酷兔英语

    我们知道,不同的国家和民族,由于语言和风俗习惯各异,在称呼上也有所差别。如果称呼错了,不但会使对方不高兴,引起反感,甚至还会闹出笑话,出现误会。而姓名不仅与称呼有着密切的关系,而且本身也是一种重要的称呼。那么,在姓名文化源远流长的中国,人们在称呼上有什么特点呢?    常见的一种称呼方式是在对方的职务前面加上姓氏,比如胡主席、李部长、张主任、王经理,等等。这种称呼多用于级别较高或有一定职务的人,以突出其身份,表示尊敬。如果对方只是一名普通的工作人员,则一般不这么称呼,比如一般不会使用"刘公务员"、"宋营业员"等这样的称呼。当然,也可以在职务前加上全名,比如"王小明经理",但多用于非常正式的场合。    对于从事某些特定行业的人,可直接称呼对方的职业,如老师、医生、会计、律师等,这时前面也常常加上姓氏或姓名,如王老师、李医生等。    对于从事商业、服务业等行业的人,或者不清楚其所从事的行业、职务,又或者不方便称呼时,可以称呼"小姐"、"女士"、"先生",前面可以加姓氏或姓名。"小姐"可用于称未婚女性,"女士"则可用于称已婚或不清楚婚姻状况的女性。另外,一般不直接称呼对方"小姐",最好加姓氏或姓名。    与一些国家的习惯不同,在中国直接称呼对方的姓名有一定的限制,不能随便称呼,否则会被认为是不礼貌。一般来说,上级可以称呼下级,长辈可以称呼晚辈,同事、同学和熟人之间也可以称呼姓名。主要有三种称呼方式:一是直接称呼全名;二是只称呼姓氏,但要在姓的前面加上"老、大、小"等,如老王、大刘、小李等,常用于同事、熟人之间,比较亲切;三是只称呼名,不称呼姓,通常限于同性之间,熟悉的异性之间也可以,上级称呼下级、长辈称呼晚辈时也经常使用,显得亲切。    另外,家人亲戚之间一般不称呼姓名,尤其是对长辈,大多使用亲属名称,如爷爷、奶奶、爸爸、妈妈、叔叔、姑姑等。兄弟姐妹和夫妻之间可以称呼姓名。    怎么样,朋友们,现在你知道应该怎么称呼中国人了吗?如果你实在不知道应该怎么称呼对方,还有一个办法,那就是不称呼,给他一个灿烂的微笑,然后说:"你好!"     It is common knowledge that different countries and nationalities have their own ways to address people and this is brought about by differences in language and social customs. If we address someone wrongly, not only do we cause them to be upset with us and dislike for us, we may end up being the brunt of a joke, and have a misunderstanding. Not only is there a relationship between names and the manner by which someone is addressed, a name in itself is also an important manner of address. So what are the specifics involved when addressing the people of China, which has a long and distant culture of names?

The most common method of addressing a person is to add his surname after (in Chinese, before) his job title, for example, Chairman Hu, Minister Li, Director Zhang, Manager Wang, and so on. This manner of address is mostly used for persons in relatively high positions or persons in specific positions, as a recognition of their status and as a mark of respect. On the other hand, if the other party is only an ordinary employee, such a manner of address is not used, for example, we don't normally address someone as "Office-bearer Liu", or "Salesman Song" etc. Naturally it is also possible to include a person's full name after (in Chinese, before) his job title, for instance, "Manager Wang Xiao Ming", but this is only used in extremelyformal situations.

With regards to people working in certain industries, we can simply address them by their profession, such as Teacher, Doctor, Accountant, Lawyer, and the like. Under such circumstances, the surname or name is frequently added after (in Chinese, before) the title, for example, Teacher Wang, Doctor Li, etc.

As for people in the business sectors, service industries, etc, or perhaps in circumstances where we are not clear about the nature of someone's profession or position, or maybe it is not convenient to address them, we can simply say, "Miss", "Ma'am", "Mister", and then add their surname or name after (in Chinese, before) it. "Miss" can be used to address a lady who is still single, and as for "Ma'am", this can be used to address a married lady or a lady whose marital status is unknown. On a separate note, generally we do not to simply address the other party as "Miss", it is better to include the person's surname or name.

There are different customs peculiar to different countries and in China, calling someone by name is restricted to specific social groups so we do not simply call someone by name or people might think we're being impolite. Generally speaking, someone of higher rank can address another of lower rank in this manner, and so can an elder when calling a junior; colleagues, fellow students and people who know each other well can all call each other by name. There are three main methods of addressing people: the first is to simply call someone his full name; the second is to call someone by his surname, but remember to include "Lao", "Da", "Xiao" etc. to his surname, for instance, Lao Wang, Da Liu, Xiao Li etc., this is relativelycordial and so is commonly used among colleagues and people who are familiar with each other; the third is to call a person by name while omitting his surname, this gives an endearing feel and so is normally restricted to people of the same gender, it can also be used across gender if they know each other well, or in the case where someone of higher rank calls another of lower rank, and this is also common when an elder is calling a junior.

Besides this, family members and relatives generally do not call each other by name, this is especially the case when addressing an elder. Most of the time family titles are used, such as grandpa, grandma, dad, mom, uncle, aunt etc. Among siblings and between spouse, one's name can be used.

My friends, so do you know how you should address a Chinese person now? If you really don't know how you should address someone, there is yet another way, and that is not to address them, give them a splendid smile and say, "nǐ hǎo!"


-- atchooo@

Lesson Summary:
There are different ways to address people, depending on the type of social relationship at hand. Today, let's talk about the Chinese people's name and the various manners of address. Lesson Content: It is common knowledge that different countries and nationalities have their own ways to address people and this is brought about by differences in language and social customs. If we address someone wrongly, not only do we cause them to be upset with us and dislike for us, we may end up being the brunt of a joke, and have a misunderstanding. Not only is there a relationship between names and the manner by which someone is addressed, a name in itself is also an important manner of address. So what are the specifics involved when addressing the people of China, which has a long and distant culture of names?

The most common method of addressing a person is to add his surname after (in Chinese, before) his job title, for example, Chairman Hu, Minister Li, Director Zhang, Manager Wang, and so on. This manner of address is mostly used for persons in relatively high positions or persons in specific positions, as a recognition of their status and as a mark of respect. On the other hand, if the other party is only an ordinary employee, such a manner of address is not used, for example, we don't normally address someone as "Office-bearer Liu", or "Salesman Song" etc. Naturally it is also possible to include a person's full name after (in Chinese, before) his job title, for instance, "Manager Wang Xiao Ming", but this is only used in extremelyformal situations.

With regards to people working in certain industries, we can simply address them by their profession, such as Teacher, Doctor, Accountant, Lawyer, and the like. Under such circumstances, the surname or name is frequently added after (in Chinese, before) the title, for example, Teacher Wang, Doctor Li, etc.

As for people in the business sectors, service industries, etc, or perhaps in circumstances where we are not clear about the nature of someone's profession or position, or maybe it is not convenient to address them, we can simply say, "Miss", "Ma'am", "Mister", and then add their surname or name after (in Chinese, before) it. "Miss" can be used to address a lady who is still single, and as for "Ma'am", this can be used to address a married lady or a lady whose marital status is unknown. On a separate note, generally we do not to simply address the other party as "Miss", it is better to include the person's surname or name.

There are different customs peculiar to different countries and in China, calling someone by name is restricted to specific social groups so we do not simply call someone by name or people might think we're being impolite. Generally speaking, someone of higher rank can address another of lower rank in this manner, and so can an elder when calling a junior; colleagues, fellow students and people who know each other well can all call each other by name. There are three main methods of addressing people: the first is to simply call someone his full name; the second is to call someone by his surname, but remember to include "Lao", "Da", "Xiao" etc. to his surname, for instance, Lao Wang, Da Liu, Xiao Li etc., this is relativelycordial and so is commonly used among colleagues and people who are familiar with each other; the third is to call a person by name while omitting his surname, this gives an endearing feel and so is normally restricted to people of the same gender, it can also be used across gender if they know each other well, or in the case where someone of higher rank calls another of lower rank, and this is also common when an elder is calling a junior.

Besides this, family members and relatives generally do not call each other by name, this is especially the case when addressing an elder. Most of the time family titles are used, such as grandpa, grandma, dad, mom, uncle, aunt etc. Among siblings and between spouse, one's name can be used.

My friends, so do you know how you should address a Chinese person now? If you really don't know how you should address someone, there is yet another way, and that is not to address them, give them a splendid smile and say, "nǐ hǎo!"