不同的國家對“準時”的定義

South Korea 韓國

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。儒學的影響貫穿著韓國人日常生活的方方面面。至少在理論上是這樣的。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沖突，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，就會被視為粗魯可鄙的人。

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.

盡管日本賭客以出手闊綽聞名，但是日本人絕不跟時間賭博。遲到往往伴隨著謙卑的道歉和深深的悔意。然而，在現代社會，隨著全球標準放低，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。

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”.

據說巴西人對遲到普遍都很寬容。例如，在社交場合準時到達被視為沒禮貌。這很可能是因為主人都還沒準備好接待他們的客人呢！盡管如此，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，因為你不是巴西人，沒有資格不守時。

Ghana 加納

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.

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

Greece 希臘

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，而不是用來煩惱的。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么散漫，與會者都應準時參加。你大概也猜到了，希臘主人無需守時。

Russia 俄羅斯

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.

在俄羅斯做生意，守時很重要，否則就會被視為不尊重對方。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。

Malaysia 馬來西亞

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.

常聽人說，馬來西亞人在私人和職場生活中對待守時問題的態度都很散漫。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。然而，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。所以盡管他們時間觀念不強，但是背后也有實際原因。

Germany 德國

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，因為邀請你的主人很可能早就在那里等候了，而且正在想你怎么會這么欠考慮，一點時間余量也不留，萬一有意外耽擱了該怎么辦。