Can you help me understand the usage of 你 versus 您?

2009-05-11 5:53 pm
I understand that 您 is used for persons of a higher social standing, but being from the U.S., I have a hard time grasping the concept of higher social standing.

If you are Chinese, can you please confirm that the following usages of 你 and 您 are appropriate in context?

Teacher speaking to student would say 你, however student speaking to teacher would say 您?

Customer speaking to waiter would say 你, however waiter speaking to customer would say 您?

Supervisor speaking to subordinate would say 你, however subordinate speaking to supervisor would say 您?

Students of the same age would address each other using 你
Coworkers of the same age would address each other using 你
Strangers who appear to be the same age would address each other using 你, however if one appears to be much older, the older would address the younger as 你 and the younger would address the older as 您.

Do children address parents as 你 or 您? How about aunts/uncles/grandparents/older siblings?

At what age are children expected to understand the difference between 你 and 您? I mean, I can't imagine that a two year old would understand the difference, but what about a first-grader? Are they expected to refer to their teacher as 您, or is 你 still acceptable?

What would be a general idea of how great the "age gap" would have to be before a younger person would be expected to refer to the older as 您? I am 25, would I have to refer to someone over 40 as 您? Over 60? Would a small child have to refer to me as 您?

Are there any instances where two parties would both refer to each other as 您? I'm thinking, for example, if the presidents of two major companies were meeting to discuss a mutually agreeable partnership, would they refer to each other with respect or familiarity?

回答 (2)

2009-05-11 6:23 pm
✔ 最佳答案
Yes, if presidents of two major companies are conversing, they would be using 您 to each other.

您 is the more respectable form of 你. If you're familiar with French, it's similar to "vous" vs. "tu". You would use 您 to show respect towards the other person, ie. putting yourself in the lower rank and other person higher, not necessarily age-wise. It is not mandatory for young people to use 您. It's more a "how you see yourself vs. the other person" thing. Ie. a child would not use 您 towards his father (due to familiarity) but would so towards his father's business partners (due to respect).
2009-05-11 5:58 pm
the first one is for younger people, the other one is for older people to show respect


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