7:30 am.
Mr. White rushed to the subway station. His 70-year-old neighbor, who had just taken a walk along the park, greeted him warmly in the distance: “Are you going to work?”
Mr. White nodded hurriedly.
“Yeah. Did you just finish your walk?”
“Yes.”
“OK. I am sorry that I have to hurry away. I am going to be late.”
7:58 am.
Mr. White sat at his desk in relief. His colleague smiled at him.
“Good morning! Did you oversleep this morning? Have you had breakfast?”
“Good morning! I overslept but I have eaten breakfast. What about you?”
“I arrived at the company 45 minutes ago and had my breakfast here.”
“You come so early!”
17:10 pm.
“Have a good holiday next three days. I wish you a happy new year in advance!”
“Thank you. Happy new year, too!”
18:30 pm.
Mr. White went to his elder brother’s home to have dinner with them. His little nephew happily hugged him. He held the kid carefully and teased: “You look taller. What about your recent grades at school?”
His brother saw him and quickly led him to the parlor. “Come in, please. Are you hungry? Just wait for a minute.”
During the dinner, Mr. White’s sister-in-law asked him: “Do you have a girlfriend now? When do you plan to get married? Are you accustomed to the work? Is it tiring? What about the salary? You should consider purchasing a house, otherwise those girls won’t consider you.”
Mr. White smiled embarrassedly. He tried to change the topic: “What did you do recently? You look more and more beautiful!”
……
Actually, in Chinese daily life, salutations like dialogues above are quite common. Besides ordinary greetings which often express wishes such as “good morning”, “hallo” and “happy new year”, Chinese salutations might include another three categories: questions of present activities; compliments; concern about privacy, if I have to classify them.
【沙发】
关于中国式问候语的一个小小小对话故事。
感谢阅读。
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