TL;DR: My new girlfriend from Shanghai says that in her culture, men cover all expenses on dates, and women don’t take out their wallets at all. I’m genuinely curious if this is the norm in Chinese dating culture or just her personal view.

太長(zhǎng)不看版:我來(lái)自上海的新女友說(shuō),在她的文化中,男人承擔(dān)約會(huì)的所有費(fèi)用,而女人根本不掏錢(qián)包。我真的很好奇這是中國(guó)約會(huì)文化的常態(tài)還是只是她的個(gè)人觀點(diǎn)。

I’ve been dating an absolutely stunning girl from Shanghai. When we first met, her English wasn’t great, but we connected effortlessly—guess we were speaking the universal language of love.
Things were going great until our first fight, and I’m grateful she took the time to explain her feelings to me—something I’ve noticed not all people are willing to do, especially in cross-cultural relationships. The issue? Money.

我一直在和一個(gè)來(lái)自上海的非常漂亮的女孩約會(huì)。當(dāng)我們第一次見(jiàn)面時(shí),她的英語(yǔ)不是很好,但我們毫不費(fèi)力地聯(lián)系上了——我猜我們說(shuō)的是愛(ài)的通用語(yǔ)言。
在我們第一次吵架之前,一切都很順利,我很感激她花時(shí)間向我解釋她的感受——我注意到并不是所有人都愿意這樣做,尤其是在跨文化關(guān)系中。問(wèn)題出在哪呢?錢(qián)。

I’m not wealthy, but I usually pay for dates. That said, I appreciate it when my partner offers to cover something—it feels like they’re taking ownership of the relationship too. She hasn’t done this much, but I didn’t really mind… until this one incident.
That day, I drove her to fix her bike, we had dinner, and then stopped by IKEA to grab a bag for her foldable bike. At the self-checkout, I scanned her $8 item and casually said, “Alright, your turn.” She paid, but then she lost it.

我并不富有,但我通常會(huì)支付約會(huì)的費(fèi)用。話(huà)雖如此,當(dāng)我的伴侶主動(dòng)提出分擔(dān)費(fèi)用時(shí)我也很感激——這讓我覺(jué)得他們也在對(duì)這段關(guān)系承擔(dān)責(zé)任。她沒(méi)有做過(guò)這么多,但我并不介意……直到這件事。
那天,我開(kāi)車(chē)送她去修理自行車(chē),我們吃了晚飯,然后去宜家為她的折疊自行車(chē)拿了一個(gè)袋子。在自助結(jié)賬處,我掃描了她8美元的商品,然后隨意地說(shuō):“好吧,輪到你了?!彼读隋X(qián),但隨后她情緒崩潰了。

She told me she was disappointed because she had expected me to cover it, especially since it was such a small expense. She explained that in her culture, it’s normal for the man to pay for everything on a date—and that even a male platonic friend would pick up the tab instead of letting a woman pay. She also mentioned she’d been “kind” by choosing cheaper places to eat and not dragging me shopping.

她告訴我她很失望,因?yàn)樗詾槲視?huì)承擔(dān)這筆費(fèi)用,特別是因?yàn)檫@是一筆很小的費(fèi)用。她解釋說(shuō),在她的文化中,男人在約會(huì)時(shí)支付所有費(fèi)用是很正常的,而且即使是柏拉圖式的男性朋友也會(huì)買(mǎi)單,而不是讓女人付錢(qián)。她還提到她很“體貼”,選擇了更便宜的地方吃飯,而不是拖著我去購(gòu)物。
原創(chuàng)翻譯:龍騰網(wǎng) http://top-shui.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處


Now, I’m genuinely trying to understand. Is this typical for Chinese dating culture? Is it a form of financial chivalry or a broader cultural expectation? I’ve been looking at this from two perspectives:
1.From a liberal standpoint, I can’t help but feel a bit used.
2.From a more traditional view, I see how this aligns with a conservative, provider-type role—where the man is expected to financially support his partner.

現(xiàn)在,我真誠(chéng)地試圖理解。這是中國(guó)約會(huì)文化的典型特征嗎?這是一種金融騎士精神還是更廣泛的文化期望?我一直從兩個(gè)角度來(lái)看這個(gè)問(wèn)題:
1.從自由主義的角度來(lái)看,我不禁覺(jué)得有點(diǎn)被利用了。
2.從更傳統(tǒng)的角度來(lái)看,我認(rèn)為這與保守的、提供者型的角色是一致的——在這種角色中,男人被期望在經(jīng)濟(jì)上支持他的伴侶。

She also mentioned that many Chinese women are frustrated with modern dating because men aren’t meeting these expectations anymore.

她還提到,許多中國(guó)女性對(duì)現(xiàn)代約會(huì)感到沮喪,因?yàn)槟行圆辉贊M(mǎn)足這些期望。

Ultimately, I want to make this work, and I’m willing to compromise because I know dating across cultures requires effort. I just want to hear from others—especially those familiar with Chinese culture—if this is really the norm, or if it’s more of an individual expectation.
Thanks in advance for helping me understand!

最終,我希望這段關(guān)系能夠順利進(jìn)行,我愿意做出妥協(xié),因?yàn)槲抑揽缥幕s會(huì)需要付出努力。我只是想聽(tīng)聽(tīng)其他人的意見(jiàn)——尤其是那些熟悉中國(guó)文化的人——這是否真的是普遍現(xiàn)象,或者還是更多的是個(gè)人期望。
提前感謝大家?guī)椭依斫猓?br />