Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar

NameS, kiNShiP termS, titleS, aNd termS oF addreSS

22.5

22.4.4 Using titles as terms of address

Titles are commonly used as terms of address. The titles 先生 xiānsheng ‘Mr.,’ 太太 tàitai

‘Mrs.,’ 小姐 xiǎojie ‘Miss,’ and 师傅/師傅 shīfu ‘master’ are used alone without any additional

name to address strangers in a polite way. 师傅/師傅 shīfu ‘master’ is often used in mainland

China as a polite way to address a man in relatively informal contexts. 小姐 xiǎojie, 姑娘

gūniang, and 美女 měi nǚ are used to address young women in service positions such as in

restaurants and shops. 帅哥/帥哥 shuài gē is used to address young men in service positions.

夫人 fūren ‘Mrs.’ and 女士 nǚshì ‘Miss’ are very formal and their use is restricted to formal

contexts such as speeches and formal events. The titles presented in 22.3.2 can all be used as

terms of address. For occupations that are not used as titles or terms of address, see

C23.3

22.5 Addressing new acquaintances and negotiating terms of address

When you meet someone for the first time, you need to determine how to address them. Since

given names are not freely used, and family names are generally not used alone, an initial

conversation usually includes some negotiation about terms of address. The most common

expressions are as follows.

The neutral and most common way to inquire about someone’s family name is:

你姓什么？

你姓甚麼？

Nǐ xìng shénme?

What is your family name? (neutral question)

A more formal and polite way to inquire about someone’s family name is:

你貴姓？/ 你贵姓

Nǐ guì xìng?

What is your family name? (polite, formal)

The most common way to reply to either of these questions is:

我姓(王)。

Wǒ xìng (Wáng).

My family name is (Wang).

A very polite and humble response to the formal question is:

敝姓(王)。

Bì xìng (Wáng).

My humble family name is (Wang).

While the polite form of the question is fairly common, the polite humble form of the response

is rarely used.

The neutral and most common way to inquire about someone’s family name and given

name is:

你姓什么，叫什么名字？

你姓甚麼，叫甚麼名字？

Nǐ xìng shénme, jiào shénme míngzi?

(^) What is your family name and what is your given name?