不同的国家对“准时”的定义

South Korea 韩国

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.

韩国在很多方面都是一个秩序井然的社会。儒学的影响贯穿着韩国人日常生活的方方面面。至少在理论上是这样的。其中最核心的就是“面子”观念。因此，无论如何都要避免面对面的冲突，而避免任何不愉快的一个方法就是永远都准时。如果不遵守时间，就会被视为粗鲁可鄙的人。

Japan 日本

Despite being famous for their high-rolling gamblers the Japanese just dont 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.

尽管日本赌客以出手阔绰闻名，但是日本人绝不跟时间赌博。迟到往往伴随着谦卑的道歉和深深的悔意。然而，在现代社会，随着全球标准放低，日本年轻一代可不像老一代那样恪守时间了，如果你迟到了他们应该也不会太在意。

Brazil 巴西

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， its probably best not to do as they do because， not being Brazilian， you havent earned the right to be on anything other than “English time”.

據说巴西人对迟到普遍都很宽容。例如，在社交场合准时到达被视为没礼貌。这很可能是因为主人都还没准备好接待他们的客人呢！尽管如此，如果你是到巴西参加重要商务会议的外国人，你最好不要效仿巴西人的做派，因为你不是巴西人，没有资格不守时。

Ghana 加纳

Ghanaians are a very relaxed and accommodating people who reckon that if everyone is late then no one is late. After all， what cant 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.

加纳人非常放松、随和，他们认为如果大家都迟到，那就没人迟到。毕竟，今天做不了的事情可以等到明天再做。如果你认为这种态度难以接受，那就只能生闷气了。如若不然，你大可以和他们一样散漫。

Greece 希腊

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.

在希腊时，你要记住，希腊人是“消磨时间”而不是“利用时间”。换言之，在希腊，时间是用来享受的，而不是用来烦恼的。正因如此，希腊人在宴会上迟到30分钟很正常。不过，在商务会议上可不能这么散漫，与会者都应准时参加。你大概也猜到了，希腊主人无需守时。

Russia 俄罗斯

When doing business in Russia， it is important to be on time. To be otherwise is considered disrespectful. Ironically， Russians wont hold themselves to the same standards of timeliness that they expect from you so， again， patience can be key.

在俄罗斯做生意，守时很重要，否则就会被视为不尊重对方。讽刺的是，在守时这方面，俄罗斯人对待自己和别人是完全不同的标准，所以耐心很重要。

Malaysia 马来西亚

It is often said that Malaysia has a very loose attitude toward punctuality in both the personal and professional sphere. Talk to any foreigner who has spent time there and they might grumble in agreement. However， this is to overlook the oftentimes 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.

常聽人说，马来西亚人在私人和职场生活中对待守时问题的态度都很散漫。问问任何一个在马来西亚待过的外国人，他们大概都会一边抱怨一边表示赞同。然而，也不要忽略马来西亚人每天都要面对的混乱交通和蹩脚公交。所以尽管他们时间观念不强，但是背后也有实际原因。

Germany 德国

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.

在德国，准时到是有风险的，因为邀请你的主人很可能早就在那里等候了，而且正在想你怎么会这么欠考虑，一点时间余量也不留，万一有意外耽搁了该怎么办。