There is no Chinese equivilant of 'yes' and 'no' because they think it's bad to just say how you feel. It's not really a big deal, you just repeat the verb in either the positive or negative form for yes or no. If someone asks you if you want something, you reply 'want' or 'don't want' or whatever the verb is. But they think Westerners are always very direct, so I've noticed the English translations are very direct in a way the original Chinese is not.
I always tell my students, hey, Americans ARE direct, but we also have things such as tact, manners and good taste too. And I've seen so much public fighting and yelling here, I don't really believe all the propaganda anymore. But it is true people won't tell you what the problem is, if there is one. They also think it hurts someone's feelings to tell them what's wrong (i.e. when my name was mispelled in my plane reservation and for two hours no one would tell me that's why they wouldn't let me board.)
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