What does wink mean？

[ziyingoliver]

Hi，Everyone , I am chinese and gay, because I don't speak English well, I never post a thread here , but as I'm getting more confused I need some help from you guys ,could you help me please?

as I am gay and still in closet , I've always been hiding the true feeling and expression from people and dare to receive them either , I've lived my 25 years in china and always performed in a kind of straight way(i don't know if you understand me because of my broken English, I mean before 25 I was OK with normal people and nobody doubts my sexuality) but after 25,I moved to a foreign country, and in this country people lives in a absolutely different way, they are open, in emotion and in lifestyle, everyone is direct and quick on expressing their feeling ,Here is the question, a lot of people winked at me (which barely happened when I was in China), and I didn't know the meaning and I didn't know how to react , so I did nothing, or continued what I was doing before that wink ,so most people would seem to be a little embarrassed or awkward without my interaction. I'm not sure what I should do, because I didn't know why they winked at me , I don't know if that means sexually or just a hint of joke between conversation or a hint of suggestion, I freeze or escape but not to answer it
things changed last friday ,I was in another city's airport, a policeman happened to check my passport and because I didn't bring the visa with me ,the policeman took me to his office ,and in his office , I met this attractive chilean who was detained because of the same reason, I noticed he's checking me out (but i'm not sure if it is he's interested in me or just he never saw a chinese in person )when I was talking with the policemen ,and after that I sat down on a chair ,looked up to him ,and he smiled a little and winked at me, as always I dodged quickly and show no expression to him , I could see from the corner he's a little disappointed questionwas he interested in me or did he want to talk to me about the situation?
long story short , finally we talked and asked each other the reason why we were there , and He never winked to me anymore ,and I found out he has a girlfriend ,now I was disappointed (I deserved it I know ,I never have guts to make friends with people)

so could you guys please tell me what winks mean? and what should I react to them when people winks at me? Thank you in advance!

 

[rareboy]

I usually figure they have something in their eye or a nervous tic.

Didn't we have a winking thread not too long ago?

 

[G-Lexington]

It means "I find you attractive and want to have sex with you."
Or it means "I find you attractive, but I don't want to have sex with you."
Or it means "I bet you'll find this embarrassing."
Or it means they think the guy/girl next to you is attractive.
Or it means they have something in their eye.
Or it means they have a facial tic.

It's one piece of data. It's insufficient to form an opinion. But it's more fun to assume the first one.

Lex

 

[KaraBulut]

Usually a wink means, "You understand, right?".

What it is that you're supposed to understand is all about the context-
"I'm lying to my daughter about Santa Claus, play along"
"Hey, I think you're cute, so come talk to me"
"I'm willing to forget about this traffic ticket if you slip me some cash"

If you're confused about the context of the wink, then you're better off not saying anything and avoiding getting dragged into whatever it is.

 

[ziyingoliver]

Usually a wink means, "You understand, right?".

What it is that you're supposed to understand is all about the context-
"I'm lying to my daughter about Santa Claus, play along"
"Hey, I think you're cute, so come talk to me"
"I'm willing to forget about this traffic ticket if you slip me some cash"

If you're confused about the context of the wink, then you're better off not saying anything and avoiding getting dragged into whatever it is.

yeah, I firstly get to know it from the movie " I ,Robot" in which Will Smith winks a lot and confused sonny but sonny is so smart that he learn it at last ,I wish I could be the cute Robot as well

 

[rotary]

It can also be a playful way of conveying humour. Joking around or whatever. It'll take some time for you to acclimatize to new social interactions. I have a couple friends who are from China, one of them is probably the most socially awkward person I've ever met, but he's getting better. It's cute to watch him.

 

[MentalFirewall]

From my experience, winking can mean a lot of things. One of those things is, as it turns out, nothing at all.
In my group of friends we use winking as a sign for card games played in teams. Sometimes my friends wink at people they're attracted to (I've never been much of a winker, I just stare in awe at the pretty people ). And other times (most of the time, actually), winking is just a little side dish for a "Good morning!".

 

[ziyingoliver]

It can also be a playful way of conveying humour. Joking around or whatever. It'll take some time for you to acclimatize to new social interactions. I have a couple friends who are from China, one of them is probably the most socially awkward person I've ever met, but he's getting better. It's cute to watch him.

I was like your friend 5 years ago , kinda be in the same antisocial team , even now I'm not very comfortable with people around , I don't know how to pick interesting topics to amuse my friends , I've learned a word from a movie"un-comfortabel silence" which describes my situation correctly most of the time , so I don't recognize a lot of communication skills like body languages, recently ,winks annoy me mostly

 

[Newmercedes]

Ur English is really good Dude.

 

[texan_slant]

A wink, can be flirtatious in a playful way, but not necessarily in the context of hooking up;

I use it with people who I'm already close to, or even attracted to; I use it a hello, a sense of acknowledgement, or a sign of affection or sweetness.