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Greetings in China

Greeting is the first step to form a culture, because people begin to communicate with others. The individuals become a community.

In China, how do we Chinese each other? It's a bit different, I mean the content. For example, if we meet a friend in the street, we are used to say: “Hi, nǐ chī le ma? or chī guò fàn le ma?” or “nǐ qù nǎ li = Where are you going?”.

Some westerners might feel awkward or not comfortable by being asked those questions. Because as I understand, it's kind of related to the privacy. So guys, if you come to China. And people ask you "where are you going"?. Please don't feel strange, it's just a way of greeting here, and has nothing to do with interested in your privacy.

Actually, the answer is very simple. Just say "chī le = already ate or wǒ qù gōng zuò = I am going to work". Those answers are good enough.

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Chinese Mandarin : Chinese Mandarin Level

Registered on : 2008-08-31
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Lee Kong hotmail.com
2009-07-26 / 05:06PM

I never felt awkward because I always knew that this is the part of their culture. As a matter of fact, I find their way of greeting very interesting.