Chinese for the Casual Learner
Cultural Notes
Chinese Names
In the Confucian society, the individual is second to the family, therefore Chinese names are given in the surname and given name sequence. The complete names is usually three character-long of which the first character is the surname and the last two the given name. There are a few surnames that are two characters-long but they are very rare.
Personal Titles
Personal titles always go after the name itself and can be used with either the full name or just the surname. One exception applies to the very informal titles of xiǎo and lǎo, which go before the surname and should only be used with the surname..
| Sir | xiānsheng | 先生 | |
| Mr. Wang | wáng xiānsheng | 王先生 | |
| Miss | xiǎojie | 小姐 | |
| Miss Wang | wáng xiǎojie | 王小姐 | |
| Madam | ? | ||
| Mrs. Wang | wáng tàitai | 王太太 | |
| Teacher | lǎoshī | 老师 | |
| Teacher Wang | wáng lǎoshī | 王老师 | |
| Master | shīfu | 师傅 | A polite address used for certain professions, such as a restaurant chef, a kungfu teacher, a plumber, etc. |
| "Young" Wang | xiǎo wáng | 小王 | Very informal title for a younger person up to a young adult. |
| "Old" Wang | lǎo wáng | 老王 | Very informal title for a middle age person or older. |