美國文化脫口秀 第325期:老外在中國最怕聽的10句話

“你中文真好!"、"你會用筷子嗎?"、“你們國家福利真好!" 這些我們常跟老外說的話，他們聽了心里其實狂翻白眼!今天告訴你老外最怕聽的10句話、戳到他們哪個點?

關鍵詞：

Top 10 Things foreigners are tired of hearing

你中文真好!

When I first started learning Chinese, it gave me a lot of positive reinforcement:

我剛學中文的時候，這句話特別鼓勵我

But now that my Chinese is good, if I just say "你好" and people immediately say "你中文真好”， it feels like an empty compliment, not very sincere:

但是現在我中文不錯，如果我剛開口說“你好", 中國人就說“你中文真好”， 我會感覺這像一句空洞的贊美，不是真心的

If I have a conversation in Chinese and get "你中文真好”, it makes me feel that you mean it and we are really communicating:

但是如果我們用中文交談了一段，你說“你中文真好”，我會覺得你是用心在跟我交流

別再叫我“老外”

Some foreigners find the word "laowai" disparaging:

有些外國人覺得"老外”這個詞比較貶義

They don't want to be labelled as "laowai", the outsider:

他們不想一直被貼上“老外”, 外人的標簽

They don't want to be treated like an outsider all the time. They want to fit in:

他們不想老被當外人看，他們希望融入中國

你能教我英文嗎?你認識什么人能教我英文嗎?

Just because I'm a foreigner and I speak English, it doesn't mean I want to teach English or know someone who teaches English:

雖然我說英語，但不代表我想教英語，或者一定認識教英語的人

If you meet an English teacher or a young foreigner, they might be interested in teaching:

如果你認識一個教英語的外國人或者年輕的外國人，他們大概有興趣教英語

But if they have their own job and career, chances are they are not interested in teaching: 但是如果這個外國人已經有自己的工作和事業(yè)，他們肯定不想再教英文

老外在中國最怕聽的10句話

你們國家的福利真好!

Americans in particular are annoyed by this comment because the social welfare system is not very good in America: 美國人特別煩聽這句話，因為美國的福利不太好

Social benefits: 社會福利

Medical benefits: 醫(yī)療福利

Unemployment benefits: 失業(yè)福利

Social security: 社保

You can't live off of benefits in America: 在美國，吃救濟活不了

你常吃漢堡和披薩嗎?

你會做飯嗎?

A lot of Americans do often eat hamburgers and pizzas, but not all the time: 當然很多美國人常吃漢堡、披薩，但也不是頓頓都吃

Americans in China don't tend to be the type of Americans who eat bugers and pizzas all the time: 而且在中國的美國人通常也不是天天吃快餐的這類美國人

They tend to be willing to try new food and new things: 他們會更想嘗試新食物、新事物

你想回國嗎?

When foreigners get asked this question, it might come across as "you must be dying to go home":

外國人聽到這句話，很多時候感覺是你覺得我在中國活得水生火熱，很想回國

Many foreigners enjoy living in China: 很多外國人其實在中國活得很開心

另外外國人也很怕聽"Your country is so great. Why did you come to China?"

你們國家那么好，你來中國干嘛?

People of older generations tend to say it more: 老一輩的人更喜歡說這句話

I get this from taxi drivers a lot: 出租車司機常這么問我

Younger generations tend to have a better understanding of the US: 年輕人對美國可能更了解，不太會這么說

還有些節(jié)目里沒說，但也很讓老外心塞的話：你應該取個中國老婆

"Can you use chopsticks?

你會用筷子嗎?

Foreigners pretty much all know how to use chopsticks, except for really old people: 外國人基本都會用筷子，除了年紀很大的

拋開種族隔閡，把外國人當普通人看待和交流

We are all humans after all.

今天分享的這些話都是我們在不知道跟老外聊什么時，會蹦出來的conversational clutch(談話拐杖)。

老外怕聽這些話，很大的原因就是他們不想老被當外人看;想更融入中國社會。

跟外國人交流， 拋開“老外”意識和stereotype (臉譜化印象) ，把他們當個體、個人看待。

Treat them the way you treat your Chinese friends.

這樣你會得到更真誠、更有意義的交流。