When you spot someone you fancy across a crowded room, mustering up the courage to go over to them is only half the battle - what will you say once you’re there?
當你在擁擠的房間裡發現了一個你喜歡的人，你鼓起勇氣走到她們那裡，其實這只是戰鬥的一半—關鍵是你到了那裡之後你應該說些什麼?
A line that makes one person swoon might make another cringe, so it’s a minefield really.
事實上感受是雙方的，如果你打招呼的方式自己都感覺不好的話，對方也會很尷尬，因此如果搭訕的技巧不對，那麼你自己很可能就會陷入雷區。
However, researchers from China claim to have discovered what to say to give yourself the best chance of wooing the object of your affections: use a metaphor.
然而，來自中國的研究人員聲稱，他們已經發現了讓自己最容易獲得情感對象的方法:採用比喻的方式。
According to scientists from the University of Electronic Science and Technology in China, women prefer men who use metaphorical language to compliment them.
據中國電子科技大學的科學家說，女性更喜歡被男人用隱喻性的語言來恭維她們。
They claim that compliments like 「Your eyes are morning dew」 or 「Your smile is a naughty goblin」 are better received than literal expressions like 「Your lips are so sexy.」
他們聲稱，像「你的眼睛就像晨露」或「你的微笑是就像淘氣的小仙女」這樣的恭維，比那種「你的嘴唇如此性感」之類的文字表達更受歡迎。
Because every woman wants to be likened to a goblin.
因為每個女人都想被比作小仙女。
And they concluded the same when men complimented women’s possessions, so it’s apparently better to say 「Your garden is a sea of flowers」 than 「Your door is very strong.」
當男人讚美女人的財產時，他們的結論是一樣的，所以說「你的花園是鮮花的海洋」比「你的門很堅固」更好。
「The findings confirm our hypotheses that in a courtship situation where compliments serve as a sexual display of mate quality, women show a preference for metaphors, particularly novel ones, in verbal structure,」 the researchers wrote.
研究人員寫道:「研究結果證實了我們的假設，即在求愛的情況下，讚美是對配偶質量的一種性展示，女性更傾向於隱喻，尤其是小說中言辭結構的隱喻。」
Apparently using metaphors implies men are creative and intelligent. And not just a bit poncey and weird.
顯然，使用隱喻意味著男人富有創造力和智慧，而不只是有點輕狂放蕩和和奇奇怪怪。
They also hypothesised that women prefer to be complimented on their appearance than possessions and were proven correct. The researchers didn’t assess whether a woman might possibly prefer to be complimented on her intelligence, quick wit or hilarious sense of humour.
他們還假設，與財產相比，女人更喜歡被別人恭維她們的長相，而且被證明是正確的。研究人員沒有評估一個女人是否可能更喜歡被別人稱讚她的智慧、機智或幽默感。
It’s important to note that the study size was small - just 116 women took part - and may only reflect Chinese culture:
值得注意的是，這項研究規模很小—只有116名女性參加—可能只是反映了中國文化:
「The fact that Pragma (practical) and Storge (friendship-based) love style attitudes constituted 59.65 per cent and 45.61 per cent of the participants in our study may reflect both the participants』 sex and Chinese culture,」 the researchers said.
研究人員說:「事實上，在我們研究的參與者中，實用主義和友誼式的愛情態度分別佔比59.65%和45.61%，這可能反映了參與者的性認知和中國文化。」
「This finding is consistent with the report that Chinese women, relative to their western counterparts, view love as a companionship and place marriage over love.」
「這一發現與一種說法一致，即中國女性相對於西方女性，她們認為愛情是一種陪伴，因此把婚姻置於愛情之上。」
In order to reach their conclusions, 116 female Chinese students were shown a series of pictures of men and asked to rate them.
為了得出結論，研究人員給這116名中國女學生一系列的男人照片，並要求對他們進行評價。
The pictures were sometimes shown with compliments that the men would supposedly say when visiting their new girlfriend’s house (they were randomly assigned).
這些照片有有的會配有恭維的話語，比如有的男人會寫什麼時候拜訪新女友的家(他們是隨機分配的)。
But if metaphorical chat-up lines are supposedly signifiers of intelligence, men should be wary of using clichés like 「Do you have a map? Because I just keep on getting lost in your eyes,」 「Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?」 and 「Your legs must be tired because you』ve been running through my mind all night.」
但如果隱喻性的搭訕被認為是智力的象徵，那麼男性應該謹慎使用「你有地圖嗎?」因為我已經迷失在你的眼睛裡，」「你從天堂掉下來時疼嗎?」「你的腿一定累了，因為你整晚都在我腦子裡跑。」
You』ll likely be met with an eye-roll at best and a drink in your face at worst.
因為此時你得到最好的結果也是對方給你翻白眼，最糟糕的可能是對方把喝的潑在你的臉上。