What do Chinese people think is so common that foreigners can't understand it?

What do Chinese people think is so common that foreigners can't understand it?

When I was studying in Northern Europe, I felt that the foreigners I met were not the same as the foreigners I read the stereotypes on the Internet. Most of the foreigners were still very similar to Chinese people. I felt that they were all human...

First answer the questions, things that foreigners don't understand:

1. Drink hot water.

This is true, I have not seen any foreigner drinking hot water except Chinese, not even Japanese, Korean and Southeast Asian. Only the Chinese.

The coffee machine in the library is paid for, but you can get hot water for free. It is often pulled up by our Chinese students (there are not many Chinese students in our school anyway)...

Other foreigners look curious, why do Chinese people open the water to drink?

The weather in Denmark is cold and windy in winter, and I sometimes went home after class a little "choking wind" (is this word in the northern dialect, can you get it?). One day, I was drinking hot water in the dormitory because it was too windy.

After he came in, he said that the wind was too strong, he had a little stomach pain, described for a long time, I heard this is not choking wind, so I said to him: come, dry this bowl of hot Xiang! (crosses off) Dry this cup of hot water!

The Greek thief was curious and asked me why I was drinking hot water. I said for your stomachache. He said he had never had hot water, but he drank it anyway, and it cured him.

He himself found it difficult to understand!

2. Drink brown sugar water during your period.

Come to menstruation, want to drink brown sugar water, in the school supermarket did not buy brown sugar, there is no sale! I'm not gonna go to the Asian Super League to buy brown sugar!

Later went to the town supermarket (our school can be regarded as in the village, to go to the town to take a bus) to buy brown sugar, can not find, ask the salesman to brown sugar, salesman sister took us looking for a long time finally found in a remote corner.

The little sister looked curious and asked us what strange food must be made with brown sugar, not white sugar?

Me: Not cooking, this soaking water can relieve dysmenorrhea, not sugar!

Wang Defa: Really??

After I gave her a positive answer, I felt like she still didn't believe it...

3. Eat all kinds of weird things.

Once we made a big pot of spicy incense pot, invited neighbors and foreigners to eat together, they eat a few mouthfuls will ask what this is

Lotus root -- we explained whether it was the root or the stem of the lotus -- tested our English as much as the day the English werewolf killed us...

Bean chips -- they hadn't seen them.

Pig tripe -- animal offal they don't eat.

Enoki mushrooms - we explained it was called see you tomorrow...

Beancurd bamboo, chrysanthemum chrysanthemum, bamboo shoots, Shanghai green......

And of course the presence of oyster sauce... I really can't explain how the oyster was refined and turned into such a black shape!

And they don't eat ribs? ! ? ! I thought I could buy them cheaply if they didn't eat spare ribs or animal offal, but I couldn't buy them at all!

Finally bought a spare ribs, a whole strip of ribs, can not be cut...... There's no kitchen knife, let alone a bone-chopping knife... Only a knife like the one used in the domestic fruit store...

Add a rib soup I made (the ribs have been chopped for a long time, but they're still big) :

By Davina Snow

Link: https://www.zhihu.com/question/435879884/answer/1698371401

Source: Zhihu

Copyright belongs to the author. For commercial reprinting, please contact the author for authorization. For non-commercial reprinting, please indicate the source.

4. Born with the gift of farming.

Almost all the Chinese students I know grow flowers and vegetables in their rooms.

But foreigners are few and far between, just vases with flowers in them.

And I am quite different, because enoki mushroom in Denmark must go to Asia overbuy, the price is very expensive, so! I bought enoki mushrooms cut off the root to keep in the windowsill!

Hoping to save some money someday...

By the way, can someone tell me if it's illegal for you to secretly dig the ground under your dorm building?

(Thanks for the popular science in the comments section, I now know that I was deceived by those online videos of enoki mushroom growing, and it turns out that neither hydroponics nor soil culture can grow it!)

5. Rarely attend what they call a party.

I don't know whether it is just me or everyone else. I have hardly ever participated in the so-called party in China.

There's an introduction week at the beginning of school, with a big party on the last day.

I am the only Chinese in our group. As a silly child who has never danced in China, I have no feelings for the party until --

One day, a few girls in the group were discussing what to do for the next few days.

Danish girl: How about we hang out before the last day of the party?

Everyone: Yeah, yeah, yeah

Greek girl: So do we dress up first and then go straight to the party, or do we dress up and then go back to the dorm?

Danish girl: You can dress up first. If you feel cold, you can put on your clothes outside and take them off at the party.

Everyone: Yeah, yeah, yeah

Me:?? What?? What dress?? What's up?? Can you tell me what the standard dress should be?

Everyone: It's a party dress. Don't you have one?

Me: I didn't!!

Everyone: Haven't you ever been to a party in China?

Me: Maybe not...

Everyone: How do you celebrate your birthday?

Me:... ?

Everyone: No, no, no, you can wear whatever you want ~

Me: No, but tell me what I should wear.

Everybody: It's okay, it's okay! Don't take it personally. Wear whatever you want!

Although I know you are kind to take care of my feelings, although I know I wear wrong you will not laugh at me, but I still prefer you to tell me!

I ended up wrestling with my closet full of T-shirts and jeans and wearing a little Chinese skirt...

Originally thought this domestic ordinary dull color cheap small skirt should be the result of no work buried in the crowd, but did not expect that I met every person, whether recognize or not, all came to praise me good-looking ah!!!

This is really unprecedented for me this kind of look ordinary girl from childhood flattered!!!

Do u know that u r really beautiful?

Me: I don't know!

Everyone burst into laughter.

I really don't know!

Later, other Chinese students from the group added me, the first sentence is: you are the Hanfu girl?

I: థ ౪ థ

By Davina Snow

Link: https://www.zhihu.com/question/435879884/answer/1698371401

Source: Zhihu

Copyright belongs to the author. For commercial reprinting, please contact the author for authorization. For non-commercial reprinting, please indicate the source.

6. Drink strong alcohol?

When I first went to the high school, the school organized everyone to go to a bar. A silly kid like me, who had hardly ever been to a bar, was stunned and directly said that he could not drink at all and only drank soft drinks.

Other Chinese students are also, the boys all said they would not drink, did not expect foreigners all posture is very strong, a pair of not drunk not to return to the son.

Who says foreigners don't encourage alcohol?

All kinds of persuade me to taste foreign wine, especially for boys, we were scared: these foreigners are very fierce ah!

I didn't realize that was the end of their two beers... He's a so-so drinker, but he can bluff you.

Hearing that Chinese liquor is 50 or 60 degrees, they all look shocked: can this stuff drink? ! This is so scary!!

Poof, I laughed.

(By the way, almost all the Chinese I have met will pronounce baijiu as wine when they go abroad. Here, wine only refers to wine, not baijiu. Even white wine is white wine. The word for baijiu, which I learned from Danes who studied in China: Chinese alcohol)

(Of course, I know that Baijiu now has its official name Chinese Baijiu, but if I remember correctly, it has been available for less than a month. Are you sure foreigners can understand you when you speak it? Anyway, foreigners around me can't understand Baijiu ~ so you can choose the name of Baijiu freely. I didn't say that Chinese alcohol is definitely a correct usage, but a more general usage that foreigners can understand ~ I just want to explain that wine is wrong ~ Thanks for the comment section ~)

7. Eat apples on Christmas Eve.

This is very funny, apple and Christmas Eve homophony is only in Chinese ah!

In the same way 520 is not a holiday, poof...

I also don't know how some V-merchants come up with a copy of foreigners buying Maimai for their wives on May 20th...

8. Celebrate various traditional Chinese festivals.

This is needless to say, the Mid-Autumn Festival together to eat moon cakes, the Dragon Boat Festival together to eat dumplings, the Lantern Festival together to eat dumplings, Chinese New Year together stick couplets......

9. all kinds of cheap and convenient things.

Like express delivery in two or three days

Like free shipping on everything you buy for $2

Take-out, for example, is cheap, delicious and fast

For example, a haircut costs only ten or twenty yuan (Danish haircut is only two, three, four, five hundred yuan, and very ugly).

Like the subway is safe and connected

10. Streets that are still brightly lit at night.

The streets of China are still brightly lit even at 11 or 12 o 'clock at night.

A lot of night market night food is sold at night, OK!

The street of Denmark, Copenhagen's busiest shopping district, closes at 6 PM.

I got delayed on a trip to the city one night, and I was walking in Goja after 6 o 'clock, and all of a sudden, in about two minutes, the street, which was bright and bright, was completely dark -- all the shops were closed and the lights were off.

It gets dark early in the winter in Goha, around three or four in the afternoon. I was walking along fine that day and didn't realize it was late or anything like that, but suddenly everything went dark and I thought I had strayed into a deserted alley, but it was actually a normal thoroughfare.

Scared to death, I looked around alone and found no one except for one or two drunks here and there. I took my phone and turned on the flashlight and ran away. The cold winter wind and the freezing rain patted my face at random.

Ah, so embarrassing...

11. No ice during your period.

Brown sugar water is much the same as above, because it is a bit controversial in the comments section. Add this, foreigners not only don't drink brown sugar water during their period, but also don't care about keeping warm, not eating ice and not swimming in the water...

They just eat ice normally and take painkillers for menstrual cramps... It seems that this is not very common in China.

As for whether this way is right, whether it is healthy, I do not know, do not do evaluation Ha ~

12. Only child.

I know that the second child is now open, and I also know that many of the older generation are not the only child, and I also know that there are a lot of lax inspections in our generation...

But all my Chinese friends, classmates and neighbors in Denmark are only children.

When I chat with foreigners at a party, I find that everyone has brothers and sisters. Only we Chinese are the only children.

Us: Wow! I envy you for having brothers and sisters. I want to have brothers and sisters, too!

You wouldn't think so if you had...

Another habit, I don't know if it's only an only child, is that we used to call our Cousins "brother", "sister", "brother" and "sister".

I was asked if I had any brothers or sisters. I said no. I was asked if I had any cousin. I said four cousins, 2 brothers and 2 sisters.

Laowai:?? Don't you have any brothers or sisters?

My Greek neighbor, who I know well, explained to me: she means two boys two girls.

I: _(:* "Angle)_

13. Too many tall buildings.

I don't know what other European and American countries are like, but the floors in Denmark are very, very short, the library is 3 floors, the teaching building is 2 or 3 floors, the dormitory is 2 or 3 floors... I've never seen anything more than three stories on campus, okay?!

That's why I always feel like I live in the country...

Domestic building minutes twenty or thirty floors built up!

Even if the school will have 6789 floor library teaching building what it!

14, "say more than you are wrong" and "say more than you are wrong" education.

In fact, I am outgoing and outgoing in China, but I am also cautious about speaking in class. I hardly raise my hand to answer questions or ask questions in class. However, in foreign countries, they often interrupt teachers to ask questions while they are talking.

They don't worry about whether this question is too easy, whether someone will laugh at me, whether the teacher will criticize me for this content...

When answering questions, they often raise their hands and answer randomly, and there is no shame in being wrong.

In my previous group discussions, if I wasn't sure I had something worthwhile to say, I would often stop talking at all, until one day a Danish girl in the group lost her temper and pointed it in my nose and yelled at me: You don't talk enough!!

Later I let myself go, group discussion all kinds of talk, they quarrel I want to go and mix up the water...

On the contrary, the Danish girl and I got along very well, and even came to me after class to apologize...

She is a gentle and introverted girl from the south. She is good at English and her major. However, when we play together, she never interrupts or interrupts others. Anyway, I like her very much

As a result, when I was in a team with foreigners, I was targeted by my teammates, saying that she did not speak, that she did not contribute, that she was not balabala... Finally kicked her and another Chinese boy out of the group...

15. The concept of "men in charge of the outside and women in charge of the home".

In nineteen nineteen, I went to Singapore for a few days. When I was waiting in line at Universal Studios, I met two Italian brothers and started talking.

The other side thinks that there should be no gender discrimination in finding a job. Even if girls need to take maternity leave and can't work for a period of time, it doesn't mean that they can be treated differently based on gender.

Even during maternity leave, men and women should equally share housework and child care, as well as night nursing.

I asked if men think, "You don't have to go to work during the day, I have to get up early for work tomorrow, so you should get up at night and do it."

The Italian boy replied to me: This should not be thought at all!! This is terrible!!

BTW, Danish maternity leave rules are also, men and women should take maternity leave together ~ this may be why there is no gender discrimination when looking for a job ~ eliminate from the system.

16, really love to say "eat" ah!!

I used to think that I was not a "have you eaten?" person, and that when foreigners greet me with "have you eaten?" in Chinese, I find it very offensive and strange...

Until I go abroad! Every day I meet a foreigner in my neighborhood. "have you eaten breakfast/lunch/dinner?" What the hell is that?

I see foreigners every time I meet this question, stare for a second and then answer the expression is exactly the same as every time they greet me "how are you", I stare for a second!

Also, when I was studying IELTS, I was taught not to answer the question "how are you?" im fine thank you, "good, how are you?" The result! I find that many non-English speaking Europeans' first reaction to "how are you" is also im fine thank you!! So I answer good how are you, they will also be stunned!! Why is everyone using the human edition? ! ? !

17. Strong sense of family.

In Denmark, many families don't get married, they just get together as boyfriend and girlfriend, then have children, until the children grow up and become grandparents themselves, still don't get married.

Talking to Danish students about this epidemic,

They: Is there anyone you know around infected?

Me: None

Danish girl: My grandmother is infected, she lives with my grandfather, (balabala tells me about her grandmother) and what about her boyfriend

In my heart:? ! ? ! Your grandmother and boyfriend? Is her boyfriend your grandfather or not... I don't know and I'm afraid to ask...

18. Firmly believe that Hong Kong and Taiwan are part of China.

Almost most foreigners feel that tw is an independent country (hope this sentence won't be harmonized and I won't be banned) including many tw people themselves.

Therefore, we mainland students must have been actively explaining to people around us that hk and tw are an inseparable part of China in the first few months after we went there...

On the first day of school, there was a freshmen activity, the teacher invited two old students to explain to us freshmen.

Before the two seniors introduced themselves, I saw a girl with an Asian appearance and whispered to my neighbors whether she was Chinese or not.

Later she came on stage and introduced herself: I come from Taiwan.

The look on my face... It's hard to describe, but I wrote it down.

So two days later, when I met the Taiwan girl on the road, I piled up a smile and said hello to her: Hi! Hello! You must be the Taiwanese girl from the other day!

She (confused but polite) : Uh-huh

Me: Oh, I'm Chinese just like you! I'm from xx province!

I could see the expression on her face, exactly like the expression on my face when I heard her introduce herself.

Afterwards, my friends commented on me: You really know how to fight in the palace. Why don't you play Legend of Zhen Huan?

Me: Thanks for the compliment

19. Wash underwear and socks separately

Uh... Foreigners often throw underwear, socks, underwear and even shoes into the washing machine...

Although I know people who have said that from a scientific testing point of view, they can all be washed clean and not contaminate each other...

But the heart will not respond!!

20. The library is quiet

It feels like you're not allowed to make a sound in a library in the country. What if someone walks around in high heels? Mechanical keyboard crackling? iPad without pen tip cover da da da? Minute will be accused of no quality!

But the Danish library is very noisy, allowing free discussion, allowed to eat, allowed to talk, chat, phone games...

Only the third floor of the library in our school is a "quiet zone" with glass doors, but there are also a lot of people making ambient noise, just less than outside.

And there will be plenty of lounge chairs, loungers, hammocks, hanging chairs... I often hear someone snoring in the middle of a study...

It's not uncommon for couples to kiss openly in the library.

21. Toilets are squat and some of them are not even accessible?

Squatting is not available in foreign countries, only toilets, which everyone knows because foreigners don't do Asian squatting due to Achilles tendon problems.

But there are a lot of schools, especially below university level, where toilet stalls are not completely enclosed or even closed. The men's room is a row of urinals that you can see from the doorway? It's outrageous...

Many toilets in Denmark are unisex because they are completely separate compartments with closed doors, toilets, mirrors, sinks, toilet paper and trash cans. As long as the door is closed, completely closed, you can't see anything, so it doesn't seem to matter whether you're male or female.

The only psychological barrier is... What's it like to sit in a toilet seat with a strange man?

22. Multiple dormitory

In China, 4, 6 or even 8 rooms are common, and I even heard 14 rooms? Outrageous.jpg

My dorms in Denmark were all single rooms, one with a bed, desk, wardrobe, and some (like mine) with their own bathroom and kitchen. So a building naturally has men and women, my left and right next door are boys ~

Foreign should be even if not a single room, at most is also a double room, never heard of more than 4 room equipment......

23. Choose the library for your date?

I found that the Chinese students around me really like to indulge in learning, unable to extricate themselves...

The southern girl I mentioned before is very close to me. We often meet in the library to study together.

The other day, the Greek guy next door was gossiping about himself, saying he had a crush on a girl, and he wanted to make a go of it.

Us: You can ask her to go to the library to study!

He looked at us in silence for a moment and then said, I asked her out to the bar...

Us:...

Isn't it common in China to ask anyone you like questions and invite him to the library?

24, tea if added sugar and milk is milk tea, OK!

Went to Pakistan elder brother's room, elder brother said to give us tea.

My heart: this elder brother is also very understanding of Chinese culture, serving tea and entertaining guests is very nice!

Pakistani brother: Do you take sugar in your tea?

What kind of sugar do you take in your tea? : No!

The Pakistani brother serves up cups of sugar free milk tea...

I tasted it. It was terrible, weakly: I'd like to add some sugar to it...

Pakistani brother: I just asked you if you added sugar and you said no!!

Me: But you asked me about tea...

Pakistani brother: This is tea!

Me: It's milk tea...

Pakistani brother: What's the difference!

Me: Of course there is!! Milk tea to add sugar, tea do not add sugar ah!!

Of course, I have been used to not having a milk tea shop here, and now I have made a delicious and healthy caramel milk tea. It is the level that I do not want to enter a milk tea shop when I come back to China

Some people will eat dog meat.

(A controversial one... It is also one of the most unacceptable to foreigners. Given that my comment section has been triggered by various arguments about brown sugar water and even started to rise the discussion of traditional Chinese and western medicine, I didn't want to add this post, but I thought about it and put it up. If I get scolded, I will delete it.)

I know there are many dog lovers in China who are against eating dog meat, but there is no denying that some Chinese have eaten dog meat.

Foreigners are more amazed and disgusted than any other animal. In a group discussion about the strange animals eaten in different countries, I said that some Chinese people eat dog meat, donkey meat and even snakes.

The Danes say that some of their people eat horse meat in Denmark.

The Portuguese guy also mentioned some strange meat they would eat (I can't remember what animal it was, maybe it was an animal I didn't understand the words to).

But everyone unanimously said that horse meat, donkey meat, snake meat, any meat is acceptable, but not acceptable to eat dog meat.

Me: Why?

They: Because dogs are human's friends!

And I remembered what I had seen an answer say:

Western peoples are nomads, so dogs are their friends. And for those of us in the Eastern farming, cattle is our friend ah! We can tolerate them eating beef. Who are they to judge us for eating dog? Who judge us to be cruel?

26. Language is tonal.

This is super cool. I've almost never seen another language that has tones like Chinese, which is four tones.

My Greek brother next door has a good talent for language and often learns Chinese with us (now the best words are "table", "chair", "floor", "ceiling", "rice cooker", "good night" and our names). One day I taught him to say my name "xue". After he learned it for a long time and finally got the word Xue, I suddenly told him that in fact, boots, learn, Snow, that's four different words.

He: What's the difference?

27,996 culture? !

I've heard that working overtime in Japanese and Korean companies may be more frightening, but in Denmark, it's impossible to work overtime, not in this lifetime!

The gap between rich and poor is very small, everyone from workers to professors can make a good living, so they have a high happiness index, not much upward mobility.

The express mail cannot be delivered on weekends, and the office staff will not go to work no matter how urgent you are. If you live in the dormitory, you'd better not leave your key in the room on Friday afternoon, because then you can only have the staff to open the door for you until next Monday at the soonest. It's up to you to figure out where to stay this weekend

The school class is four hours a class, foreign teachers mostly take two or three hours, the rest of the time left for us to do exercises. Few teachers can lecture for four hours. Until this semester...

This semester, I took a class from a Chinese teacher. The lecture was full for four hours, but the class was still late? ! ? ! I was shocked. For the first time since graduating from high school, I saw my teacher dragging the class. While dragging the class, I read aloud aloud: "How strange that this is the time for class? There should normally be an hour set aside for everyone to practice..." Really let me dream back to high school, how familiar sentence pattern!! Are you going to tell me that the class next door is moving faster than us?!!