Etiquette and Customs 1: Greetings

There're lots of ways to greet each other. When meeting a stranger or someone unfamiliar, it's polite to say "Hello". For instance, you're in a new place and you meet someone there for the first time, you should start a conversation with "Hello" or "Hi". Another example is when you pay a visit to a friend's home, and there is another person there; under this situation, it's common that your friend introduces you, and then you greet each other by saying "Hello, nice to meet you".

 

If you greet acquaintances and friends, generally, it depends on what he or she is doing. Different situations require different ways of greeting. For example, when people meet at lunch time, they will ask "Have you eaten?", "You have eaten, haven't you?", "Did you eat yet?" etc. If people happen to meet in the street, they often ask "Are you going out?", "Are you going shopping?", "Where are you going?", "Are you going to work?", or "Got off work?" etc. During breaks, for example the noon break or the evening free time, people quite often say, "Have you rested?", "Still busy?", "Why are you still awake?" etc.

 

The words above are the ways of greeting between acquaintances and friends. Perhaps, Chinese people are not so curious to know what he or she is doing, but they are used to greeting like this which sounds kind and warm. If you are asked in China any of the above questions, you don't need to tell them what you're actually doing. What you should do is just answer them simply according to different situations. You may say "Have you eaten?", "Yes, I'm going to work", "I'm going to class", "I'm taking a walk", "I'm going outside", or "There's something I have to do" etc. These are all the Chinese civilians' daily terms.