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Chinese greeting customs

 

When it comes to meeting and encountering others, what might be acceptable in the West might be taboo in Hong Kong and China and vice versa.

 

1. when it comes to + v-ing / noun (當談到… 的時候)

= Regarding

= As far as … is concerned

 

VS sbd comes to do sth

= come and do it, OR

= do that at the end  e.g. She came to believe that…

 

e.g. How do you come to meet her? = what caused it to happen or made it possible

e.g. It came to me that perhaps we already did the job. = occur / suddenly think of it or remember it

 

 

2. taboo 禁忌  

► taboo (noun 名詞) 

e.g. to break or violate a taboo 觸犯禁忌

 

► taboo 忌諱的; 禁忌的 (adjective 形容詞) 

e.g. taboo words / subjects 禁忌詞

 

YES!　Limb handshakes 

NO!　  Strong arm grab lasting for several seconds 

 

 

Cheek kissing when greeting close friends, as is commonly practised in parts of Europe, is also a big no-no.

 

3. a no-no 禁忌

= taboo

 

e.g. Giving a clock to someone as a gift is a big no-no in China.

 

 

Letting a door slam in somebody else’s face is considered the height of rudeness. But in Hong Kong, holding doors open for strangers is seen as unusual at best.

 

4. Sbd slams the door / window 某人把門 / 窗「砰」一聲關上

e.g. The door slams. 門「砰」一聲關上了。

 

► To slam sbd or sth ​猛烈抨擊

= to criticise them very severely (Journalism 傳媒用語) 

 

e.g. Although the reviewers slammed the show, the audience loved it.

 

► slam the door in sb.'s face 把某人拒諸門外

 

 

A Song for You – “Where is the Love” by Black Eyed Peas

 

Madness is what you demonstrate

And that's exactly how anger works and operates

Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight

Take control of your mind and meditate

Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all

 

People killin', people dyin'

Children hurt and you hear them cryin'

Can you practice what you preach?

Or would you turn the other cheek?

 

Father, Father, Father help us

Send some guidance from above

'Cause people got me, got me questionin'

Where is the love

 

y’all 你們所有人

Y'all (/jɑːl/ yahl) is a contraction of you and all (sometimes combined as you-all).

It is used as a (usually plural) second-person pronoun. Y'all is strongly associated with Southern American English.

 

preach (verb 動詞)

 

1. 竭力勸說

 

e.g. They preach the abolition of established systems but propose nothing to replace them.

他們竭力鼓吹廢除現行體制，但沒有提出替代方案。

 

(SOMETIMES DISAPPROVING)

2. 告誡；（尤指道德）說教

 

e.g. He's such a pain - he's always preaching about the virtues of working hard and getting up early. 
他很煩人——老在倡導努力工作和早起的美德。

 

Turn the other cheek （受到傷害後）不予還擊；容忍；甘受污辱

 

e.g. Neither nation is renowned for turning the other cheek.

兩個國家從來都不是打不還手的 (= 有仇必報)。

   
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