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英式禮貌・客套

英國人講嘢間接，please／sorry／thank you 唔離口。聽得明弦外之音好重要。

「Sorry」唔一定係道歉

英國人成日講 sorry —— 撞到你、行過你前面、甚至想搵你幫手都講。當佢係潤滑劑，唔代表認錯。

  • Sorry, could I just squeeze past?
  • Sorry to bother you.

「Cheers」= 多謝／拜拜

除咗飲酒乾杯，日常 cheers 多數即係 thank you，有時係 goodbye。收到嘢、店員找錢都講得。

  • Cheers, mate.
  • Cheers, see you later.

「You alright?」係打招呼

「You alright?」/「Alright?」多數係 hello，唔係真係問你有冇事。答返「Yeah, you?」就得，唔使講晒你啲煩惱。

  • Alright? — Yeah, good thanks, you?

英式輕描淡寫

英國人會把話講細。「Not bad」其實係好好；「a bit of a problem」可能係大鑊；「quite good」因人而異。聽弦外之音。

  • It’s not bad, actually.
  • That’s a bit of a problem.

間接請求

直接講「Give me…」會好硬。用「Could I…」、「Would you mind…」、「I was wondering if…」自然好多。

  • Could I get a coffee, please?
  • Would you mind opening the window?

排隊文化

英國人好重視排隊，打尖（jump the queue）係大忌。唔肯定就問「Are you in the queue?」。

  • Sorry, are you in the queue?