I remember at some point being told that in China it’s considered a mild insult to tell someone that they are one in a million. The idea is that it’s something you tell someone who is acting like a jerk because they think they are unique. Supposedly it’s considered an insult because in a country of a billion people telling someone that they are one in a million means they aren’t all that special because there are a thousand other people like them. Is this a real thing in China (or India), or is it something that was made up or that I’m possibly not remembering correctly?
I can’t say that it isn’t true, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense–the same would apply anywhere. In America it would mean that there are around 360 like you or around 7,600, depending on how broadly you look at it.
To quote the Australian band The Whitlams, “One In A Million”:
Some say love it only comes once in a lifetime
Well once is enough for me
She was one in a million
So there’s five more just in New South Wales
I thought you were going to argue that it was an insult because in some cultures (including China?) it’s considered bad to stick out, be special, not fit in, or draw attention to oneself.
(I’m not claiming that’s true, but IMHO it strikes me as more likely than the OP’s explanation.)
I have never heard such a term used in any conversation in Chinese circles, so I don’t know, however, I would suspect that anywhere one is in the world, being told that one is “out of a million” (assuming it’s in reference to something desirable, such as talent/IQ/wealth/appearance) would be considered a compliment. It’s hard to be offended about being told that one is in the 99.9999th percentile.
I could see that applying in Japan but is the same cultural aspect true in China as well?
Can you really expect any other response in a country where half the population is of below-average intelligence?
If Bill Gates moved to your zip code, it is likely that everyone’s income (except Bill of course) will be below average for your zip code.
I think it depends on whether you are singing the Guns And Roses song to them as a vehicle to deliver your “one in a million” message or not.
FWIW, Methinks this is a special snowflake suddenly thinking more globally teritory. Certainly, never heard this in my 20+ years in China, although caveat while a fluent Mandarin speaker I am not a native speaker.
A Whitney Brown made that joke on an SNL newscast, and he admits he stole it from someone else.
We already had some people point out, as the world’s population increases, “one in a million” means “I can find at least five of you in Wales.” And has meant that for quite some time. So I don’t think anyone uses “one in a million” unless they’re being ironic, or using a 1950’s term for another reason.
Many idioms don’t translate. Do we have to say, “one in a milliard” to add impact for British speakers? No. We don’t. Wikipedia says the idiom is clear in spoken English. Million is big. Everyone who speaks English knows that.
“That’s the million dollar question” “Well, How much is that question worth in Euros?”
“We’ve been over this a million time in France” “How many kilo is that”
No one asks the second question, except to be pedantic or ironic.
I don’t know if there are cultural obstacles to recognizing the value of “a million” as hyperbole. Perhaps the Roman numbering system stopped at a million, and for much of Europe’s Middle ages, a million people or a million acres of wheat weren’t real numbers. The Middle East, India, and China may have had different thresholds for “big number word”
But how much population a nation has, isn’t going to be the deciding factor. Someone can make a joke, mocking the population size, and the culture’s inability to to accept it. But that’s a joke.
Given China’s historical underlying philosophy of Confucianism, I see calling someone “One in a million” an insult not because there are so many others like you, but because you stand out against the majority.
When I took some Chinese history courses, the #1 question always was “What makes a person Chinese?”. The answer being “If you understand and accept Chinese culture and philosophy, you’re Chinese”. Emperor Kang Shi who significantly was a Manchu refused to let some Portuguese Jesuits return home because they learned and accepted the Chinese ways, they were now Chinese and no longer belong to Portugal.
I’ve been able to verify the quote, but supposedly when an Emperor was asked why China never annexed Vietnam, he replied “Because they would never accept the Chinese ways and become true Chinese.”
I was heavily heartbroken when a Chinese friend, knowing how much I admire Chinese culture said “You can’t be Chinese because you don’t worry about money”. Essentially “You’re one in a million” in China, going against the current of Chinese thought.