If you are like me, you probably say Thank you, Goodbye (谢谢再见 xièxiè zàijiàn) a lot, leaving a taxi, leaving a restaurant, leaving your local fruit vendor. Which is fine. It’ll get you a smile.
But you can do one better!
天气热了,多喝水。(tiān qì rè le, duō hē shuǐ)
天气凉了, 注意身体。 (tiān qì liáng le, zhū yì shēn tǐ)
Really make a Chinese person feel cared about.
After you’ve been in China for a longer length of time, you’ll notice that Chinese attribute lots of ailments to changes in the weather.
When it’s hot outside (天气热了， tiān qì rè le), the first thing Chinese will tell you is to drink more water, 多喝水 (duō hē shuǐ).
When the weather cools (天气凉了, tiān qì liáng le), they’ll advise you to “pay attention to your body” 注意身体 (zhū yì shēn tǐ) or wear more clothing.
So saying either of these phrases according to the appropriate weather will not only be a natural way of communicating, but the person you are talking to will feel good because you’ve taken a step closer to understanding their world and culture. You just communicated care, in the way they naturally receive it. And that’s a big step towards fluency.
What other phrases do you want to say the Chinese way? Leave a comment.
The Great Firewall of China
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