"Ask For Money Before Battery Dies": South African and Chinese Man's Date Needs Translator in Video

• A South African woman shared a TikTok video of herself on a date with a Chinese man who speaks no English
• The pair relied entirely on a translation app to hold a conversation during a car ride in a TikTok video
• South Africans online could not stop laughing at the creative workaround to the language barrier

A South African woman known on TikTok as @nellzpearl left Mzansi in stitches after posting a video of herself on a date with a Chinese man. One major problem standing between them: neither speaks the other's language.

The clip, filmed on 20 June 2026 inside a moving car, shows the two navigating their way through a conversation with nothing but a translation app. She revealed that he does not understand English at all.

Rather than cancelling the outing, though, Nellzpearl leaned in. The two went back and forth through the app, with the man using a translator to communicate. She agreed but made one thing clear: he needed to learn English. The video by @nellzpearl quickly resonated with viewers, many of whom pointed out the obvious flaw in the plan. Without power or data, the whole relationship could grind to a halt. The comments section ran wild with jokes about phone batteries, Wi-Fi and what happens when the connection drops. Watch the date unfold in the TikTok clip:

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South Africans had plenty to say in the comments below:

@Vicky Mitileni said:

"Money sisi money 😂 ask fast fast before the battery dies 😅"

@Tsweletso❤! asked:

"So what'll happen when the battery dies?"

@Zano wrote:

"I was not gonna cancel. The experience is worth it 😂"

@Barbie Ndlovu🇿🇦🇨🇳 shared:

"Me and my bestie always spending time together, travelling together 😭 always on a translator"

@Elaine commented:

"Chommy, it's gonna be a long year 😂"

@Agnes added:

"Meaning it's a must to have data 😭 or else you just keep on smiling at each other the whole day 🤣"

@Luu🇿🇦 summed it up perfectly:

"Long distance relationships next to your partner 😅"

Other Briefly News stories about SA and foreigners

• A Zimbabwean man introduced his South African wife to Zimbabwe for the very first time, captured in an endearing TikTok video.
• South African women who humorously claimed that Zimbabwe has no winter, while Zimbabweans were quick to refute this assertion.
• South African woman Mokgadi Mbatha made headlines with her TikTok video showing price tags inside a Shoprite store in Malawi.

Source: Briefly News