Useful Ways to Make Friends with Chinese People

In addition to language learning, many Chinese learners are interested in knowing more about Chinese culture and Chinese people’s lives. An effective way to have an insight into Chinese people’s daily lives is by making friends with Chinese people. You will be able to observe their lifestyle and hence more rationally deal with potential cultural barriers. In this article, we would like to offer you some tips on how to make friends with Chinese people.

Ways to Make Friends with Chinese People – Social Life

1. Participate in Chinese cultural activities

The number of foreigners who want to learn Chinese is increasing every year. It would be a good idea to study Chinese at a Chinese language school. Most Chinese language schools organize Chinese cultural events on a monthly basis in order to promote the Chinese language and culture. Participating in Chinese cultural activities will allow you to gain a deeper understanding of traditional Chinese culture and improve your knowledge of Chinese in a relaxed atmosphere. More importantly, you will have the opportunity to make friends with native Chinese speakers who are passionate about teaching Chinese and introducing Chinese culture to foreigners.

2. Take part in social events

Many young people in China are interested in different social events for both ex-pats and Chinese. For instance, the Christmas market which was organized last December in Shanghai attracted a lot of local people. So, it would be a good idea to take part in different social events if you would like to make friends with Chinese people. You can find plenty of information about upcoming events in WeChat groups for expats.

3. Go to bars

As more and more foreigners can now be seen in major cities in China, all kinds of bars have started to appear in those areas which foreigners are fond of visiting. China is now playing an increasingly important role in the international arena, therefore, Chinese people have become more open-minded. They are interested in making friends with people from different cultural backgrounds and are constantly looking for different dining experiences. That’s why many young people in China like to visit western-style restaurants and bars after work or on the weekend.

Ways to Make Friends with Chinese People – Communication

4. Learn to use WeChat

Nowadays Chinese people can’t live without WeChat in that it’s the most popular “platform” where people communicate with each other. Therefore, if you plan to move to China in the future, this would be the first app that you need to download. In China, people make friends with others by adding each other on WeChat. In addition to communication, one can also use WeChat to make payments, order takeout and book tickets, which makes it an inalienable part of Chinese people’s daily lives.

5. Find yourself a language exchange partner

Young people in China are eager to improve their English language skills in order to make themselves more competitive when it comes to job hunting. Consequently, it would be easier for you to make friends with Chinese people if you are a native English speaker. So, instead of studying Chinese at a language school or with a private tutor, you can try to find yourself a language exchange partner if you are interested in learning Chinese. The main advantage is that you will be offering each other the opportunity to improve your foreign language skills, which is a “win-win situation”. Furthermore, the mutual learning process would more or less strengthen the friendship between you and your language exchange partner.

6. Don’t be surprised by personal questions

Chinese people are kind and friendly. Nevertheless, many foreigners think that sometimes Chinese people ask questions that might sound “too personal”. But, there is no need to be upset if your Chinese friends ask you some questions which might sound inappropriate according to Western culture. The reason behind it is that it’s acceptable to ask questions like “how old are you?” in Chinese people’s daily lives. So, it doesn’t mean they are rude. Meanwhile, you can always provide “vague answers” if you don’t want to talk too much about a particular question.

We hope these tips will be useful and help you make friends with Chinese people. To find out interesting phrases and questions in Chinese, check out one of our blog posts 5 Small Talk Phrases in Chinese