Speech and Greeting Conventions
1 min readSpeech and Greeting Conventions
Chinese eiquette states that the best way to speak is softly and with one’s head slightly bowed.“Answering back”to those older is considered ill-mannered:the advice of elders should be accepted.Children who answer back or swear are considered bad mannered and their parents are held responsible.
Chinese men speaking loud are not considered bad mannered:a woman speaking loudly is，and may have abuse and ridicule heaped upon herself.
The correct way of greeting a person is very important in Chinese culture:inappropriate greeting is considered very much undesirable.Among strangers，acquaintances or at formal occasions the greeting“Ni ao”meaning，literally“you good？”is used.The phrase”Have you eaten？”is used as a more familiar greeting and testifies to the centrality of food in Chinese culture.
The Chinese tend not to greet those close to them with greetings that may bear a negative slant such as“you’re looking sad”or“you’re looking tired”：this is deemed improper.In formal contexts，or when addressing an elder or person with high status it is considered highly inappropriate and rude to address the person by their given name.They should be addressed according to their designation，for example“Mr Tang，Doctor Liu，Chairman Lee”etc.
