Chatting online is now a national pastime in China, especially among the post-'90s generation. To the uninitiated however, online chats can seem like the wild west of polite conversation. Yet hidden rules and standards do exist, as long as you take the time to look for them.

在现今中国，上网聊天已成一种举国上下都在践行的消遣形式，尤其风靡于九零后之间。对于聊天门外汉来说，网上聊天形式有时过于不拘小节、不修边幅，甚至算不上礼貌对话。然而，只要深入发掘，一定会发现许多隐藏的却能方便你我的普世规则和标准。

So today, let's take a closer look at some WeChat do's and don'ts.

那么今天，就让我们来总结总结“微信”中那些应该做与最好别做的事儿吧。

- 1 -

When sending a friend request, include your real name and any other identifying information. Remember, everybody's time is precious. If there's something you want, cut right to the chase.

发送好友申请时，一定要记得加上你的真实姓名和其它必要的识别信息哦!每个人的时间都是很宝贵的，如果你有什么事情或需要的东西，一定记得：少寒暄，切重点!

- 2 -

Never send an "are you there?" without any follow-up messages. The quicker that you get to the point, the more likely the other person is to reply.

千万不要只发一句“你在吗?”就没有下文了。你越是开门见山地说事情，别人越是能决定是否回复你“在不在”。

- 3 -

Please send texts, not voice messages. It might be easier for you to speak than type, but what about the person on the other end? They may be unable to listen to a 59-second message right now. Also, never send personal information by voice message — that is hard to note down.

能发文字的，尽量别发语音。于你而言，也许说话比打字容易，但你有没有想过对面人的感受?他们或许没办法听你的59秒超长语音。同时，那些隐私信息千万别通过语音传达——想要记录下来可是件麻烦事儿。

- 4 -

Emojis, GIFs and memes can save the day when you find yourself in an embarrassing conversation, or words fail you. Also, try adding a tilde ("~") to the end of your messages, it can help soften the tone.

如果越聊越尴尬，或是你说错了话，一定别忘了表情符号、动图和表情包总是能够挽救陷入尬聊僵局中的你们。你还可以考虑在消息后加上波浪字符(“~”)，它可以让你的语气更加舒缓。

- 5 -

Think before you type, and then type quickly. There's nothing worse than seeing the flickering "typing..." indicator for minutes on end, without anything being received.

三思而后行，想好了你想说的再迅速打字发消息。盯着那不断闪烁的“正在输入中……”，几分钟过去了却依然没收到消息，没什么比这更纠结。

- 6 -

You can always judge a person's mood by the length of their text messages.

你可以通过文字消息的长度判断一个人的心情。

- 7 -

If the person you're talking to says "good night" or "I'm going to take a shower" that's probably not what they're actually going to do, it's just an excuse to stop talking to you.

如果别人告诉你他要去睡觉或洗澡了，那个人也许并不是真的要这么做。这也许只是停止这段聊天的说辞。

- 8 -

Use WeChat to communicate with friends and relatives. Use phone calls for acquaintances and strangers.

亲朋好友之间，能用微信说的就别用电话。陌生人或萍水之交间，能用电话说的就别加微信说了。

- 9 -

If someone hesitates for longer than three seconds before saying "yes", they probably really mean "no".

如果一个人犹豫了超过三秒才答应你“好”，那他很大可能只是礼貌性地表达“不好”。

- 10 -

If you receive these emojis

from friends who are older, read them literally (as a smile, a wave or a laugh). For the post-'90s generation, however, they could indicate speechlessness.

如果你收到了年长者的发来的这些表情符号，你可以从字面上解读它们(就是表示微笑，挥手和大笑的含义)。但如果是九零后之间，这些表情符号的言外之意约莫是无语。