Chatting online is now a national pastime in China, especially among the post-'90s generation. To the uninitiated however, online chats can seem like the wild west of polite conversation. Yet hidden rules and standards do exist, as long as you take the time to look for them.
在現今中國，上網聊天已成一種舉國上下都在踐行的消遣形式，尤其風靡於九零後之間。對於聊天門外漢來說，網上聊天形式有時過於不拘小節、不修邊幅，甚至算不上禮貌對話。然而，只要深入發掘，一定會發現許多隱藏的卻能方便你我的普世規則和標準。
So today, let's take a closer look at some WeChat do's and don'ts.
General etiquette
通用禮儀
- 1 -
When sending a friend request, include your real name and any other identifying information. Remember, everybody's time is precious. If there's something you want, cut right to the chase.
發送好友申請時，一定要記得加上你的真實姓名和其它必要的識別信息哦！每個人的時間都是很寶貴的，如果你有什麼事情或需要的東西，一定記得：少寒暄，切重點！
- 2 -
Never send an "are you there?" without any follow-up messages. The quicker that you get to the point, the more likely the other person is to reply.
千萬不要只發一句“你在嗎？”就沒有下文了。你越是開門見山地說事情，別人越是能決定是否回覆你“在不在”。
- 3 -
Please send texts, not voice messages. It might be easier for you to speak than type, but what about the person on the other end? They may be unable to listen to a 59-second message right now. Also, never send personal information by voice message — that is hard to note down.
能發文字的，儘量別發語音。於你而言，也許說話比打字容易，但你有沒有想過對面人的感受？他們或許沒辦法聽你的59秒超長語音。同時，那些隱私信息千萬別通過語音傳達——想要記錄下來可是件麻煩事兒。
- 4 -
Emojis, GIFs and memes can save the day when you find yourself in an embarrassing conversation, or words fail you. Also, try adding a tilde ("~") to the end of your messages, it can help soften the tone.
如果越聊越尷尬，或是你說錯了話，一定別忘了表情符號、動圖和表情包總是能夠挽救陷入尬聊僵局中的你們。你還可以考慮在消息後加上波浪字符（“~”），它可以讓你的語氣更加舒緩。
- 5 -
Think before you type, and then type quickly. There's nothing worse than seeing the flickering "typing..." indicator for minutes on end, without anything being received.
三思而後行，想好了你想說的再迅速打字發消息。盯著那不斷閃爍的“正在輸入中……”，幾分鐘過去了卻依然沒收到消息，沒什麼比這更糾結。
- 6 -
You can always judge a person's mood by the length of their text messages.
你可以通過文字消息的長度判斷一個人的心情。
- 7 -
If the person you're talking to says "good night" or "I'm going to take a shower" that's probably not what they're actually going to do, it's just an excuse to stop talking to you.
如果別人告訴你他要去睡覺或洗澡了，那個人也許並不是真的要這麼做。這也許只是停止這段聊天的說辭。
- 8 -
Use WeChat to communicate with friends and relatives. Use phone calls for acquaintances and strangers.
- 9 -
If someone hesitates for longer than three seconds before saying "yes", they probably really mean "no".
如果一個人猶豫了超過三秒才答應你“好”，那他很大可能只是禮貌性地表達“不好”。
- 10 -
If you receive these emojis from friends who are older, read them literally (as a smile, a wave or a laugh). For the post-'90s generation, however, they could indicate speechlessness.
如果你收到了年長者的發來的這些表情符號，你可以從字面上解讀它們（就是表示微笑，揮手和大笑的含義）。但如果是九零後之間，這些表情符號的言外之意約莫是無語。
和家長聊↓↓
和朋友聊↓↓
WeChat Moment etiquette
朋友圈禮儀
- 1 -
If your friends or colleagues are posting about the same things on their WeChat Moments, be careful to "like" each and every one, or else ignore them all. Otherwise, the people you miss might be upset with you!
- 2 -
Never post videos you've recorded at a concert, because all anyone can hear is the audience's screams.
千萬不要發演唱會的小視頻，打開之後真的聽不到歌聲，只能聽到觀眾的尖叫。
- 3 -
Never share "chain messages" with things like "repost, or your family will be cursed" or "repost, and your parents will live longer". Such messages are nothing but spam, and emotionally manipulative.
千萬不要分享那些“連鎖消息”，例如“不轉發你的家人就會被詛咒”或是“轉發之後你的爸媽將會長命百歲”。被這類消息刷屏之後，人就會開始質問自己到底是不轉發來詛咒自己，還是轉發繼續去詛咒別人。
- 4 -
Avoid starting long conversations under other people's Moments, it will just make them want to delete their post.
千萬不要在別人的朋友圈下面進行你倆的長對話，有啥事不能私聊解決。這隻會讓朋友圈的主人產生刪除這條的衝動。
Other chat taboos
其他不能忍的聊天方式
- 1 -
Avoid mixing English and Chinese. Stick to one language. Why combine the two?
避免中英結合的聊天方式。只說一種語言表達不清楚嗎，非得用兩種？
- 2 -
Don't use a third language, it only makes you look pretentious. And if not for the automatic translate function, no one would know what you mean!
- 3 -
Don't split a complete sentence into several different messages. No one wants to scroll and scroll just to read what you have to say.
不要把一個完整的句子斷成好幾條消息發送。為了讀完你的信息還得划動屏幕。
- 4 -
Think twice before adding a meme or GIF after every message. They're useful, but you lessen their impact with overuse.
再三思考是不是每一句話後面都非得附加一個動圖或是表情包。它們是有用，但是用多了卻也累贅，失去了它們的影響力。
也給我們分享一下你的一些有趣的聊天癖好或是令人不忍直視的聊天習慣吧！
實習生：沈哲遠
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