{"id":201,"date":"2010-03-08T22:44:45","date_gmt":"2010-03-08T22:44:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=201"},"modified":"2017-12-21T11:21:36","modified_gmt":"2017-12-21T15:21:36","slug":"201","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/201\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Hello"},"content":{"rendered":"

Upon your first visit to China as a \u8001\u5916 \uff3bl\u01ceo<\/a> w\u00e0i<\/a>] foreign guest , regardless of whether or not you speak the language, will almost always be an emphatic, yet<\/em> English: HELLO!<\/p>\n

From school children to cabbies, random strangers to tour guide members the greeting is awkwardly pronounced, but western specific. Sometimes it would border on the absurd, as in the case where a smiling street-cart (butcher, wielding his massive chop knives, yelled over to me \u201cHello, foreign meat.\u201d (see caption). Other times, it would be simply out of curiosity, in areas where foreigners are less prevalent. But mostly, it is a common day fact of life, where a cacophony of street vendors \u644a\u8d29 [t\u0101n f\u00e0n] and daily market \u5e02\u573a \uff3bsh\u00ecch\u01ceng] vendors assault your eardrums with a loud Hello followed by a naming of every conceivable product under the sun (a later post about street\/night markets will follow shortly). However, even the gauntlet of \u201cHello\u2019s\u201d received from the street pales in comparison to the chorus of school children ecstatic that they now can practice their English greetings.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(A local street vendor, who got my attention by yelling in English: \u201cHello, American meat! After a few minutes of discussion about Kobe Bryant, we played a game of pool around the corner).<\/em><\/p>\n

I soon began to realize that the presence and power of \u201cHello\u201d was really telling of China and the Chinese people, namely indicating genuine curiosity and interest. While maybe tonally off and harshly phrased, it was always friendly and presented with a smile. After exchanging a few words in Chinese, almost ubiquitously, you\u2019d hear a response of \u4f60\u7684\u6c49\u8bed\u4e0d\u9519\uff0f\u4f60\u8bf4\u4e2d\u6587\u8bf4\u5f97\u5f88\u597d\uff0cthat is, your Chinese is not bad\/you speak Chinese well, even if you only know a few introductory phrases. It\u2019s not necessarily because you\u2019re Chinese is good (or even that intelligible), but rather, they feel endeared to you because you are trying to speak their language. You are now building up \u5173\u7cfb \uff3bgu\u0101nx\u00ec], that all important, system of networking which makes everything from friendships to business proposals possible, (also the topic of another blog).<\/p>\n

Discovering this, I set out to just\u2026well\u2026talk. Every cabbie, person on the subway, street vendor that caught my eye, teacher, student, business man\u2026you name it. I decided to play the smiling American, injecting my phrases of \u201cwhat\u2019s up friend\u201d \u600e\u4e48\u6837\u670b\u53cb [z\u011bnmey\u00e0ngp\u00e9ngyou ].\u00a0 This phrase will undoubtedly draw attention and maybe even a few confused looks, but that\u2019s a good thing, keep smiling and maybe shift to something tried and true like:<\/p>\n

Basketball: \u4f60\u559c\u6b22\u5927\u7bee\u7403\u5417\uff1f\uff0f\u4f60\u770b\u4e0d\u770b\u7f8e\u56fd\u7bee\u7403\u6bd4\u8d5b\uff1f Do you like basketball?\/ Do you watch American (NBA) basketball games. This is a good starter for guys because they absolutely love the NBA and love basketball and has never failed to illicit a conversation, and often leads to pick-up games.<\/p>\n

Food: I\u2019ve found that almost every person you talk to will know of an amazing place to eat within their neighborhood, even if it\u2019s a hole in the wall, so ask away. \u5bf9\u4e0d\u8d77\uff0c\u4f60\u53ef\u4ee5\u5e2e\u6211\u627e\u5230\u597d\u5403\u7684\u996d\u9986\uff1f\uff0f\u5728\u4f60\u7684\u770b\u53d1\uff0c\u54ea\u4e2a\u996d\u9986\u6709\u6700\u597d\u5403\u7684\u53cd\uff1f \u201cExcuse me, could you help me find a delicious restaurant?\/In your opinion, which restaurant has the best food?\u201d You may soon find that your new \u670b\u53cb wants to invite you (or even treat you) to a meal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Above, fellow <\/em>\u8001\u5916\uff0c<\/em>Brian and Bob, enjoy a meal with Mr. Wang, seeing flashing the peace sign. After talking with Wang and his wife at a Carrefour, they graciously invited us to eat lunch with their family. After which, they signed us as English tutors.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Now, this is an area where cultural differences can lead to miscommunication or hurt feelings. Usually, in the US, when a newly met stranger offers to treat you to a meal, you politely say \u201cNo, thanks\u201d and quickly walk-away. In China, always say yes to an invitation to dinner, coffee, wedding, event, whatever, even if you barely know the person. The fact that they invited you means that they trust you, want to learn English or more about Western Culture, and will often use this simple interaction as the basis for a friendship. It\u2019s cavalier and a little uncomfortable first, but you have to play by the cultural norms and \u4f53\u9a8c\u4e2d\u56fd\u751f\u6d3b [t\u01d0<\/a> y\u00e0n<\/a>, Zh\u014dng<\/a> gu\u00f3<\/a> sh\u0113ng<\/a> hu\u00f3<\/a>] he \u201cexperience Chinese life firsthand\u201d.<\/p>\n

For such a simple phrase, the power of Hello accomplishes so much when living, studying and working in China. It is your secret password or \u5bc6\u7801 [m\u00ec<\/a> m\u01ce<\/a>] that gains you access into the Chinese community. It\u2019s is that all important first step toward understanding the mindset and mentality of Chinese culture and language.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Upon your first visit to China as a \u8001\u5916 \uff3bl\u01ceo w\u00e0i] foreign guest , regardless of whether or not you speak the language, will almost always be an emphatic, yet English: HELLO! From school children to cabbies, random strangers to tour guide members the greeting is awkwardly pronounced, but western specific. Sometimes it would border…<\/p>\n

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