.

The Chinese language has an inherent vagueness in it. Many sentences can have ambiguous meanings that vary based on context. For example, you can use the same sentence to say “I want to go” or “I am going.” Similarly, in this lesson’s notes, you will see that the same sentence can mean “Go with him” or “Follow him.” This differs from other languages that require very specific grammar usage to convey very precise meaning. This quality extends into Chinese culture as well. When you ask someone how they are doing, you will usually get a “so-so” mid level answer as they are not used to conveying specifics.

China being the huge country it is, has many regional dialects of Chinese. To unify the language element, Mandarin Chinese was declared as the “standard” language that should be taught in schools. As a result, those with the best knowledge of Mandarin tend to be the most educated. So the next time someone wants to comment on your Chinese speaking ability, don’t be surprised if they literally say “Your Chinese is very standard.” While that may seem like a strange comment in English, it’s indeed a compliment in Chinese!