It is important to address a person correctly, failing which would result in unnecessary misunderstandings or complications.

First of all it is important to identify the Surname and Name, as the Chinese place their surname first, while Westerners put their surname last.

A person is officially addressed by his or her surname, with an appropriate title. Common titles include:

Mr.    [xian sheng]           Mrs.  [tai tai]

Ms    [nv shi]                 Miss  [xiao jie]

Once you know the surname of the person you are about to address, mention his or her surname first, followed by the appropriate title. Mr. Chen is addressed as Chen Xiansheng. Confusing the surname with the given name would be a disaster.

Other titles are associated with professions or job designations. Mr. Wang, a teacher, is addressed as Wang laoshi, while Mr. Wang, the Manager is addressed as Wang jingli. As these are official titles it is important to remember the person’s status (often shown on the name card). Hierarchy is important in countries such as China and you risk ruffling feathers if a person’s due respect is not paid to him.

The Chinese people are quite often addressed by their surname, followed by their profession, job title, or status. A list of these terms could be found in chapter seven. Some of them are listed below.

Factory Manager [chang zhang]

Ph. D. [bo shi]

Managing Director [dong shi zhang]

President of a society, association [hui zhang]

Boss, owner of a business [lao ban]

There are also terms titles in China that denotes certain status or hierarchy. They include

Director of a department [chu zhang]

Head of bureau [ju zhang]

Head of section [ke zhang]

Head of district [qu zhang]

Secretary of an organisation [shu ji]

Head of Ministry [ting zhang]