Asking who someone voted for
Informal Can sound rude
What it really means
Voting is seen as private in Britain, and asking directly "Who did you vote for?" makes many people uncomfortable — as do strong opinions about Brexit or party politics with people you barely know. General questions about how the system works are fine; personal political choices are not small talk.
Chinese explanation
在英国，投票被视为个人隐私，直接问"你投了谁"会让很多人不自在——跟不熟的人大谈脱欧或党派立场也一样。问选举制度如何运作没问题；但个人的政治选择不属于闲聊话题。
Example conversation
A: I asked my landlord who he voted for and he went very quiet.
B: Yeah, that's a private thing here. People would rather tell you their rent than their vote.
A：我问房东他投票投给谁，他一下就不说话了。
B：嗯，这在这里是隐私。很多人宁愿告诉你房租多少，也不愿说投了谁。
What you could say back
No spoken reply needed for this one.
Related phrases
Go deeper
All Customs & Etiquette
Reviewed by the UK Decoded editorial team
· Last checked 24 July 2026 · Report a mistake