wtfeWays They Frame Engineering
日本語

ChinavsGermany

中国とドイツCNDE

Seen from China: each line below describes Germany relative to China.

Swap: see China from Germany

Culture Map: eight scales

Erin Meyer's eight scales, sorted by how far apart China and Germany sit, largest gap first.

Filled dot: China, where you are looking fromHollow ring: Germany

Where you will notice the difference6 scales

  1. Communicating

    Germany spells things out more explicitly than China (4 steps)

    China +2, Germany −2, on a line from −3 (Low-context) to +3 (High-context).

  2. Trusting

    Germany builds trust through reliable work more than China (4 steps)

    China +2, Germany −2, on a line from −3 (Task-based) to +3 (Relationship-based).

  3. Disagreeing

    Germany is more willing to disagree openly than China (4 steps)

    China +2, Germany −2, on a line from −3 (Confrontational) to +3 (Avoids confrontation).

  4. Evaluating

    Germany gives negative feedback more directly than China (3 steps)

    China +1, Germany −2, on a line from −3 (Direct negative feedback) to +3 (Indirect negative feedback).

  5. Deciding

    Germany decides by group agreement more than China (3 steps)

    China +2, Germany −1, on a line from −3 (Consensual) to +3 (Top-down).

  6. Leading

    Germany keeps less distance between boss and team than China (2 steps)

    China +2, Germany 0, on a line from −3 (Egalitarian) to +3 (Hierarchical).

Not placed2 scales

These scales are left unmarked: either Meyer leaves a country off the scale or no source places it, and drawing it anyway would be guessing.

  • PersuadingMeyer leaves China off this scale and describes its reasoning as holistic
  • SchedulingNo source places China on this scale
Positions are read by eye from Erin Meyer's published charts and rounded to seven steps. A step means “further towards that pole”, not a measured distance. How the positions were read

Hofstede: six dimensions

Scores from 0 to 100, sorted by the gap between China and Germany. They describe national averages, not either country's character.

  1. Power distance

    Germany scores 45 points lower than China (35 against 80)

    China 80, Germany 35, on a line from 0 (Low power distance) to 100 (High power distance).

  2. Individualism

    Germany scores 36 points higher than China (79 against 43)

    China 43, Germany 79, on a line from 0 (Collectivist) to 100 (Individualist).

  3. Uncertainty avoidance

    Germany scores 35 points higher than China (65 against 30)

    China 30, Germany 65, on a line from 0 (Tolerant of ambiguity) to 100 (Avoids ambiguity).

  4. Long-term orientation

    Germany scores 20 points lower than China (57 against 77)

    China 77, Germany 57, on a line from 0 (Short-term) to 100 (Long-term).

  5. Indulgence

    Germany scores 16 points higher than China (40 against 24)

    China 24, Germany 40, on a line from 0 (Restrained) to 100 (Indulgent).

  6. Motivation towards achievement and success

    Germany and China both score 66

    China 66, Germany 66, on a line from 0 (Consensus-oriented) to 100 (Decisive).

Country averages. About 80% of variation in values is between people inside a country (Taras et al. 2016).Source: The Culture Factor — Country comparison tool (2026).About the Hofstede dimensions

What the sources say, theme by theme

Entries for China and Germany, side by side on wide screens. Each keeps its own confidence label and citations.

Design & quality

China3 claims

Germany2 claims

Failure & risk

China2 claims

Germany5 claims

Feedback & code review

China3 claims

Germany3 claims

Hierarchy & decisions

China2 claims

Germany3 claims

Communication & docs

China4 claims

Germany3 claims

Work & careers

China4 claims

Germany5 claims

Open source & community

China5 claims

Germany5 claims