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Verbal communication and non-verbal communication are two ways of communication between human beings. Verbal communication is important and has significant influence on human behavior, meanwhile, non-verbal communication should not be ignored. Silence is one aspect of non-verbal communication. It can also express our ideasand convey information. People from different cultures have different understandings of silence. In order to reach successful intercultural communication, different cultural connotations of silence should be known. This paper explores the reasons for different understandings of silence in American culture and Chinese culture through comparison, illustrating the social and pragmatic functions of silence.