--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He has always been politely indifferent…" description: "\"“He has always been politely indifferent. But what's the Chinese word that means indifferent because you can't see any differences?”\" — Amy Tan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/049/amy-tan-730_indifference_he-has-always-been-politely-indifferent_837834.jpg" --- # He has always been politely indifferent. But what's the… ![“He has always been politely indifferent. But what's the Chinese word that means indifferent because you can't see any differences?” quote by Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/049/amy-tan-730_indifference_he-has-always-been-politely-indifferent_837834.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/049/amy-tan-730_indifference_he-has-always-been-politely-indifferent_837834.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/049/amy-tan-730_indifference_he-has-always-been-politely-indifferent_837834.jpg) > ““He has always been politely indifferent. But what's the Chinese word that means indifferent because you can't see any differences?”” [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Politeness can mask true indifference, especially when differences are invisible, leading to a subtle form of disengagement. **In simple terms:** Polite indifference hides true lack of concern when differences aren’t seen. Key Takeaway Seek genuine engagement beyond polite distance. Themes communication culture psychology social interaction language perception Mood thoughtful empathetic inquisitive Type conversational cultural When to use this quote - personal relationships - cross‑cultural dialogue - conflict resolution - teamwork - customer service Key Concepts indifference politeness cultural nuance language gaps social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - When does polite indifference become harmful? - How can we express true feelings respectfully? A Different Perspective Politeness may prevent honest feedback and deepen misunderstanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Indifferent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifferent/) [Indifferent Chinese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifferent-chinese-615394/) [Indifferent Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifferent-differences-615396/) [Means Indifferent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-indifferent-615395/) [Politely Indifferent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politely-indifferent-615397/) ## Related quotes > [“The thing people are never indifferent to are differences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lippman/the-thing-people-are-never-indifferent-to-are-differences/) [Laura Lippman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lippman/) > [Indifferent souls never part. Impassioned souls part, and return to one another, because they can do no better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/indifferent-souls-never-part-impassioned-souls-part-and-return-to-one/) [Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/) > [She would have liked to know how he felt as to a meeting. Perhaps indifferent, if indifference could exist under such circumstances. He must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/she-would-have-liked-to-know-how-he-felt-as-to-a-meeting-perhaps/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [In my relations with my father, which are difficult and where I'm often met by coolness and indifference, I am constantly tempted to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-underhill/in-my-relations-with-my-father-which-are-difficult-and-where-i-m/) [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) > [The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read, not as a contradiction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-happy-ending-of-the-fairy-tale-the-myth-and-the-divine-comedy-of/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Was our life nothing more than a sequence of anonymous screams in a desert of indifferent stars?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernesto-sabato/was-our-life-nothing-more-than-a-sequence-of-anonymous-screams-in-a/) [Ernesto Sabato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernesto-sabato/) > [He who is indifferent to the suffering of others is a traitor to that which is truly human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadi/he-who-is-indifferent-to-the-suffering-of-others-is-a-traitor-to-that/) [Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadi/) > [Everything that we love will, at some point, be taken away from us. 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If we look at the situation from various angles, such as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/a-wider-of-more-altruistic-attitude-is-very-relevant-in-today-s-world/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth which constitutes self-respect is potentially to have everything: the ability to discriminate, to love and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-worth-which-constitutes-self/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Indifference is more truly the opposite of love than hate is, for we can both love and hate the same person at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/indifference-is-more-truly-the-opposite-of-love-than-hate-is-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“When I pretended to be precocious, people started the rumor that I was precocious. When I acted like an idler, rumor had it I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osamu-dazai/when-i-pretended-to-be-precocious-people-started-the-rumor-that-i-was/) [Osamu Dazai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osamu-dazai/) > [“the fear of being indifferent is not the same as indifference itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-landweber/the-fear-of-being-indifferent-is-not-the-same-as-indifference-itself/) [Michael Landweber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-landweber/) ## More by Amy Tan > [So sad! This is the saddest part when you lose someone you love- that person keeps changing. And later you wonder, Is this the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/so-sad-this-is-the-saddest-part-when-you-lose-someone-you-love-that/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Too many good things all seem the same after a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/too-many-good-things-all-seem-the-same-after-a-while/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“bad, how likely is it to come”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/bad-how-likely-is-it-to-come/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“A mother is always the beginning. She is how things begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/a-mother-is-always-the-beginning-she-is-how-things-begin/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Shanghainese people are good negotiators, they're very persistent, and you grow up in an atmosphere like that - very competitive. That becomes part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/shanghainese-people-are-good-negotiators-they-re-very-persistent-and/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [But now that I am old, moving every year closer to the end of my life, I also feel closer to the beginning. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/but-now-that-i-am-old-moving-every-year-closer-to-the-end-of-my-life/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [You should think about your character. Know where you are changing, how you will be changed, what cannot be changed back again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/you-should-think-about-your-character-know-where-you-are-changing-how/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Now you see,' said the turtle, drifting back into the pond, 'why it is useless to cry. Your tears do not wash away your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/now-you-see-said-the-turtle-drifting-back-into-the-pond-why-it-is/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I hid my deepest feelings so well I forgot where I placed them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-hid-my-deepest-feelings-so-well-i-forgot-where-i-placed-them/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“Lebih baik jadi orang yang TIDAK TERLUPAKAN daripada orang yang MEMBOSANKAN -”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/lebih-baik-jadi-orang-yang-tidak-terlupakan-daripada-orang-yang/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [After all, Bao Bomu says, what is the past but what we choose to remember?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/after-all-bao-bomu-says-what-is-the-past-but-what-we-choose-to/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [We all become different readers in how we respond to books, why we need them, what we take from them. We become different in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/we-all-become-different-readers-in-how-we-respond-to-books-why-we/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“I was no longer scared. I could see what was inside me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-was-no-longer-scared-i-could-see-what-was-inside-me/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [When I go back and read my journals or fiction, I am always surprised. I may not remember having those thoughts, but they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/when-i-go-back-and-read-my-journals-or-fiction-i-am-always-surprised/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“I am ashamed she is ashamed. Because she is my daughter and I am proud of her, and I am her mother but she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-am-ashamed-she-is-ashamed-because-she-is-my-daughter-and-i-am-proud/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) [Explore all 383 Amy Tan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) ## More Indifference quotes > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [“Courage did not come from the need to survive, or from a brute indifference inherited from someone else, but from a driving need for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/courage-did-not-come-from-the-need-to-survive-or-from-a-brute/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Indifference is harder to fight than hostility, and there is nothing that kills an agitation like having everybody admit that it is fundamentally right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-eastman/indifference-is-harder-to-fight-than-hostility-and-there-is-nothing/) [Crystal Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-eastman/) > [Love and hate, despite their polar opposites, are both feelings that are induced by passion. I can handle that. It's the indifference I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/love-and-hate-despite-their-polar-opposites-are-both-feelings-that/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [“I wasn't sure which I appreciated less—the insincere concern or the genuine indifference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-graham/i-wasn-t-sure-which-i-appreciated-less-the-insincere-concern-or-the/) [Arthur Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-graham/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Desire is half of life, indifference is half of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/desire-is-half-of-life-indifference-is-half-of-death/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What's wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/what-s-wrong-with-death-sir-what-are-we-so-mortally-afraid-of-why-can/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Adorn thyself with simplicity and with indifference towards the things which lie between virtue and vice. Love mankind. Follow God. The poet says that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/adorn-thyself-with-simplicity-and-with-indifference-towards-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [One's own troubles can be borne with fortitude; only a monster of indifference can bear the sufferings of others with fortitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ertz/one-s-own-troubles-can-be-borne-with-fortitude-only-a-monster-of/) [Susan Ertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ertz/) > [Many men without morals have attacked religion because it was contrary to their inclinations. Many wise men have despised it because it seemed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/many-men-without-morals-have-attacked-religion-because-it-was/) [Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/) > [Indifference to one's own faith is no proof of tolerance. Loyalty to one's own is part of a larger loyalty to faith generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abba-hillel-silver/indifference-to-one-s-own-faith-is-no-proof-of-tolerance-loyalty-to/) [Abba Hillel Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abba-hillel-silver/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) [Browse all 1,128 Indifference quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He has always been politely indifferent. 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