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Q: What would be the worst insult a Chinese person could give to you?
I think lots of things they would normally throw at each other are water off a duck's back to me (particularly about mothers and ancestors... and just generally being a foreigner...), but I'm finding more and more that "I want to be your friend" equating to "I want free language lessons from you" is really pissing me off!
I joined a dating site. I got a smile from a cute girl. I looked at her profile - "I'm looking for a foreigner to " - it got cut off. What was missing?? "improve my English", of course! On a DATING SITE!!!!!
For me it's when they tell you to stop talking.... cause they don't want to hear the truth. I'm not sure if it's insulting or more frustrating. Either way, it's the one that makes my blood boil.
GuilinRaf:
I guess "stop talking" or "shut up" or "I dont want to hear it" are universal instant anger buttons.
They've somehow turned "hello" into an insult. Once they make five yuan over minimum wage, it seems every word they say to a foreigner is somehow twisted into some condescending insult.
But I'd say that the most insulting thing would be condescendingly explaining to me how every disaster in China was my fault, personally. Ie Burning of Xi'an, Taiping Rebellion, Cultural Revolution, Underpopulation, Overpopulation, etc. While I do feel really bad for using my time machine to cause all these problems for China, I think pointing it out to me is really rubbing salt in the wound.
For me it's when they tell you to stop talking.... cause they don't want to hear the truth. I'm not sure if it's insulting or more frustrating. Either way, it's the one that makes my blood boil.
GuilinRaf:
I guess "stop talking" or "shut up" or "I dont want to hear it" are universal instant anger buttons.
I agree with the wanting to be friends thing. This is starting to drive me crazy.
Usually it's only because they want to get better at English or they want to gain face by have a foreign friend.
When they ask me to help them with English now I say I charge 200 an hour and they scamper off (BTW I am not a teacher and I am not even sure if I could do it).
If they just want to gain face now I make them pay for drinks all night.
I am so sick of being used here that I have started to turn the tables on them.
Sometimes girls use the learning of English as the icebreaker to snag their next boyfriend? One of my students did that because she wanted a foreign boyfriend.
But in answer to your question, for me it would be when someone asks me to correct or proofread something, and then they argue that my corrections are wrong because his (neighbor, sister, cousin, etc.) who wrote it spent six weeks in America/Canada/Australia....
Janosik:
Fair.exchange in my eyes. She gets "free" English and you get het!
Speaking Chinese when my wife is around to get some food or get a taxi and having them completely ignore me and the wife needs to tell them exactly what I just said.
cooter:
This happens way too often....except replace "wife" with "friend" or "girlfriend". Drives me nuts...
Shining_brow:
Yeah, I knew that one. I had an ex who would actually tell the waiter to listen to me :)
Yes. About once a week or so I'll get someone wanting to be friends for language exchange. "You teach me English, I teach you Chinese!!!". "Sorry, I'm really busy with work these days, and I'm not a teacher."
If they ask me in Chinese...I just give them the standard "ting bu dong". Enough "ting bu dong"s and they figure it out....
Shining_brow:
I get that as well... I'm probably being rude in responding "But I'm not interested in learning Chinese" :p
when they stop responding you and when you wana talk and they dont let you to speak and say thats all its insult
Your question made me think a lot.
All the above mentioned could not make me angry (I do not teach English, as all may guess, and therefore I am not infuriated by people wanting "free lesson").
I think the things make me angry here do not differ much fm things that make me angry in Europe.
But still, here I appear to be much more tollerant, what I am personally happy about.
Did not reply your question but tried hard ...
