No thanks

The Chinese take the piss out of foreigners because we say “Thanks” for everything. Xie xie this, xie xie that. They think it highly amusing because for them “thanks” is something you say when there’s something worthwhile thanking someone for. Or to put it another way (as someone did recently to me): “If you say it all the time, how will I know when you really mean it?” So where we say “That’s okay” or “It’s a pleasure”, the standard Chinese response is Bu yong xie – no need for thanks.

(Thank you for reading, by the way, you were great.)