Chinese Culture Points

Chinese Appellations

中国人的称谓很复杂,同事之间可以称职务,如“麦总,刘经理”等,熟人之间可以直呼其名,或者在姓的前面加上“老,小”来称呼,如:“老王,小王”等。比较正式的场合对不熟悉的人一般可以称“先生,女士,太太,小姐”等。

The Chinese system of names and titles is by and large complicated. Titles may be used to address each other among one’s colleagues, e.g. “màizǒng and Liú Jīnglǐ”. For acquaintances personal names and surnames may be preceded by “lǎo” (old) or “xiǎo” …