“準時”這件事,在不同國家的含義差別竟然這麼大

In many respects, South Korea is a very ordered society. The influence of Confucian principles runs through every aspect of day-to-day living. Well, in theory, at least. Central to this is Kibun, the concept of saving face. As a result, confrontation is to be avoided at all costs and one way to avoid any unpleasantness is to be on time, all the time. And to be lax in this regard is to mark oneself out as a cad and a bounder.

韓國在很多方面都是一個秩序井然的社會。儒學的影響貫穿着韓國人日常生活的方方面面。至少在理論上是這樣。其中最核心的就是“面子”觀念。因此，無論如何都要避免面對面的衝突，而避免任何不愉快的一個方法就是永遠都準時。如果不遵守時間，就會被視爲粗魯可鄙的人。

Despite being famous for their high-rolling gamblers the Japanese just don’t gamble with time, where tardiness generally results in groveling and sincere expressions of deep regret. However, the modern world being what it is, young Japanese people may well be more comfortable with the remorseless global lowering of societal standards than older generations, and might not expect you to beat yourself up too badly should you be late.

儘管日本賭客以出手闊綽聞名，但是日本人絕不跟時間賭博。遲到往往伴隨着謙卑的道歉和深深的悔意。不過，在現代社會，隨着全球標準的放低，日本年輕一代可不像老一代那樣恪守時間了，如果你遲到了他們應該也不會太在意。

In the case of Germany, being on-time is a risky enough tactic as your hosts will probably already be there waiting, wondering how on earth you could be so foolish as to allow the possibility of some unforeseen circumstance delay you by so much as a second.

在德國，準時到是有風險的，因爲你的主人很可能早就在那裏等候了，而且正在想你怎麼會這麼欠考慮，一點時間餘量也不留，萬一有意外耽擱了呢？

It has been said that in Brazil, there is a widespread tolerance for delays. For example, it is considered impolite to arrive on time for a social occasion. That is probably due to the fact that it is unlikely the hosts would even be ready to receive their guests! Having said that, if you are a visitor to the country and have an important business meeting, it’s probably best not to do as they do because, not being Brazilian, you haven’t earned the right to be on anything other than ‘English time’.

據說巴西人對遲到普遍都很寬容。舉例而言，在社交場合準時到達被視爲沒禮貌。這很可能是因爲主人都還沒準備好接待他們的客人呢！儘管如此，如果你是到巴西參加重要商務會議的外國人，你最好不要效仿巴西人的做派，因爲你不是巴西人，沒有資格不守時。

Some countries don’t give timeliness a priority in their societies and Saudi Arabia appears to be one of them. It could be that the lack of importance attached to timeliness is as a result of their long history of desert living where punctuality doesn’t figure highly on the list of everyday priorities. It could be that it’s too damn hot to do anything at pace. Whatever the reason happens to be, don’t expect punctuality on the part of your hosts, don’t get upset by this and please, don’t start looking at your watch during a professional or social gathering. It is considered quite discourteous.

有些國家不在乎是否守時，沙特阿拉伯就是其中之一。這也許是因爲沙特人歷史上長期生活在沙漠裏，而在那兒守時並不是人們在日常生活中要優先考慮的事情。可能是因爲沙漠裏太熱了，沒辦法行雲流水地做任何事情。不論是什麼原因，不要期望你的主人會守時，也不要因此而心煩，更不要在工作會議或社交聚會上看手錶，這是一種失禮的行爲。

Ghanaians are a very relaxed and accommodating people who reckon that if everyone is late then no one is late. After all, what can’t be done today can get done tomorrow. If you find that kind of attitude difficult to deal with, prepare to be annoyed. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy the ride.

加納人非常放鬆、隨和，他們認爲如果大家都遲到，那就沒人遲到。畢竟，今天做不了的事情可以等到明天再做。如果你認爲這種態度難以接受，那就只能生悶氣了。如若不然，你大可以和他們一樣散漫。

The Indian novelist R.K Narayan once wrote that “In a country like ours, the preoccupation is with eternity, and little measures of time are hardly ever noticed”. Indeed, the Hindi word for yesterday and tomorrow is ‘kal’ so it’s fair to say that the concept of time differs slightly in India than it does in other parts of the world. To add to this, issues with traffic and infrastructure can also act as an impediment to timeliness. Still, it is appreciated if a guest is punctual. Just don’t expect that your host will always do the same.

印度小說家R·K·納拉揚曾寫道：“在我們這樣的國家，人們關注的是永恆，幾乎注意不到時間的小碎片。”確實如此，印度語中表示昨天和明天的詞都是kal，因此可以說印度人的時間概念和世界其他地方是不太一樣的。除此以外，交通和基礎設施的問題也會阻礙印度人守時。儘管如此，主人還是喜歡客人準時到達。只是不要指望主人也能守時。

When in Greece it is worth remembering that Greeks ‘pass’ the time as opposed to ‘use’ it. In other words, time is something to be enjoyed rather than fretted over. As such, it is not unusual to arrive 30 minutes later for a dinner party. However, this laxity does not extend to business meetings where visitors are expected to be on time. As you might have guessed, the same rule doesn’t always apply to your Greek hosts.

在希臘時，你要記住，希臘人是消磨時間而不是利用時間。換言之，在希臘，時間是用來享受的，而不是用來奔忙的。正因如此，希臘人在宴會上遲到30分鐘很正常。不過，在商務會議上可不能這麼散漫，與會者都應準時參加。你大概也猜到了，希臘主人無需守時。

When doing business in Russia, it is important to be on time. To be otherwise is considered disrespectful. Ironically, Russians won’t hold themselves to the same standards of timeliness that they expect from you so, again, patience can be key.

在俄羅斯做生意，守時很重要，否則就會被視爲不尊重對方。諷刺的是，在守時這方面，俄羅斯人對待自己和別人是完全不同的標準，所以耐心很重要。

It is often said that Malaysia has a very loose attitude toward punctuality in both the personal and professional sphere. Talk to any expat who has spent time there and they might grumble in agreement. However, this is to overlook the oft-times chaotic traffic and malfunctioning public transport that many Malaysians have to deal with on a daily basis. So while there might be a liberal attitude toward time keeping, there might also be practical reasons underlying this.

常聽人說，馬來西亞人在私人和職場生活中都不守時。問問任何一個在馬來西亞待過的外國人，他們大概都會一邊抱怨一邊表示贊同。當然，也不要忽略馬來西亞人每天都要面對的混亂交通和蹩腳公交。所以儘管他們沒有時間觀念，但是背後也有實際原因。