The strange ways some Chinese act around foreigners - 中国人跟老外交流时的那些古怪的习惯

Get your free guide - The 10 Biggest Mistakes Beginners in Chinese Make and How You Can Avoid Them bit.ly/1QrHjBp
For English subtitles click the CC / captions button at the bottom of the video window.
'Like' me on facebook and join the discussion: / fluentinmandarin

[@changyingjushi8409]

dude, your mandarin is unbelievably good! i am impressed, completely, not only by the way you talk, but also the way you think. you are pretty sinicized in a sense, in my view.

[@conmore437]

he is very well spoken and precise in English, as well

[@Furansowakun]

Your english is unbelievably good too ! I am impressed, completely

[@user-ly8rc6mg2r]

Damn perfect mandarin

[@brianlong5230]

Very fluent mandarin! What impressed me the most is your accent, you almost sound like a pure chinese!

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

+Brian long Thanks Brian!

[@jimmywang2119]

He still got a bit accent. But the most impressive thing to me is he does know a myriad of Northern Chinese slangs.

[@Furansowakun]

Your english is very good Brian, you almost sound like a pure american !

[@tonyzhang7830]

the nose story is so funny

[@goldface6658]

the bit about them patronising you by speaking slowly is a double edged sword because for a learner it gives you more of a chance to understand what's being said. I have often noticed the opposite phenomenon in the West. For example my father often speaks too fast, or uses obscure words with my Taiwanese wife. I think to myself can't he realise that's a bit hard for her to understand. So I would say neither culture's people have found the best balance on that account.

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

+gold face that's true

[@vincewoo3415]

中国不是个移民国家，不同于英国或者美国加拿大等民族大融合的西方国家。中国人从小长大的环境和接受的教育缺少对多样化的认识，所以会产生你在录像中所说的几个奇怪现象。 你应该也知道孔孟之道对中国历史、中国人和中国社会的巨大影响力，总的来说，中国人推崇中庸之道，喜欢一团和气，不喜欢特立独行异于大众的人。所以中国的普通教育都是培养集体主义精神，而几乎没有宣扬世界多元化的内容。 你提出的这几个奇怪现象归根结底是社会文化在待人接物方面显露出来的表象，而其实质原因仍然要追溯到历史、文化、教育和经济等各个方面。

[@thatchacre5763]

It's not odd habits, it's just misbehavior. I'd like to mention the fact that China had been locked up from 1949 to 1978, three decades of isolation. That means more than one generation grew up in a awkward environment, and because this environment is the only environment what they are familiar with, they hold it as their comfort zone. If suddenly some "strange looking guy" sneaks in their comfort zone, of course his emergence will make them very uneasy. It has nothing to do with the culture, it's simply a phenomenon caused by isolation. Sadly the whole nation became the victim of this outrageous isolation!

[@davidlu7245]

Well said

[@ravenalbj]

+David Lu I agree 100% with you. The explanation of that behavior is the result of isolation.

[@savfromsopn]

+anythingnew Depends on the area. Where I live probably 30% of the population is Asian. There are several large suburbs in Dallas that have huge Asian populations - Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese. Plenty of Asian stores (many with the signs/menus in Chinese/Korean/etc.)

[@savfromsopn]

Yeah, I know, but my point is to not generalize that all Americans/white people are awful people. Sure, some are ignorant or total racist lunatics...but many of us are not.

[@luke666808g]

+有女同車（Thatch） Don't get too defensive, everyone has a different experience of being an outsider, everyone makes assumptions. For example, if you went to America in the 70's, everyone would think you know kung fu.

[@DL-fc5xz]

One day I went to a supermarket called Rouses in Louisiana just to buy soy source. When I checked out at the counter, a person behind me whisper to his friend:" Hey, look!!! Asian..." And for many times, little kids see me they yield with Japanese or just a word "Kung fu". I totally understand and dont feel any uncomfortable with that:D

[@yurushii]

Kung-fu! LMAO!!

[@chulalachannel]

haha omgggg your chinese is so good I'm impressed. you are a really good ambassador, ideal in manners and outlook, so keep it up. yes, you need to introduce yourself to -every- chinese person that you want to be treated as local, to give them /permission/ to, or else they'll treat you as polite outsider guest forever because your looks are not homogeneous with them. which is pretty understandable tbh. i'm impressed you can grasp pronunciation so well because western mouths are thin and wide, and in turn i noticed my small lips look Under Strain when speaking english because I have to stretch it unnaturally. really interesting to see how language affect genetics!!!!

[@chulalachannel]

kangsan2014 haha you are the idiot and are going to stay idiot because i don't care to enlighten you. basic bitch. i don't even need to look at your icon to know you are a noober. TFW NO GF!

[@pupu1989828]

看了你的一些视频，觉得你是一个非常勤奋、谦虚的人，也很佩服你。希望你能继续做中西文化传播的桥梁，当有越来越多的人愿意了解和走进彼此的文化，这样的尴尬甚至不礼貌的行为才会越来越少。谢谢你，加油！

[@anniw3704]

I like how ppl r saying china is racist and ignorant and how they r poor or need education etc. Whereas in the western world where we are 'supposedly' more educated and wealthier have a bigger issue of racism and hate crimes. My parents are from hong kong and i was born and brought up in denmark where i have never felt it was a place where i will ever be accepted as a 'Dane'. Even to this day i experience ppl making fun of our eyes or the sound of chinese or telling to go back to my own country. Alot of ppl in china r ignorant but rarely hate white people to the extent where they make u feel unwelcome or become hostile. It seems they r just curious abt the unknown and want to interact with u but come off as rude and obvious - kind of like when ppl see a celebrity on the street. Anyway, my point is, where there is a minority there will always be differences in treatment. Its not ok but it happens.

[@TheShows247]

Yeah I think in China it's a case of lack of exposure. Whereas in in the west, you'll see news of racially-charged hate crimes that I just haven't heard about from China.

[@creczko]

maybe because china isn't a racially diverse country?? rest assured it happens

[@betavulgaris7888]

You're not Danish, so why would you ever be accepted as a Dane? You have your own beautiful culture and customs, why the hell would you want to be European when you're not? A dog can't be a cat no matter how much it purrs.

[@anniw3704]

+Beta Vulgaris (A View From Europe) in that case Danes shouldn't tell me I should call myself a Dane either when I tell them i'm chinese. And Im sorry, if identity is simply equivalent to being a breed (i.e. Cat or Dog) or the way you look, then yeah, ure also one of the reasons why racism exists.

[@betavulgaris7888]

Anni Wong You speak as if your labels hurt me. They don't. They're a badge of honour if anything. Lowly SJW's are the ones who throw these buzzwords about and they're the only ones who care about them. You're not Danish. You're Chinese. If this makes me 'racist' and hurts your pathetic little feelings then go and complain to some liberals, i'm sure they'll care, because i don't.

[@xing.s.8851]

Chris帅哥,有句谚语，叫林子大了，什么鸟都有，你即已如此通情达理，大可不必在乎那些闲言碎语。我也是第一次见到外国人讲中文这么流利，又通晓诗书，对身边的事还这么包容。毕竟剑桥大学孕育了怎样的人才，也算见识到了。佩服，佩服。有容乃大，望你未来步步高升，生活美满。

[@harbin88]

Nice video! You made a good point about letting children to ask questions directly that some Chinese should learn and practice. But keep in mind that culture as a whole is not easy to change. Also you should expect that you won't be treated exactly as a Chinese in China no matter how well you know the language. I am already in US more years than I was in China, but I am still a foreigner in US even US is a multi-culture country. It is interesting that you had a situation people bet where you came from. I was in a bar in Shanghai Peace hotel once, and there were four guys (two Japanese and two local Shanghaines) bet if I and my family came from China or Japan as we walked in. One Japanese bet we came from Japan lost his bet. As insisted by his friends, he ended up paying the bill for our table.

[@davidlu7245]

Holy shit his Chinese is legit

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

Thanks David!

[@Anhonime]

I envy him so much :o

[@RichMengYiMing]

Chris,谢谢拍这个视频，真有用。

[@yili7059]

这中文太专业了 而且还能非常准确地道地使用成语，几乎跟native speaker没有区别了

[@yili7059]

***** 气死我了。。我一定要好好学习粤语，你粤语也发音这么标准太可怕了。。我现在在英国 等我回国了一定要把粤语提升N个档次！！！

[@yili7059]

***** 加油。。。这貌似是友好的鼓励，实质上简直是对我赤裸裸的讽刺啊。。。

[@slayermate07]

you look like Augustus Caesar from Rome

[@jimmywang2119]

Hah

[@barbatvs8959]

Except Romans are not Germanics.

[@queueoverflow]

有一次，我带美国同事去做公司班车。我上司说我应该让他做轿车。我觉得我上司好奇怪：我没有轿车，当然只能带他做班车。难道我出钱打车么？公司给报我就打车，否则我只能做班车。

[@Elizanne1878]

I've lived in China for almost a year and a half and I have gotten used to the staring but still can't stand it when people take my picture without asking or try to do it sneakily! My Chinese is very, very poor so all I can do is just give them a dirty look but half the time that doesn't even work. It's also difficult sometimes to find a true Chinese friend. Does that make sense? There have been several times where I feel like the only reason someone talks to me is so they can practicing speaking English. I definitely agree with the statement of treating someone with so much hospitality can just make them feel more like an outsider. I just want to blend in sometimes!

[@leifeng2129]

瞅两下就甩脸，说两句e文就较着被利用了，这心态交个鸡毛的朋友

[@chloeagnew1]

I understand that. When I was travelling with tourists from China, many of them took pictures of white babies covertly. What a shame.

[@macchiathoR]

Etiquette... there's no such thing!

[@JustMe-gs9xi]

yeah ,, don't think you can blend in

[@marylin2315]

好开心，很少见到尊重而且喜爱中国文化的老外

[@josephzhang1797]

我觉得文化国与国的隔阂永远是存在的。我来美国4年了，英文说的还行，可是有时候总是觉得要融入美国社会也不容易。所以不要妄想因为自己语言厉害了就应该别人把你当本国人，从身边的朋友一个一个做起，当然我个人觉得中国交朋友，还是不太容易。

[@popoxee]

我在加拿大也会有很多人盯着我看，尤其是当我去pub或者club的时候，像看猴子一样。不过我就无所谓，心想大约他们没见过这么帅的中国人把哈哈

[@Zhen-Lin-CHN]

+popoxee 估计是你的裤链忘记关了吧？ ^_^

[@julien9622]

+popoxee 有没有老外对着你撸两把

[@asdeng]

+Zhen Lin CHN 哈哈，你太搞笑了吧

[@kurtWDD]

+Jimmy Wang for the sake of ethnicity

[@leezachary3201]

哈哈哈this guy is funny

[@CLAUDIA111A]

This is very impressive, your chinese is pretty good. I will check your videos and webpage to help me improve my chinese, I started last year. Keep uploading videos !

[@wigbate4941]

Excellent work, thanks for posting.

[@jeffreyz4611]

Haha You're awesome dude! 中文很好！

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

+JeFFreyZ Thanks！

[@jeffreyz4611]

***** Sup Albert

[@peterbartley9777]

I wouldn't care how they looked at me if I could speak as well as this guy!!

[@swordfish2r2011]

很有意义的视频，谢谢！

[@TheAllen501]

All that happened to you (except that people taking photos of me) happened to me as well in Canada, I have ppl questioning my French and assumed that I didn't speak any French or that I spoke terrible English everywhere. At least they don't attack or cursed on you in China for your skin, and at least in China they give you tons of privileges and supercitizen status instead of treating you as a lower class citizen, here in Canada there is blatant racism even in the government services, and my rejection to a school was rejected without an official answer but they told me my results were TOO low while the truth was my results were extremely good. Even two weeks ago, I was the only one in the whole program who got a 100% for the final exam of differential calculus. I was kicked out by an adult center when I wanted to register a summer course, their advisor told me that I might be too weak for their school and their other staff treated me like prisonner(not exaggerating). I was also treated in a very racial way when I visited McGill University, the person received me brutally asked me to leave, and minutes after I left her working zone, she came out to invite me in again(maybe she realized that she was excessively rude) and point at another Asian guy who was filling a form for summer course, she told me: "Ask him, he can explain everything to you. You speak the same language. You and I have very different cultures." It turned out that the Asian guy was Vietnamese and we DIDN"T speak the same language. Imagine this happened in the best university of Canada. Tons of bullshit that is more weird happen from time to time. Compared to what I have experienced here in Canada, what you are complaining about your experience in China is trivial. I would rather change position with you. And seriously, before I moved to Canada, I used to feel extremely embarrassed and ashamed about China, not anymore. I had a teacher from Oxford University teaching me English, he used to work many years in the bloody pedophile BBC. He kept complaining about everything in China every single time he met us, which made me feel that maybe UK and the rest of the western countries were so much more harmonious or even perfect. He described the west as paradise, as many other Europeans did. What you are talking about is nothing new to me, it's all like thousand year old clichés: After I moved to Canada, I have realized that all those complaints are bullshit. People from UK, Switzerland and France always complain like non-stop, I guess this is proabably the common parts of your cultures. I really wish that all Chinese have the chances to live abroad for a while and that visa applications procedures can become a lot easier for all Chinese so that they can see with their own eyes and stop worshiping you westerners anymore. It is insane for ppl to worship you and give you so many opportunities that you cannot get in your own countries, and you even complain about it. My teacher from Londo complained every single time and broadcasted to us that he would leave China but he never left, he spent 25 to 30 years complaining in China. If time can go back, I would tell him without any hesitation :"Don't hesitate, leave immediately! I'll help you to book a flight ticket right away and send you to the airport!"

[@samuelzhang2263]

加油 ， 你很棒。

[@abuelshiekh1308]

小克里，你的中文发音非常标准，很正确，听起来很地道，没有口音，声调也非常标准 ， 加油 :)

[@Kateyangyuqing]

Wow I just want to say that your proficiency in Chinese is amazing! Your pronunciation is superb! You're incredibly inspirational! I've just started Chinese at university this year and I'm LOVING it. I'm really putting my all into it and trying to pick up good pronunciation habits from the start. People tell me that my pronunciation is really good (I think it's just because I haven't ignored the tonal aspect of the language), but I speak very slowly and my tones are still quite exaggerated sounding. Basically I am a beginner and I sound like a beginner who is making an effort. I often wonder if it is one day possible to sound fluent like you if commencing study of the language as an adult. You prove that it's possible with time, commitment, effort, and passion!

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

Hi Kate, thanks for the message! Glad you're enjoying learning Chinese. The answer is, yes it is possible to get fluent, even starting as an adult (I'm not talking about sounding the same as a native speaker though). It's good to speak very slowly and concentrate on the tones at the beginning, and you can improve your pronunciation over time, it's definitely something you can work on. Just be aware of it, keep anaylyzing yourself, and you'll get there in time!

[@xianfeizeng1324]

你太棒了。You are awesome.

[@JieAlan]

帅哥，不是人家奇怪，物以稀为贵，你的中文无懈可击了

[@newarebatterytester5004]

***** 成语都用得很正确，厉害！

[@zz49554271]

***** 我反倒花很多时间学英语

[@NicholasMarkovich]

I think your accent is even better than Dashan's. I find your spoken Mandarin very easy to understand, and I'm only at a fairly basic level with not a lot of experience yet. I feel it's somewhat of a shame that you look like you could have Chinese blood, many people would think that you must've learned Chinese growing up from a relative but I've seen you talking about your experience in learning Chinese and that you started in your early twenties. Thanks for uploading!

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

+Nikola M dashan is just well known, there are many other western Chinese speakers..

[@ahmedaskourih6937]

hhhh your accent is good but still have some laowai accent ,anyhow dashan is much better :P

[@tacticmonster]

Ahmed Askourih come on!!! This guy is way better than Dashan. Be positive and encourage people instead of leaving negative comments.

[@vernondouglas1216]

I like your channel very much, so I am happy to see that you keep uploading new videos

[@patricka.crawley6572]

Simply class.Thank you.

[@yan_man23]

Your Chinese is significantly better than mine. As for the Chinese people act surprised phenomenon, I think its because of European imperialism.

[@pitt3329]

They think YOU have a big nose? I'm screwed then lol

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

Haha

[@jingyuyuan1051]

说到最后都把我感动了！你很棒！

[@yinding3504]

你讲的真好！我会给我的学生看你的视频，他们刚学中文两个月。

[@LanguageBoost01]

Very recognizable, fun to watch and great Mandarin!

[@nancyyu9170]

这位大哥我支持你！！努力吧，加油吧，看了你这视频以后我相信你肯定能看懂！！我英语不是那么好就不用英文说了= =。我还记得在北京西站（北京的火车站）坐地铁的时候碰见一黑人，看他貌似在找路，我还想去帮他来着。额，当然结果是没有帮上啦，人太多了。嘿嘿我现在在国外读书还没多久，是东欧一小国家，中国人很稀罕的。。我去学校第一天那感觉就像是你说的动物园里看猴子，稀奇得很。刚开始和同学交流的时候特别不好意思，总感觉自己说的不够好。我爸说是我自我意识太强了，太在意别人的看法了。现在好多了，前两天和同学聊聊放开了一些了~~

[@nancyyu9170]

The love is in everywhere. Don't worry, be happy~天将降大任于斯人也，必先苦其心志，劳其筋骨...- -

[@mattguzda853]

1st of all kudos bro. you're amazing to pick up a language very foreign to westerners. obviously you have a good mind and skills but I see it as like having a super power. you get to hear what ppl are really thinking about you! what a blessing in some regards. and I'm certainly not one to tell you bout Chinese history but you know China was closed off to westerners for a long long time. it's an awkward situation for ppl who are so closed off to know what to do so of course they may act a lil strange. and I'm sure you've heard attractive women talk about you you lucky bastard! I'm really glad there's ppl like you . I wish I had your abilities and a gracious sense about ppl. enough so that you just want to be like everyone else instead of egocentric thinking ppl should be amazed by you speaking their language and knowing their history and customs. best of luck to you from the USA where many here think and are proud of only knowing English as if lack of knowledge is a good thing. cheers

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

Thanks for the comment Matt. It's really not a super power though, it's just practice. I've been speaking the language for 10 years. I was back in California recently but I was visiting a Chinese company, so I actually ended up speaking Chinese a lot of the time!!

[@aurated]

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. You're absolutely right about everything.

[@trommelbiel]

It sounds Chinese and even better accent, my opinion. You need to apply to the state department for a job. They seem to have a horrible translator who follows Obama about.

[@monkeseeaction21987]

我觉得这是因为中国人在根本上就是对其它文化持一种不接受也不愿意理解的态度。但是希望会逐渐好起来

[@bertrandhustle]

+Martin Ma 说得很好。而且我这个人觉得这种事情就是因为中国人不习惯跟会讲中文的外国人聊天。他们不习惯，就不太清楚应该怎么办。应该慢慢变化吧。

[@user-pq1qc7nq4p]

难道不是中国没有那么开化么？好奇心太大，中国毕竟老外相对不多

[@andrewowen9123]

Dear Chris, Fantastic insight and all your examples I have gone through hundreds of times since living and working in China on and off since 1996. I studied Putonghua in Kunming and also Harbin. The key for a lot of the examples you presented in this video is not getting upset, being patient and understanding it from their perspective. Love your videos and appreciate your sharing them. Best of luck and keep up the great work. Andrew

[@Mr.PolyMath]

I know exactly how you feel mate and your video is an excellent summary of which I can share with my Chinese friends to get them to understand where I am coming from! Unbelievable level of proficiency too, really well done for the amount of effort and time you have put into learning Chinese. You are right, it isn't THAT hard, but does require a lot of effort to get to the level that you have - really well done!

[@danielliu9616]

As a chinese living in france for many years, I always have the same feeling as u and I just don't understandard why people are so close-minded!!!

[@danielliu9616]

+Julien Pontus Dijon

[@extremeguy967]

+daniel Leo hm weird, in Germany people immediately assume you are an immigrant, I have been with some exchange students for a bit and people talk to them like they're from here

[@danielliu9616]

extreme I exchanged in Germany for several semesters as well and people there much more respectful and friendly with foreigner than french. They treat exchange students in a completely way. The only positive side of studying in France is that you are forced to learn french

[@BobTheTrueCactus]

+daniel Leo You know, when I was still in school I usually assumed that the asians I met were Germans. This was just a matter of experience. All the asians I knew (except for the owners of the chinese restaurant in my hometown) were born and raised in Germany. They were about as German as anybody else. When I studied at university (in a much bigger city) I started to assume that most asian people didn't speak German that well simply because it reflected my experience. In bigger German cities, the majority of asians are students or at least people that didn't grow up here. No reason to treat them any differently than anybody else though.

[@wentaodai6965]

确实很多是事实，我为冒犯您的中国人向您道歉哈！

[@rickr9435]

剑桥果然牛逼！

[@tedneigh]

your mastery of the tones is truly impressive!

[@maryj7423]

thank you for sharing this! I admire your language skills and I hope your work will help Chinese and western people understand each other better

[@vickychan3086]

your mandarin is bloody good.....even better than mine and I'm chinese....

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

haha

[@rhythmicgrl4ever]

every ‘怪习惯’ you mention in this is on the flip side issues that diasporic chinese face in Diverse Countries like the uk and us -- the uk may be diverse and "the brits aren't racist anymore! that's america!" but as a chinese-american i still can't walk down the street w/o getting stares from white british ppl or walk into supermarkets w/o getting eyed by clerks. chinese parents tell their kids to say a couple english words to you? i've seen / experienced more than enough english-speaking white people mockingly saying konichiwa or nihao or xiexie to anyone who looks vaguely east asian. your experiences stem from a position of racial privilege & your status as a native speaker of the 21st century's lingua franca. fuwuyuan treating you like you can't speak chinese is, like you said, not exactly any kind of anomaly -- maybe now you can sympathize with how patronisingly anglo/american whites treat immigrants & people of colour. remember that your decision / efforts to learn mandarin (which i commend you on) revolve around learning about this exciting new culture and personal interests and personal development -- while chinese people learning english (both nationals in china & immigrants outside of china) is very much a matter of global / social survival (wikipedia / linguistic imperialism is worth looking into)

[@MagdaleneNimptsch]

+Iris you have made a few valid points here, but I think there are a few differences. If you as a chinese-american are being stared at in the US or the UK then you will find, that a majority of the population of these countries will agree with you that that is not ok or even a bit racist. On the other hand if I am being stared down by hundreds of Chinese for being blonde, then most people in China won't see a fault in that. They will probably say something along the lines of "oh, it's just because they think you are pretty." or "They have probably never seen a foreigner before" and honestly that is bullshit. It is nearly 2016, China has opened up to the outside world decades ago. If a person from the countryside has never seen a foreigner, ok, plausible enough, but if you are from Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou or any other major city, there is just no way in hell that you have never seen a real life foreigner before. In fact, you can't spend a single day in any of those big cities without seeing at least a few dozen foreigners. My point is that although asian-americans still have to endure racist bullshit everyday, at least those societies acknowledge that there is this kind of racism (checkout youtube. it's full of these "I'm asian-american and people keep asking me where I am really from"-videos). In China this racism may be disguised as friendliness, but I have you know (as a chinese-american you will never experience this sort of racism in China) that it still bothers me. I lived in China for two separate longer periods of time and it sucks to be constantly reminded that I am different. It makes me feel as if I don't belong. I can imagine that it must be similiar for you.

[@rhythmicgrl4ever]

+MagdaleneNimptsch i get what you mean, but this really isn't classified as racism. racism in china is v much prevalent in the form of antiblackness (and colorism in general, historically china has identified "barbarians" and otherwise via skin tone) but racism against white people doesn't exist when it's white europeans who constructed this racial hierarchy in the first place and positioned themselves at the top of it. and when even in china you see a prevalence of white faces on billboards and in magazines. sorry that you feel as if you don't belong -- the feeling is understandable but realise that most of the time it's not from malice but a globalised 'reverence' for whites. all over the world, what is White is what is valued, which is e.g. a white native English speaker is almost always chosen over e.g. a chinese-american native English speaker for english-teaching jobs, why there's a gross fetishization of mixed nonwhite-white people etc. i agree that the dialogue surrounding racism is dangeorusly suppressed in china -- but that is something that concerns blacks & non-east asian people of colour (+corollary on the dialogue on ethnic minorities like the discrimination against xinjiang / uyghur muslims). your ability to even be an expat in china is indicative of your economic mobility - basically what i'm trying to say is, realize your "racial" issues stem from a position of privilege. you chose to live in china for 2 periods of time -- diasporic chinese in countries like the uk and us grow up facing this kind of racism, and often much worse. and yes, it's acknowledged -- poc telling their stories is important -- but not much is being done on the actual perpetuator-of-racism side.

[@risingsun08107]

+Iris should learn more about Asian history. Racial hierarchy and discrimination is not a white people thing; it is and always has been a global phenomenon, especially in Asia and especially in China.

[@rhythmicgrl4ever]

+risingsun08107 i'm a chinese studies major! i've read / am still reading lots about asian (esp east/southeast asian) history and i'm well aware of the racial/skin color-based hierarchies rooted in our history. there is a huge amount of han chinese supremacy across asia (in malaysia, singapore, the philippines, just to name a few) not to mention the amount of political / economic power that east asian countries wield over southeastern asia. but video op is not vietnamese or filipino or indigenous malaysian - he's white, and there is no denying that in the global context, whiteness still resides at the top of the racial hierarchy. so no, of course it's not exclusively a "white people thing", but intra-asian discrimination is irrelevant to this video bc op isnt asian.

[@risingsun08107]

asian countries have both intra-asian discrimination as well as discrimination against foreigners (whites and blacks) that is based on unfounded stereotypes. So, White Westerners like him are the beneficiaries of both privileges and discrimination, and he has every right to point out when and where it happens.

[@landjoen1]

So Amazing!!!

[@user-tf4pw5el1y]

谢谢你指出这些问题， 希望你能更多的讨论些这方面的差距。。 顶你

[@barryng9650]

中国虽然历史很长，但建国很短。人们看人的眼光怪，很正常，就像朝鲜如果开放了，你去朝鲜，他们也是这么看着你的。老外这些年的确多了，但来的再多，在中国的人口基数下，那都是九牛一毛。所以老一辈的人看到，都会有这种习惯，但年轻一辈的会好很多。不像英国，你在伦敦街头走，也许拉出来十个人，里面亚洲人数可能还是最多的。中国现在正好在一个交叉路口，只能等时间去磨平这些。相信会越来越好的。至少我出国前的上海，很多地方还有中式英语的笑话，但近两年回去，上海北京，这些地方，已经渐渐没有了这些笑话。所以给点时间，都会好起来的。

[@SijiatheNinja]

Great video Chris! 你和我的情况刚好相反但又很相似。我从10岁开始学习英文，读大学的时候来到美国 （虽然不是英国）。在学校里面认识了不少学习中文的朋友，他们有的正在中国留学。我把你的频道分享给了他们。Keep up the good work!

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

谢谢！

[@ohplz858]

Dude u r freaking AWESOME!! U r absolutely right!

[@aaronma8801]

Really cool...Your Mandarin pretty good. It's very nice to watch your video. I am actually doing my uni in London.

[@wingli2755]

Excellent!

[@pinkvia240]

great observation!

[@beastcreativechannel]

您真棒

[@vain3940]

棒极了

[@hiosancheang5073]

永远支持你!!!

[@wandawuwu]

I love hearing you speak, Chris ☺ It gives me hope that I'll be able to speak fluently one day. 😁

[@MuhammadHanifHasballah]

Thanks for sharing.. I am studying in china now..

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

Goodl luck!

[@xyzxyz2658]

When I lived in china I wasn't treated that differently, my host sister said sometimes people would make comments when we were out together but my Chinese isn't very good and I didn't pay any attention. Only during golden week, when we went to forbidden city together (only time my host sister could go, otherwise I wouldn't have gone at such a busy time), several people wanted photos with me or talked to me. I felt incredibly awkward about it. If I spoke Chinese nobody said "wow, you did good!" they just talk back to me. I don't fit in, but as a foreigner I'm not special either. I'm just there. such is life for me lol

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

Yes, that's just how it is in the big cities now

[@slylie2]

Wow man, this started autoplaying after a different video in the background and I seriously thought it was a native Chinese speaking. Good job on getting your accent so accurate, I don't think any non-Asian people in my uni came even close to it even after 7 years.

[@physika]

hi chris, good to know someone like you staying in china and trying hard to blend into the chinese community. i hope you don't feel discouraged and continue to do your best !

[@cybcui1365]

lmao, funny as hell but also true. But I would like to point out that this happens everywhere as long as it is not diverse.This happened to me when I visited in Teotihuacan Mexico as well. But anyway, i love ur posts!. U just earned urself a subscribe. lol

[@user-co3qe2jg2i]

高材生啊，观点也挺新颖。希望你有更多点子，出更多视频。订阅你的频道了，加油！

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

好啊，谢谢！

[@wingli2755]

You are excellent not only because you can speak fluently Mandarin but also you have points.

[@kiwifruitkl]

你说的很不错。我都可以听得懂。我也正在学中文。

[@jianingsong]

支持你 继续加油~

[@Hoo88846]

Your Chinese is excellent. You get all the Mandarin tones right. Nice work. I am a Chinese American. =)

[@Hoo88846]

I've listened to the content. What do you mean? I just commented on the correctness of his tones.

[@tobybromfield3664]

As someone who speaks English and French and really wants to learn Mandarin but doesn't know a word of it, could I learn it? how could I? how long would it take for me to reach conversational fluency? - ie, to understand most of what's going on and can express myself in a range of circumstances.

[@PabloCorbal]

Wow. I have been learning Chinese for a year a half now and this video is quite inspiring. To know that in 7 years one can achieve this level is great to know. Thank you for the video!

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

+Pablo Vieites Corbal you're welcome! You can get a lot of the way in much less time..

[@johannchan3253]

Chris加油哦！我还认识一些外国友人会讲粤语哦！感谢你们做出的努力

[@seizetheday8862]

好样的！

[@katemini6372]

哈哈哈哈。。。说得真好，道出自己的心声！不知道酷渣有木有这个视频，那么会有更多的中国人看到的。

[@gracewang6909]

哈哈，真是有意思

[@weidu5293]

I admire you for your observation. You have spent so much time and energy in learning Chinese, and all these efforts have paid off. You did very good job. Marvelous

[@Furansowakun]

Your english is very good

[@flyingphonix121]

Your mandarin speaking is close to perfection! Amazing! Like your videos! Excellent job

[@kellychen6653]

BTW love this video!

Very impressed.

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

Thanks!

[@anniemeng8755]

哈哈，太逗啦！你中文说的真棒！

[@victorcharlie]

Very impressive! I'm going to study abroad in Beijing for a year in August 2016 and am starting to teach myself Mandarin. Your page is great and I've subscribed! Any more tips? Cheers

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

If you've signed up already I'll be sending you some tips via email, and don't forget to keep checking back at the site under 'Blog' for the latest updates:-)

[@channerduan2797]

喜欢你！

[@mugdays]

Great video! Just a quick question: Were your Chinese professors at Cambridge native speakers of Chinese? Do you think it matters? In other words, do you think non-native speakers can teach a language as well as native speakers can?

[@nyankomaomao]

Wow, your Mandarin is really great (though I'm sure you'd have heard this a million times already) and there isn't a single trace of the foreign accent most Westerners have! It even seems to be better than some of my friends' Mandarin ability :o

[@jintina6012]

你的发音堪称完美！！很棒

[@WillowInka]

I love the story about the big nose comment on Qingdao beach! Great video.

[@hongjianpan3611]

不要在意那些恶意的评论，你很棒，加油！希望你能在中国实现自己的理想和愿望。

[@andreagarrison8838]

说的好棒

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

+Andrea Garrison :-)

[@changhaizhu7854]

great video, and great chinese. I learned a lot from your video.

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

Glad you liked it!

[@agent11d7]

Wow! I cant wait to have the same fluency you have. I still have too much of the foreign accent. My tones are not as defined as yours and that is what I am trying to do. Also my spoken grammar is still developing. It would be amazing if you could provide a transcript of what you were saying in order to study grammar structure and for reading. Thank you for the video and I also find it funny when Chinese people ask me to take pictures or they do the selfi with me in the background. Keep the videos coming.

[@chinesespeakwelsh]

hi Chris. Great job. one question: how would you render "无语" in Mandarin? Didn't see that in your subtitles.

[@chinesespeakwelsh]

***** thanks! or does it have the sense like "I don't know how to respond to that"?

[@uButtons]

加油，Chris.

[@Inkie2Pinkie]

Omg! I hope my Mandarin will be as good as yours someday! Great info about life in China.