Best ways to break the ice in Chinese
bababardwan
August 19, 2011, 08:12 AM posted in General DiscussionI'd be interested in everyone's tips on the best way to break the ice in Chinese. Specifically, how to strike up a conversation with a stranger in Chinese. Best and worst experiences would also be very interesting.
orangina
August 19, 2011, 03:52 PMI usually ask if they are local, and if not where they are from. I suppose you could modify that and ask where in China they are from. I also carry a small map of China so they can show me. It is a pretty good way of making friends. Then you can move on to the "are you married do you have kids" questions.
But pretzellogic is right, very often they will just start talking to you.
pretzellogic
August 19, 2011, 12:54 PMSounds like you want to know how to break the ice in Chinese in Australia. Because in China, usually enough people break the ice to you that this isn't a concern. Many taxi drivers will talk to you in the bigger Chinese cities, and i've found if you go to some of the provincial capitals, and regional cities, you'll definitely have plenty of conversations with the waiters and service people. If you're looking to speak to a specific Chinese someone in China, that's a different story.