你好! So yesterday after studying this lesson I used 吃了吗? to greet a Taiwanese friend but she answered me “no, and you???” taking my question literally! I asked to another friend from Shanghai and she said 吃了吗？is out of fashion and 你好吗？is fine for her. So I asked to yet another friend! She is from Beijing and lives in London. Here is her answer:
“Hahaha that's funny! 吃了吗 is ideal for ppl you know fairly well and most used among my parents generation. This is a traditional way of saying things, which I like as it sounds local. If you speak to younger ppl and ppl who have international experience (not really local Chinese) 你好吗 works better.”
I am based in London and all my Chinese friends have international experience, working in London and in China. What do you think? I guess I should use 你好吗？J
Posted on: How to Start a Conversation with Chinese People
February 11, 2011 at 12:05 PM你好! So yesterday after studying this lesson I used 吃了吗? to greet a Taiwanese friend but she answered me “no, and you???” taking my question literally! I asked to another friend from Shanghai and she said 吃了吗？is out of fashion and 你好吗？is fine for her. So I asked to yet another friend! She is from Beijing and lives in London. Here is her answer:
“Hahaha that's funny!
吃了吗 is ideal for ppl you know fairly well and most used among my parents generation.
This is a traditional way of saying things, which I like as it sounds local.
If you speak to younger ppl and ppl who have international experience (not really local Chinese) 你 好吗 works better.”
I am based in London and all my Chinese friends have international experience, working in London and in China. What do you think? I guess I should use 你好吗？J