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Q: Why do chinese always ask how old one is?
Can have many reasons. For example they are curious or you look very young. How often ask your age and in what situations?
The ones the usually ask that question are haggard, middle aged, married, or having a mid-life crisis.
They want to know why you look amazing.
When you ask them their age...always the same......'its a secret'......f**k off asking me age then then you trollop!
they don't know how to start a conversation before knowing more about the one they're talking to. It's an easier way for them to get start it. and i hate hearing them say:it's a secret too.
This question really pisses me off...it has no relevance. I was asked this only last week,my answer was 'I can't remember'.. My head just wanted to explode - these people are so f#cking weird.
many local people ask this question, because the follow up question would be' are you married?'
it's either that or "are you hungry?"
Nessquick:
and "do you and your wife understand each other language ? "
Scandinavian:
she speaks English at near native level, she reads/writes my language, speak is not smooth but understandable, I can ask a waiter for another beer in Chinese. We're an English speaking household, it was estimated it was easier to teach everyone around us English than to teach me Chinese.
Stems from curiosity and lack of real exposure to aliens (foreigners), I would imagine. Don't believe it's an offensive question. People in a country that was closed to the outside world for a long, long time are genuinely curious about other people who come from the outside world. So, they ask questions about one's age, civil status, family, etc. They look for reference points in order to understand how the world turns and their own place in it vis-a-vis... you.
I don't mind the age question and I've been asked it a thousand times by people as young as 4 to as old as me or way older. Simple curiosity.
I don't reveal my age for any particular reason. Most people think I look much younger than I am. So I play it. My stock answer to the age question is: "I'm 100 years old." The kiddies open their eyes wide in disbelief, yet I am able to convince them that I am truly 100 years old because I drink fresh carrot juice every morning of the year and I always do what my mother tells me to do. The oldies just sorta chuckle and say, "No, you're not. You're much younger than that. You're at least 30."
I'm somewhere in the middle. 100 on a BCD and 30 the rest of the time.
If I have a beard, they ask me how old I am. "You look very old."
When I shave my beard, they are in disbelief that I'm 29 years old. "No, you look very young."
Only the oldest people in China can generally grow a beard, so...
Red_Fox:
Yeah, the beard thing. Most Chinese males lack the facial hair to grow a beard and those that do, probably take some time to do so. Not a criticism. Just a difference in physiognomy. Beards are cool and when I see a Chinese dude sporting a beard, I high-five him. He's usually an artist, writer or a musician or (whisper: an intellectual). And he never tells me how old he is when I don't ask him.
I don't think it is offensive either. Like Sorrel says, they often follow up the question with, 'Are you married?' They have certain ideas about what you should be doing/have acheived by certain ages. If you're thirty and not married it would distress them a lot. By 40 you should have done this or that, and by 50 something else. I guess it's similar to when us expats meet and we ask each other where we're from. So that we can form some kind of opinion about that person or have a conversation starter. 'Oh you're from Estonia? I had a friend from Tallinn' etc...
Curiosity. Sometimes because they want to see if foreigners look younger than Chinese at the same age. Most of the time, they don't have any defense.
I get this far too often. Where I'm from it is impolite to be asked your age, but I understand in China it is a very common question, just like salary and relationship status are open questions to everyone here. Like someone else, it is usually looking at your marriage prospects, so the next thing out of their mouth will likely be "You are very handsome" or "Do you like chinese girls?"
I love this because it's so much friendlier than "Oh my you're fat! Foreigners are all fat".
