I have been in Taiwan for a few months now. I am just starting to hit the dating scene which seems much more quantity vs quality here, as opposed to back home which was neither much of the time. But a lot of girls I end up exchanging phone numbers with tell me I am very ke’ai 可愛 or chao ke’ai 超可愛. Now I know the direct translation is “cute”, but in the West when a girl tells you that you’re cute it usually means she is attracted to you, or that has been my experience at least. It is like the “safe” way to tell someone directly that you find them attractive. I was wondering if it has the same usage here or if they mean I remind them of Hello Kitty. Just trying to figure out how to read the signs here before making a move to know if it would be a welcomed move or not.
The much over-used ke ai, just like in the West the over-used “great” or “cool” (or “lovely” if you’re British) is almost devoid of meaning. In 99% of the cases it is used to describe someone or something cute (as in Hello Kitty cute). It can also be a safe way to say a girl (but never a guy) is hot (just like you would use “cute” in English). The girls in your case probably think you’re likable and nice, but you probably are not their idea of good-looking or sexy, because then they would say you’re “很帥”. On the other hand, if they say you’re “可愛” it means that they do find you attractive in a “cute” way, but be aware that the “friend zone” is just around the corner. Does that make sense?
All in all I’d say if they call you cute it’s a positive sign and an indication they probably like you at least somewhat. I’ve been called 可愛 for acting like bit of a clown by girls that seemed to like me (one of them later seemed to really like me, wink wink). If they didn’t especially like me they probably would have called me 白吃 instead. I’m guessing they think your behavior, the way you carry yourself, or some of your speech is cute rather than you look like hello kitty or a puppy. Since you’re the dude it’s doubtful they’re saying it to mean they think you look hot, like GC Rider said. If the context in which they’re saying it doesn’t seem to match the idea of labeling your behavior or the things you say, then I don’t know what to tell you. Do you have an extremely large head?
Ke’ai is much closer to our conception of “adorable” than “cute;” when describing women, it has more to do with personality and style, and when describing men, it has almost nothing to do with outward appearance. It’s also comparable to calling someone “quirky” or “funny,” but basically don’t let it get to your head.
At first I thought you probably meant 白痴 (idiot), but since this thread is about men-women relationships, maybe you really did mean 白吃 (free meal) [/quote]
:bravo:
Nicely played.
GC Rider has obviously been there, done that. His response pretty much nailed it. Basically, they’re saying: close, but no cigar - at least not in the Clintonesque sense.
