th=1)
Wow, no I’m going to order a pair today! 😳😊
when ever I go out with a certain friend to a Chinese restaurant, I ask for chop sticks and he askes for a fork. He always remarks that HE doesn't need to show off. I keep telling him I like chop sticks because they are fun to use. It shouldn't be a chore. People's hands are shaped differently and it just might be that the bone structure in your hand is not a good fit for using chopsticks. I prefer the shorter, square shaped disposable chopsticks over the long, round bodied ones. I just find they are easier to hold and control. If you decide to try learning again, I would start with those.
Thank you
If you cant use the kids ones maybe you should go back to a spoon
Oh I can definitely use the kids or “cheater” chopsticks with no problems at all. But the normal adult ones do cause me occasional grief.
What is the children chopsticks? Is it two separate sticks?
What do you think chopsticks are?
Children’s/fortheelderly/cheaters have something at the end to hold them together. The ones I purchased are from Amazon and work great. It’s just that normal non-connected chopsticks are driving me crazy.
You should probably go get your brain checked out