Address in Chinese Greeting

Normally,most of western nations accept hugs(拥抱yōngbào) and kisses(吻wěn) as a well-known form of greeting though a handshake(握手wòshǒu) is still the formal way of greeting individuals. In China, a handshake is a common way to address your greeting.

Form of Address:

A form of address is somewhat a reflection of social climate. In China, numerous forms of addresses are used based on situations. Deciding on the proper and appropriate form shows your intelligence and high respect to others. Usually, for Chinese individuals it needs to be in accord with convention and care significantly regarding the personal favor of the people becoming addressed. You will find four major categories:
 

Job Title(职业称呼zhíyè chēnghū)

You are able to get in touch with someone directly by his job title or put it prior to his surname or full name. This is often used in the workplace and on much more formal occasions:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
习主席	Xízhǔxí	President Xi
李总理	Lǐzǒnglǐ	Prime Li
王局长	Wáng júzhǎng	Director Wang
沈经理	Shěn jīnglǐ	Manage Shen
徐主任	Xú zhǔrèn	Director Xu

 

To address depending on professional qualifications means showing respect to these people: 

Chinese	Pinyin	English
李老师	Lǐ lǎoshī	Teacher Li
苏工程师	Sū gōngchéngshī	Engineer Zhao
金律师	Jīn lǜshī	Lawyer Jin
陆校长	Lù xiàozhǎng	Principal lù

 

An address according to educational qualifications is useful to emphasize the academic authority of the people being addressed:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
马博士	Mǎ bóshì	Dr. Ma
赵硕士	Zhào shuòshì	Master Zhao
王学士	Wáng xuéshì	Bachelor Wang

 

Usually, you can call a person's full name or family name when addressing him, very good friends and colleagues, or only the surname proceeded by an informal title which indicates his age:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
老赵	Lǎo zhào	Elder Zhao
朱阿姨	Zhū āyí	Aunt Zhu
小王	Xiǎo wáng	Younger Wang

Contact is extremely vital in people’s life,such as eye contact(眼神交流yǎnshénjiāoliú), a smile, and politeness are expressions of sincerity. These are the beginning of communication. Just as westerners, the Chinese typically pass the time of day with others as a precursor to finding towards the point of a conversation or presentation.Do not forget to express yourself by your polite ways.