Nonverbal behavior is to a great extent universal but in many ways also marked by culture-specific patterns. Being less obvious than misunderstandings in verbal communication, nonverbally induced miscom-munications are more difficult to detect. The problem is relevant for a wide range of disciplines – from lexicology and lexicography to foreign language teaching. Main categories of nonverbal behavior are briefly discussed with the focus on proxemics elaborated in examples from American cultural patterns. Further examples of culturally-conditioned miscommunication draw on an aviation-related context.