Stating the Obvious
Even after you speak Chinese, you may encounter an uncomfortable phenomenon: Chinese people seem to like to state the obvious.
For example, In my very first months in China, when I was jogging around my campus I ran past two strangers and I nodded and smiled to them as I passed. Their response was not a smile nor nod back nor even a “ni hao.” Rather one of them said with a straight face:
- pǎobù a! 跑步啊 = You’re jogging, huh
And another simple said,
- lǎowài 老外 = foreigner
This was a little bit uncomfortable for me because a) I know I’m jogging, b) I know I’m a foreigner, c) I didn’t know what in the world could be gained from either parties stating these obvious facts.
However, now that I’ve been in China longer, I realize the Chinese like to state the obvious and label things.
For example, after I tell a funny story, my Chinese friends will often say to me (in English or Chinese):
- You are very “humorous” (”yōumò” 幽默)
- That was very “funny” (”gǎoxiào” 搞笑)
I thought their exuberant laughter would have been a clue enough that they thought that way, but no. After the laughter died down, they also felt it necessary to tell me. Admittedly we might do that in English sometimes, but it seems like the Chinese people like to do it more.
I don’t know why. Perhaps Chinese people feel stating the obvious is good because:
- It’s better than saying nothing
- It’s a friendly was of starting a conversation (like talking about the weather or something)
- It deflects attention away from the speaker
The most uncomfortable situation for me was when I was playing tennis a few days ago. I have to pay to use the university tennis courts, but the P.E. teachers don’t because it’s obviously part of their facilities.
The other day, one P.E. teacher was sitting with the money lady when I came up to pay for the court time. As I handed over the money, the P.E. teacher said:
- jiāoqián a! 交钱啊 = So, payin’ money.
It was hard to hear it as anything but gloating, “Haha! You have to pay money and I don’t.” But from what I know about the teacher, that’s a little bit out of character for her. So…my theory is that she was just in “state the obvious” mode, and didn’t think about the specifics of what she was saying.
I would LOVE to hear any of your thoughts on this phenomenon. Has anyone else noticed this?
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19 Responses to “Stating the Obvious”
Ben
said:
I definitely agree with this. The one I noticed most was my Chinese roommate saying 你回來了！(you’ve returned!) whenever I came back to the room. I started using it too.
This point about it being a good start to conversation is interesting. I never could get him to talk about the weather.
Comment date: Apr 25, 2007
Dustin
said:
I’ve actually noticed this in Japan; it really frustrates the hell out of me, but in the end I try to think of them as conversation starters or as basic greetings almost since they don’t ask “how are you?” unless you’ve been sick.
Comment date: Apr 25, 2007
Bill Foulk
said:
Each language has its quirks. In English, American English that is, people often say “That’s cool.” To a foreigner studying English, just what in the hell does that mean: it’s not quite cold, or it isn’t hot? Certainly not. Could this possibly confuse people just as we are confused by indirect usage of someone else’s native language.
Comment date: Apr 25, 2007
Holly
said:
I’ve noticed the same as Ben here in Taiwan. The security guard in our building says 你回來了 every time I come home. Usually I’m walking past him as he says it, and it always feels awkward. The only appropriate response seems to be a simple “對啊!”
Comment date: Apr 25, 2007
Zaan
said:
I know exactly what you mean. I especially run into this when I’m told, multiple times a time, that I’m 很高 (very tall). Well, yes, I am. I stand at 1.95m, so I guess that makes me officially tall. But you know what, I already know I’m tall. It’s hard to take such statements in stride and remain my charming self every time I hear it.
The other common one is where strangers on the street will say laowai, or even mouth a horribly disfigured ‘hellooooo!’. When I’m in a good mood, I shrug it off. I politely return their hello. However, when I’m having a bad day, I’ve been known to go up to these people and ask them, in Chinese, what exactly it is they want their message to convey. I’ve startled a few (I believe not very well-meaning) people like that.
Comment date: Apr 25, 2007
Tyson
said:
I think it’s just a way of saying hello. When my girlfriend’s roommate comes back home from work everyday, (they are both chinese btw) my girlfriend always says “下班了” (finished work, eh?) which does seem to state the obvious. But it can’t be any worse than saying “how are you?” right?
Comment date: Apr 26, 2007
Tom
said:
What Albert has said is definitely the truth.However, nobody seems to hesitate when using the “subtle, ambiguous, genneral, vast,heterogenious” word of Chinese to describe the Chinese, especially when the description is based on their own (true but limited) experience in this huge country named China which has vast territory and highly diversified culture.
Many years from now, someone from the Mars landed on a country in Africa. He got out of his space shuttle and eysewitnessed that everybody is black, most still live poorly, and ,,,,. He came back and reported, without hisitation of course, to his “king” or “queen” or “his countrymen” that “the Earthese” is black, the Earthese lives in poverty, the Earthese likes well, “stating the obvious”.
^_^。 This story is not to deny Albert’s account of his experience in China, but as an amendment to it.
A truely comprehensive knowing and understanding of this country is based on every piece of limited account by everybody who loves or is interested in this country. The point is, when we encounter the term China or Chinese he or she uses the next time, we must keep in mind that his or her description may be true but may also just be a small corner of that hugely panoramic picture of the true China/Chinese.
Comment date: Apr 26, 2007
Sera
said:
I think this obvious statement is kind of “hello” in chinese, because we seldom say ” ni hao” or “jin tian ni hao ma?” when meet face to face. especially for ” xia ban la” or “hui jia la”, we just saying to show greeting and welcome, just reply “yes” with a smile or without, that’s fine, don’t think too much.
The interesting thing is I didn’t noticed such details would be a confusion in language learning, maybe it’s the most difficult, or could be the most attractive part for ppl to understand different culture.
Comment date: Apr 27, 2007
pengxia
said:
I have to admit that we do like to state the obvious.
Interestingly enough, when I stated the obvious, like saying “chi fan a” in the cafeteria to my best friend, she always responded “fei hua” to me~
That is a way of greeting, more friendly and casual than “ni hao”.
What Sera has said is exactly what I want to say– “we just saying to show greeting and welcome, just reply “yes” with a smile or without, that’s fine.”
Comment date: Apr 28, 2007
Alex
said:
Here’s my speculation. When we westerners say, “How are you?” as a conversation starter, we don’t usually expect a long list of all that ails the person addressed. It’s just a greeting, a social convention. I think this is the same type of category. Not so much necessarily a conversation starter (in a very crowded country where people don’t start new conversations quite as casually), but a greeting or acknowledgement of your existence nevertheless, in the same sense that “howdy do” is a substitute for the non-question “how do you do?” Ha, and then there’s the shock value of being the gweilo — everything you do is noted and subject of comment. One time I made the mistake of taking my family to visit the zoo, and I felt we were more the object of attention and were photographed more than the animals the people had come to see. So, yah, the pet laowei is running, is eating, is off work, is on work, is home now, etc. Ah, get over it! It’s not sinister in any way, really just people showing interest and being solicitous or friendly in their own abstract way. Hopefully, if you were run over by a car or didn’t show up at your house, somebody might possibly pay notice as well.
Comment date: Apr 30, 2007
Kris
said:
I guess I take this a much more positive thing than most of the other people here in the comments section.
Instead of understanding it as just a conversation starter, I tend to view it more as a sign or respect, or at least of ‘notice’. What I mean is that to just say ‘ni hao’ is very ambiguous. It could be said without ever really taking notice of the person. As someone might say hello without looking at you as you enter a room. It is a hello, but it is not very personal.
But to greet someone with a statement reflecting what they are doing ‘chi fan a’ or a description of them ‘hen gao’ means that you would actually have to be paying attention to them to make such a comment. In the same vein, it is considered rude to say anything after someone sneezes because it shows that you have noticed that they might be ill. My understanding of Chinese culture definitely includes this concept of ‘notice’, though I might be blowing it out of proportion.
That being said I don’t mean to imply that someone who greets you with ‘laowai’ is being respectful. Only that the original social convention that started the commenting trend was more about being respectful and giving notice, and not just something else to say besides ‘ni hao’. Once you get use to commenting as a form of greeting, it is easy to then turn the social convention around and be rude with it. Much like how people can use politeness to be rude in a sarcastic way.
Comment date: May 4, 2007
Riley Cunningham
said:
Before I came to China, I spent years speaking English, and never gave a second thought about the literal meaning of many of our daily phrases.
(as pointed out by Alex) “How are you?” is a common casual greeting in American English - usually, if the reply is more than a few words, the listener is soon looking for an escape route.
I find plenty of things, in both languages, a bit humorous - not laughing AT anybody or their culture - it’s just the way WE (all of us) are.
To me, “laowai” is mostly a neutral term - frequently, the speaker has no idea that the wai guo ren understands what’s being said - I’ve seen contract workers, on a construction site, react with complete surprise, when the laowei walked over and began to speak to them in Chinese. Even our own staff will use it, if they are speaking about me on the phone - to someone who barely knows me. Among themselves, they use either my Chinese or English name. It’s just the most practical way.
Comment date: May 8, 2007
Yiyan
said:
I agree with Alex and Riley’s comment. When I first came here, my German friend and I used to be very bothered by the “how are you” greeting. We found that to be insincere. This kind of annoyances often come as a reflection of the self rather than the society. Looking back, I think we were at a time of culture shock phase when we reacted strongly. Now that I’ve lived in this country for a long time, I just accept its (saying how are you) uselessness and also use it as a way of greeting people.
The same is true for Chinese. On the brighter side, for those of you who felt bothered by the Chinese way, you are already half way to be fluent in Chinese! It is a natural reaction as a result of your language/cultural immersion. It is a phase which will pass.
Chinese in general is a fact based language. That is why we state the fact as a way of being specific and accurate and conversational. The same point can be applied to how Chinese answer negative questions.
“Don’t you like Chinese?” In Chinese manner will be answered “yes, I don’t like Chinese”. or “No, I do like Chinese”. The answerer intend to be truthful to the question verses the English way of answering. The English way achieves a sense of absolute consistency: YES must = I do like Chinese. Once this is obtained, the YES and NO become irrelevant to the question.
Comment date: May 19, 2007
justin
said:
today i walked into my company cafeteria, for lunch (in taiwan). i’m a white guy standing in the food line with 20 Chinese coworkers, and one of the kitchen staff walks by and says to me “ni chi fan le!” then she was off. i’m thinking, “well, what else would i be standing in the food line with a plate full of food for?!”
after reading the above comments, i really like the idea that “stating the obvious” acknowledges a person’s existence. in fact, i think it works as a friendliness. my only problem with it is I DON’T KNOW HOW TO RESPOND!
Comment date: May 29, 2007
Sharon ZY
said:
I absolutely agree with Kris. Sharp comment!
It’s part of our culture, Chines culture. Many foreigners received this Culture Shock at their first time in China, but well, you will get used to it in time!:)
In Singapore, local people call “laowai” “Ang Moh (hong mao)” which means the person with red hair. I think Ang Moh is a less respectful
address compared to “laowai” coz “laowai” is a neutral term.
Comment date: Mar 9, 2008
Anna
said:
This is one part of Chinese I still have to get used to, although I am much less annoyed with it than I used to be.
I am a vegetarian and every time I would have dinner with my Chinese friend he would tell me “You don’t eat meat.” Every time! Without fail! As if for some reason I had to be reminded. It was unnerving at first and then hilarious and even endearing.
English speakers say dumb things with small talk too, but I think it’s especially prevalent here.
I still hate when people shout “laowai” at me. Maybe someday I’ll get over that.
Comment date: Jun 5, 2008
Alain
said:
Interesting thread…. To be noted however, every single Chinese study textbook or Chinese course I have seen or tried invariably has as a first lesson “meeting and greeting” where the first exchange is a reciprocal “Nin hao , nin how ma ?”.
No wonder I find it difficult to strike up a conversation in Chinese…
Perhaps I should try “Guandong ren / Bejing ren / Shanghai ren ?
OK - Only joking, but I must say the Helloooo from starngers when walking in the streets did have me somewhat fascinated at first, until i got used to it.
Comment date: Jul 11, 2008
Scott
said:
Yes, definitely true about stating the obvious.
I am Aussie, but my parents-in-law are Chinese. When I return home and they call out, “Hui lai le,” sometimes I respond, “Mei you. Wo mei hui lai le.”
I can tell they’re just thinking, “Yeah, nice one. Very funny.”
Of course, there is no way that they could understand that I do this just to stay sane sometimes. I do pretty well at fitting into Chinese culture with them, but sometimes you have to express yourself.
One hilarious thing I find is driving in the car with my wife and her parents. Not only do you get statements of the obvious, but echoes of the statements. Say you drive past a person walking a large dog. My father-in-law says, “Da gou.” Then my mother-in-law will say, “Da gou.” I often add my own repetition just to add to the joy: “Da gou.”
Comment date: Jul 12, 2008
Bruce
said:
Scott did you noticed the different tones of your parents-in-law? In fact I guess, your father-in-law really meant “look, there is a large dog” and your mother-in-law meant “yes, i saw it”
That’s not simply stating the obvious.
When one says that he or she does well at fitting into Chinese culture, it means he or she has not really realized what a Chinese culture is.
Comment date: Jul 24, 2008