English being one of the international languages, many Malaysians often resort to English when communicating with foreigners. However, this particular incident defied expectations. A Chinese woman recently hailed a ride in Malaysia and had a remarkable conversation with an Indian-Malaysian driver. This unexpected exchange of languages left netizens astonished.

A M'sian Indian Who Speaks Mandarin

The Indian-Malaysian driver initiated the conversation in English, asking her if she had any favourite artists. Due to her limited English proficiency, she misunderstood his question, thinking he was asking about her favourite form of art. She responded with "Drawing" in English.

Initially perplexed, the driver took a moment to think and then surprised everyone by responding in fluent Chinese. Despite not fully grasping some intricate Chinese vocabulary, the two managed to communicate effectively, seamlessly switching between Chinese and English throughout their conversation.

A Chinese Who Speaks Malay

The two then continued to communicate duo lingually until the driver found out that the Chinese woman had majored in Malay during her university years, the driver was genuinely shocked. 

They subsequently engaged in a mixed dialogue of Malay, English, and Mandarin.

More Malay-speaking Chinese In China

The Chinese woman, who is currently working in Malaysia, had studied Malay extensively during her university days in the country. She shared a video of her interaction on the popular platform "Xiaohongshu" (Little Red Book), which quickly garnered attention online.

The woman also shared that during her time studying Malay at a Chinese university, she had 22 classmates in her program. She revealed that there are between 6 to 10 universities in China offering Malay language majors, with instructors coming from China and occasionally from Malaysia's Malay community to teach.

The driver expressed his amazement and repeatedly praised the woman for her impressive language skills, leaving an indelible impression of their extraordinary encounter.

Watch the video here: Link