Hints:

Chinese

两处连字符

一处破折号

 

 

 


 









Partings for the Chinese involve a certain amount of ritual and a great deal of one-upmanship. Although I'm not expected to observe or even know all the rules, as a foreigner, I've had to learn the expressions of politeness and protest that accompany a leave-taking. The Chinese feel they must see a guest off to the farthest feasible point - down a flight of stairs to the street below or perhaps all the way to the nearest bus stop. I've sometimes waited half an hour or more for my husband to return from seeing a guest off, since he's gone to the bus stop and waited for the next bus to arrive. For a less important or perhaps a younger guest, he may simply say, "I won't see you off, all right?" And of course the guest assures him that he would never think of putting him to the trouble of seeing him off. "Don't see me off! Don't see me off!"
对中国人来讲，送客需要有一定的礼仪和很多胜人一筹的本领。尽管没有人期望我去遵守甚至了解所有这些规矩，但作为一个外国人，我还得学会那些在送客时必不可少的表示客气及推让的话。 中国人觉得送客必须送到尽可能远的地方——送下楼梯到马路上，或者也许一直送到最近的汽车站。有时候，我等了半个小时甚至还要长的时间，才等到丈夫送客人回来，因为他一直把客人送到汽车站并等到下一班汽车到站。 对一般的或比他年轻的客人，我丈夫也许只是说：“我不送你了，行吗？”当然，客人会让她相信，从没想过要麻烦主人送他：“不要送！不要送！”