12
votes
Accepted
What is the formal/polite way to begin and end an email in Chinese?
The traditional Chinese letter is very complex.It has many honorifics that vary greatly for different receivers.
But today,most people's traditional education is insufficient to write these letter.
...
- 6,117
11
votes
Accepted
Politeness in referring to a recent death
TL;DR
The most general euphemism for "die" in Chinese is
去世
Literally means "leave the world". Similar to the English expression "pass on/away".
It would be polite enough to address anyone's ...
11
votes
Why in Chinese Bible (和合本), "you" was translated as "你" instead of "您"?
"I thought 您 is more polite and honorific and thus should be used when address Jehovah. Why was "you" translated as "你" instead of "您"?"
你 is, in fact, the ...
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9
votes
What is the formal/polite way to begin and end an email in Chinese?
I will give you a example, explanation in the brackets, see if it's useful to you.
this is a email I sent to my client, I think this format is kind of formal
孔经理：(he's a manager, and his family ...
8
votes
Accepted
Is it polite to answer a question asked by a senior by starting with "回...的話"?
starting a reply with 回 is too subservient in modern Chinese conversation.
You only hear people use "回 + title" in period drama nowadays
In olden time, people would use "回 + title" to replay to ...
- 73.2k
6
votes
Is 同性恋 considered a slur?
The expression of “同性恋” in Chinese, I think, is too formal and is hardly used in Chinese spoken language. In Chinese slang, some may use "同志"（which originally means comrade or like-minded or congenial ...
- 69
6
votes
Can 你去吧 be considered rude and what are some alternatives?
The alternative will be “你快(點)回去吧”, or simply "快回去".
Depending on the situation, “你去吧” can be seen as cold, arrogant, or rude. Worst of all, it is a phrase frequently used during the funeral ...
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5
votes
Is 同性恋 considered a slur?
Basically, "同性恋" is the direct meaning of homosexual. However, it is quite difficult for Chinese people to say this directly.
There is an old saying in Chinese, called "不孝有三，无后为大". Here, it says that ...
- 169
5
votes
Accepted
What is the polite/proper way to address elderly whom I am not familiar with?
For an elderly woman, 大妈，大娘，大婶，阿婆，老奶奶 -- what's best really depends on what they are using locally and the age difference between you and the person.
You can always just say: 您好, if you are not sure ...
- 451
5
votes
Why in Chinese Bible (和合本), "you" was translated as "你" instead of "您"?
In my opinion, this question is not specific in Chinese. In fact, many languages use the singular form of the second person to address God.
Here is a quote from Wikipedia's article "thou".
...
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4
votes
How do you politely ask for things in Mandarin?
I am surprised nobody has brought up the use of 麻烦.
The term 麻烦 could be loosely translated to "could I perhaps trouble you to..." (in the context of politeness of course). It is used to politely ...
- 516
4
votes
What is the polite/proper way to address elderly whom I am not familiar with?
老奶 and 老爸 is improper.
老奶 is not used at all. It should be 老奶奶(for elder female, typically old enough to be a grandma, because 奶奶 means grandma).
老爸 is usually refering to your father, I think it work ...
- 402
4
votes
What is a polite way to ask to 打包 (dǎbāo) "take away" my meal? Is 我想打包 acceptable?
You could say any of the following:
麻煩打包，謝謝。
我要打包，麻煩（你）幫我拿盒子，謝謝。
Usually I get asked whether I will be packing the leftovers.
Me: (indicate I’m ready for the bill)
Waiter: 好的，要打包嗎？
Me: 要，謝謝。
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3
votes
Accepted
Why did she choose 姐姐?
She identify herself as 姐姐 to show she is “powerful” or “knowledgeable” in doing whatever you don’t know how to do. Sometimes you call a female 姐姐 for showing respect. Even for people younger than you,...
- 1,179
3
votes
How do I translate 'do well on your test' into Chinese?
I basically agree with what Itux just said. But I would prefer to say “祝你考试顺利” instead of “祝你测试顺利”.
In your context, “考试” would be the word you look for when you want to translate "test" or "exam". ...
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3
votes
What is the polite/proper way to address elderly whom I am not familiar with?
The most polite/proper way varies among different regions, as shown in each of the other answers. Here are some tips that I know of:
If you know the dialect in that region, it would be best to ...
- 3,277
3
votes
Accepted
Prefacing questions with 请问
Before I want to ask a stranger, I will try to get their attention first.
Saying 您好/你好 (Hello/Hi) before starting my question, then 对不起打扰了,请问 or just 请问 (Excuse Me) and followed by the question.
您好,...
- 386
3
votes
What does 委屈你了 mean in this situation?
I'm not sure if this is overly BrE but a common turn of phrase is:
sorry to put you out
or
sorry to have put you out
That would be a fairly close equivalent of 委屈你了.
Mou某♦
- 35.1k
3
votes
Can 你去吧 be considered rude and what are some alternatives?
I feel that this phrase can also have a negative connotation, like "get out of my sight". Is this true?
Not at all, you can safely consider it as "Go ahead" in English. There ...
- 191
3
votes
Can 你去吧 be considered rude and what are some alternatives?
你去吧 usually means "You can go back and continue what you are doing before you came to me".
Safe usages of "你去吧" if you are:
Boss when talking to your employee
Teacher when talking ...
- 41
2
votes
"吃飽了" versus " 吃好了"
(The following explanation is based on the language habits of my hometown, close to Beijing)
Slang evolution: 吃饱了撑的没事干 -> 吃饱了撑的 -> 吃饱了
Meaning: Too full (or have eaten too much) and have nothing to ...
- 310
2
votes
Accepted
"吃飽了" versus " 吃好了"
I am a Chinese speaker. No, Nothing is relating to meal was good, just you are done, you are full. no more eating. When Chinese greet they always say: Have you eaten yet? Yes, I did. 你吃饭了没有？吃了。 好 not ...
- 334
2
votes
"吃飽了" versus " 吃好了"
I would say that "我吃飽了" is "I'm full now" while "我吃好了" is "I'm done eating now", so saying that you're done would be more polite compared to saying that you're full
- 1,020
2
votes
Prefacing questions with 请问
Chinese people often use this expression.
The old-fashioned method is much more complex. In ancient China, there are lot of form of addresses like modest words, taboo words, circuitous words and ...
- 151
2
votes
What is the polite/proper way to address elderly whom I am not familiar with?
never use 老奶/老爸!
老奶奶 is ok if she is really old.
- 21
2
votes
Accepted
Comparing forms of humble self reference
If you want to use 謙稱 with accuracy, you'll have to learn how to use 尊稱 too! You can't have the yin with the yang. Learning all this is a big job, with not much payoff, except a reputation for nice ...
- 4,335
2
votes
Accepted
Is there a way to say "I respectfully thank you" to familiar elders?
谢谢 is formal enough, the casual thing in the phrase "谢谢你" is '你'. To show respect, you can replace '你' with formal/polite pronoun like 閣下.
To show respect when you thanks someone, simply address ...
- 73.2k
2
votes
Is there a way to say "I respectfully thank you" to familiar elders?
You could say 谢谢您 instead.
When you really want to be super respectful, especially to some respected person who you are not quite familar with, you could go with the following
承蒙关照，不胜感激。
厚情盛意，应接不遑，...
- 3,079
2
votes
Difference between 室友 and 同屋
I live in north, we only use 室友, when I see your question, I have to check dictionary for 同屋( I have never heard of it) to make sure I know it right, cuz we can not rely on the literary meanings, for ...
- 6,117
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