New Zealanders can sometimes be people of few words.

On a rural road, you might get a "g'day" in the form of a wave or a few fingers raised in your direction from a passing farmer.

On the city streets, a local might nod their head upwards as if to say "sup bro".

The wordless ways New Zealanders greet people is in the spotlight after a Reddit user posed a question on the platform.

In the thread, a user explained how her Ukrainian colleague had asked her about how Kiwis acknowledge each other by nodding.

Her colleague had noticed Kiwis often using a downwards nod and an upwards nod when greeting people, and asked what the difference was.

The Reddit user said she often nodded downwards to acknowledge strangers or people she wasn't too friendly with, but nodded upwards for people she knew and liked.

So is there a right answer or do the ways people nod and bob their head differ?

Well, plenty of Kiwis have come out of the woodwork and contributed to the thread, explaining what their head nod means.

One person wrote that a down nod was a formal greeting, saying, "I see you, hello". And an up nod was a more casual greeting, saying "Dude, how's it going?".

A lot of people agreed, saying the down nod was a formal greeting, even a sign of respect. And the up nod was conversational, like saying "hey man", and could be used with a smile.

Another person added that to them, a down nod meant acknowledgement, an up nod meant "Sup", and an up nod with raised eyebrows meant "Sup cuz".

One person also asked whether the eyebrows normally moved before, after or during the nod. The reply: lead with the eyebrows and the movement from that pulls the chin up.

Of course, there are many other ways people greet each other - with a handshake, a hug, or a kiss on both cheeks, and greetings also vary between cultures.

In our Māori culture, we use the hongi, where people greet one another by touching their noses.

In Japan, a handshake is often accepted, but traditionally a slight bow is used in greeting, and this is also a sign of respect.

People from France and Italy commonly greet their friends by kissing on both cheeks, however in some Middle Eastern countries, body contact is often avoided, especially when greeting the opposite sex.

So going back to our very Kiwiana head nod, is there a correct way to do it and do different nods mean different things?

Take part in our poll or leave a comment below. We'd love to know what the nod means to you.