老师问：你看到什么？
Lǎoshī wèn: Nǐ kàn dào shénme?
Teacher: What do you see?
美国学生：不同颜色，不同大小，不同种类的鱼在游玩.
Měiguó xuéshēng: Bùtóng yánsè, bùtóng dàxiǎo, bùtóng zhǒnglèi de yú zài yóuwán.
American student: Fish of different colors, different sizes and different kinds are swimming.
中国学生：珊瑚，水草，沙石，鱼在游.
Zhōngguó xuéshēng: Shānhú, shuǐcǎo, shā shí, yú zài yóu.
Chinese student: Reef, water grass, sand and fishes swimming.
我们看事情的角度不一样.
Wǒmen kàn shìqíng de jiǎodù bù yīyàng.
We see things from different angles.
研究表明，亚州人尤其是东亚人和欧美人看问题角度很不同，美国人比较注意个体，东亚人比较注意群体和整体.
Yánjiū biǎomíng, yà zhōu rén yóuqí shì dōng yǎ rén hé ōuměi rén kàn wèntí jiǎodù hěn bùtóng, měiguó rén bǐjiào zhùyì gètǐ, dōng yǎ rén bǐjiào zhùyì qúntǐ hé zhěngtǐ.
Research shows that Asians, especially East Asians, see things differently from Euro-Americans. Americans pay more attention to individuals and east Asians pay more attention to the whole group and the big picture.
知道了这一点，我们在交流的时候就应该多从注意站在对方的角度上看问题。
Zhīdàole zhè yīdiǎn, wǒmen zài jiāoliú de shíhòu jiù yīnggāi duō cóng zhùyì zhàn zài duìfāng de jiǎodù shàng kàn wèntí.
Knowing this, we can improve our communications by thinking more from the other’s perspective.
Author: Sofia Zhang-Midkiff, M.B.A.
Sofia Zhang-Midkiff brought to our awareness the research on ways of seeing using the metaphors of fish and fish tanks. We contributed to this dialogue about this idea here.
This post includes 知道 zhīdào, a meaningful word on our list of universal human concepts.
If you are a user of Mandarin Blueprint, this post’s content may be helpful in learning these characters:
Phase 4 Level 22 Character #305: 道 dào
Phase 4 Level 25 Character #368 鱼 yú
Phase 5 Level 33 Character #518 知 zhī
This post is part of our Meaningful Words 有意义的词 yǒu yìyì de cí series. In hopes of fostering empathy and understanding, the series features dialogues about universal human concepts in simplified Chinese characters, pinyin, and English. Posts in the Meaningful Words series are here. If you are interested in writing for the Meaningful Words series, please see these submission requirements.
Submissions are read and edited by people proficient in Mandarin Chinese before publishing. Since the publisher is a beginning student of Mandarin Chinese, changes made may introduce new, undetected errors. Since posts use simple vocabulary to convey complex ideas, ambiguity may result. Posts are estimated to be 95% correct in terms of typography, vocabulary, grammar, and clarity.
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