Differences between Chinese and Western customs and habits

The differences between Chinese and Western customs are as follows:

1. Address and Greetings

Chinese and Westerners have different greetings due to the differences in customs.

If you meet a foreigner and ask "Have you had dinner?" he/she will think that you want to invite him/her to dinner. He/she will think that you are so concerned about his/her life that he/she will be puzzled or even offended, and never pry into other people's privacy.

2. Choose the right topic to talk about

In China, people often use the phrases "How old are you?", "Married? "How old are you?", "Are you married?" "What do you do?" to show their concern. In western countries, these are all private matters, and starting a conversation with them can cause a lot of embarrassment. It is better to choose public topics such as weather and news.

3. Praise and Appreciation

Chinese people are often overly modest in their praise of others, and may even deliberately "deny" the other person's praise. If a Chinese person hears someone say, "This dress is very beautiful and suits you very well," he will immediately say, "You're flattered, it's not beautiful at all, it's very cheap," and so on. If a Westerner hears a compliment, he will feel happy, agree with it and give thanks.

If you think a Western woman hears someone say, "You are so beautiful," she will happily reply, "Thank you, it's so good. It's so good". On the other hand, to praise a Chinese woman publicly would be considered frivolous, rude or hooliganism.

4. Invitations and goodbyes

Chinese people, when invited by others, even if they are happy to go, will half-heartedly excuse themselves, a move that often makes the noble Westerners feel difficult to figure out. For example, if a Westerner invites a Chinese person to dinner, the following dialog will often appear:

Westerner: Will you come to dinner with me?

Chinese: Mybe I will.(Maybe)

Westerner: Will you come or not.(Can you do it)

Chinese: I Will try my best. If the Westerner knows nothing about Chinese culture, he will be further pressed to ask: "Please tell me, yes or not", (Tell me, is it okay or not?). If we know the etiquette of Western countries, we should clearly reply "Yes, I will" or "Sorry, I can't" to avoid any unpleasantness.

5. Privacy and prohibition

Privacy is highly valued in the West, and Chinese people usually love to ask about each other's age, marriage, job, income, height, weight and so on. To show care and love, while these topics are taboo in the West.

Then again, such as to the Western family guests, avoid casually walking around to see, more not allowed to ask about housing prices, decoration and so on. Even if you want to read the newspaper on the table, books or go to the bathroom, etc., have to obtain the consent of the host beforehand.