{"id":2832,"date":"2017-08-21T10:33:22","date_gmt":"2017-08-21T10:33:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/?p=2832"},"modified":"2026-06-15T16:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:04:16","slug":"the-survivors-guide-to-greeting-others-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/the-survivors-guide-to-greeting-others-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"The Survivor’s Guide to Greeting Others in China"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo via Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

If you\u2019re planning a trip to China \u2013 whether that\u2019s to brush up your language skills, to visit friends, or to do business \u2013 it is important to know exactly what \u2018title\u2019 to address people, be they your boss, your friends, young children, or your elders. Social hierarchy is an extremely important part of Chinese culture, and this article will help you know exactly<\/b> where you stand when speaking with others. Read this survivor’s guide and never worry about appearing rude or disrespectful to others again!<\/p>\n

Know who you are in relation to other people<\/b><\/p>\n

When you are meeting someone new for the first time, it\u2019s important to figure out exactly who you are<\/b> to the people you will be dealing with, and what kind of environment you\u2019re in.<\/p>\n

Outside of work, the most important indicator is age<\/b>. How old is the person you are speaking to compared to you? Are they roughly the same age, or are they a little bit younger or older? If the difference is considerable, then it\u2019s likely that they will require a certain form of address which would be different from the way you address your peers.<\/p>\n

Within a work environment, you will have to consider, first and foremost, the position<\/b> of the person you are speaking to, regardless of their age<\/b>. If you are talking to your boss, you will obviously need to be much more respectful than if you were speaking to a colleague or an apprentice under your wing.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve established your position within a specific social hierarchy, it would be much easier to identify the appropriate titles for each situation.<\/p>\n

– Friends<\/b><\/p>\n

Relationships between friends are generally more relaxed, and there are less formalities involved. You may call each other directly by name, which is only<\/b> acceptable for those of equal status, or to refer to those who are younger or perhaps lower ranking to you.<\/p>\n

Bear in mind that in China, the full name, including the surname<\/b>,is used to address someone. This is primarily because, unlike English or other European languages, Chinese surnames come before<\/b> the given name. The exception is when a person has a three character name (e.g. \u738b\u79c0\u82f1w\u00e1ng xi\u00f9 y\u012bng), in which case the surname may be omitted. (In this case, you could refer to the person as only \u2018\u79c0\u82f1\u2019 xi\u00f9 y\u012bng ).<\/p>\n

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Photo via Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

– Children<\/b><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re being introduced to children, particularly younger children, be aware that they may be called by an informal \u2018nickname\u2019 by their parents or relatives. (Literally, it\u2019s a \u2018little name\u2019 or \u2018baby name\u2019, otherwise known as\u5c0f\u540dxi\u01ceo m\u00edng or \u4e73\u540dr\u01d4 m\u00edng ).<\/p>\n

This is a name mainly used in childhood, and will likely be a more affectionate variation of their given name, although this is not always the case. Two examples would be \u8d1d\u8d1db\u00e8i b\u00e8i or \u6dd8\u6dd8t\u00e1o t\u00e1o. If the child is still relatively young, it is generally acceptable to follow the parents\u2019 example and to call them by their \u5c0f\u540d. If the child in question is much older, then it would be more respectful to the child to refer to them by their formal name.<\/p>\n

– Elderly people<\/b><\/p>\n

This depends entirely on your own age and the ages of the people you will associate with socially. However, when greeting those who are significantly older than you, never refer to them directly by name<\/b>. Contrary to most European or American cultures, this is considered extremely disrespectful in Chinese culture, so you should be careful not to start off on the wrong foot from the introduction. This rule applies regardless of how good or how informal your relationship with the person in question is.<\/p>\n

Instead, the most appropriate way to refer to someone older than you is to pretend that they are your family.<\/p>\n

Consider their age: are they around the same age as your parents? Or perhaps they are older and more like your grandparents? If they belong to the former category, then it would easiest to imagine yourself to be of the same status as a niece or nephew and refer to them as \u53d4\u53d4sh\u016bshu \u2018uncle\u2019 or \u963f\u59e8 \u0101 y\u00ed \u2018aunt\u2019. If they are the latter, then it would be easiest to refer to them by the names used for your paternal grandparents, namely: \u7237\u7237y\u00e9 y\u00e9 and \u5976\u5976n\u01cei nai.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, if you are being introduced to the relatives of a friend, then it would be simplest (and safest) to simply mimic the way your friend addresses them, assuming that your friend is of a similar age to you. The exception is, of course, with your friend\u2019s parents, who would be your \u53d4\u53d4 and \u963f\u59e8, rather than \u7238\u7238b\u00e0 ba (\u2018Dad\u2019) and \u5988\u5988m\u0101 m\u0101(\u2018Mum\u2019).<\/p>\n

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Photo via Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

– At work<\/b><\/p>\n

When speaking to colleagues who you are not particularly familiar with, or when speaking to those who rank above you, you should refer to them by their title. For example, if you were speaking to your manager, whose surname was \u674el\u01d0, it would be most appropriate to address him as \u2018Manager Li\u2019, or \u674e\u7ecf\u7406l\u01d0j\u012bng l\u01d0.<\/p>\n

Remember that in Chinese, the name comes <\/b>before<\/i><\/b> the title<\/b>. Where in English, we may refer to someone as \u2018Doctor Liu\u2019, in Chinese, it is the exact opposite \u2013 \u2018Liu Doctor\u2019 or \u5218\u533b\u751fli\u00fa y\u012b sh\u0113ng.<\/p>\n

Addressing someone by their title is not only a sign of respect, but also a symbol for the formality of your relationship with the other person. Calling someone by their title shows that your relationship is based purely on business, which is why this is the most acceptable form of address in the workplace.<\/p>\n

– Strangers<\/b><\/p>\n

In certain circumstances, it may not be necessary to refer to someone by their title, nor to know their name \u2013 for example, a receptionist in a hotel, or a waitress at a restaurant. In such cases, you can choose to call them by a much more generic title.<\/p>\n

\u5148\u751fxi\u0101n sh\u0113ng means \u2018sir\u2019 or \u2018mister\u2019, and can be used to refer to men of all ages, though not typically children. This is a fairly formal way of greeting others, but also the safest.<\/p>\n

\u5973\u58ebn\u01da sh\u00ec means \u2018madam\u2019 or \u2018Mrs.\u2019, though whether the lady in question is married or not does not matter. Similar to its English equivalent, \u5973\u58ebis generally used to refer to older women. \u5c0f\u59d0xi\u01ceo ji\u011b or \u2018Miss\u2019 would be a more appropriate way to address a younger lady, and often more flattering, due to its associations with youth and beauty. It is also not a title strictly applied to women who are not married.<\/p>\n

All of the above titles may also be applied, in English, with the surname of the person in question. However, you must remember, as always: the name comes <\/b>before<\/i><\/b> the title<\/b>. As such, \u2018Mr. Wu\u2019 becomes \u5434\u5148\u751fw\u00fa xi\u0101n sh\u0113ng; \u2018Madame Wang\u2019 becomes \u738b\u5973\u58ebw\u00e1ng n\u01da sh\u00ec, and \u2018Miss Lin\u2019 becomes \u6797\u5c0f\u59d0l\u00edn xi\u01ceo ji\u011b.<\/p>\n

When addressing children who you do not know the names of, particularly younger children, a polite, friendly term to use would be \u5c0f\u670b\u53cbxi\u01ceo p\u00e9ng y\u01d2u, or \u2018little friend\u2019. Be careful not to refer to them directly as children or \u5c0f\u5b69xi\u01ceo h\u00e1i, as this may appear more rude.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s a basic guide to all the titles and manners of address you can use in China! Got any funny stories of wrong titles used or cultural misunderstandings with Chinese friends? Then let us know by dropping a comment below! We look forward to hearing from you!<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019re planning a trip to China \u2013 whether that\u2019s to brush up your language skills, to…","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":2833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[66,700],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chinese","category-learning-resources"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2832"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2832"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4682,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2832\/revisions\/4682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}