nínㄋㄧㄣˊ
you (respectful), literally “you-honorific”
The polite 'you': for elders, customers, strangers when being courteous. 心 + 你: you-from-the-heart.
guìxìngㄍㄨㄟˋ ㄒㄧㄥˋ
your honorable surname, literally “precious surname”
The formal way to ask a name: 您贵姓？ Reply 免贵姓王 'not precious, surname Wang'.
lìngzūnㄌㄧㄥˋ ㄗㄨㄣ
your father (honorific), literally “your honored father”
The 令 family: all THEIR relatives get 令, all yours get 家/舍.
lìngtángㄌㄧㄥˋ ㄊㄤˊ
your mother (honorific), literally “your honored mother”
The matching honorific for mothers.
lìnglángㄌㄧㄥˋ ㄌㄤˊ
your son (honorific), literally “your fine son”
Their son: praised sight unseen.
lìng'àiㄌㄧㄥˋ ㄞˋ
your daughter (honorific), literally “your loved daughter”
Their daughter: the elevated form.
贵公司 貴公司
guì gōngsīㄍㄨㄟˋ ㄍㄨㄥ ㄙ
your honorable company, literally “precious company”
Business letters start here: elevating their side.
gāojiànㄍㄠ ㄐㄧㄢˋ
your brilliant opinion, literally “high opinion”
Elevating their views: '想听听您的高见' = your thoughts please.
gāoshòuㄍㄠ ㄕㄡˋ
your venerable age, literally “high longevity”
Asking an elder's age politely: 您高寿？ (Don't use on young people.)
fānglíngㄈㄤ ㄌㄧㄥˊ
your fragrant age (to young women), literally “fragrant age”
The poetic ask for a young woman's age: 芳龄几何.
dàzuòㄉㄚˋ ㄗㄨㄛˋ
your great work, literally “great work”
Their writing or art: always 'great'.
guānglínㄍㄨㄤ ㄌㄧㄣˊ
gracious presence (welcome), literally “light arrives”
Shop signs say 欢迎光临 'welcome honored presence': the standard greeting.
惠顾 惠顧
huìgùㄏㄨㄟˋ ㄍㄨˋ
kind patronage, literally “favor look”
The business blessing: 'thank you for your kind patronage'.
惠存
huìcúnㄏㄨㄟˋ ㄘㄨㄣˊ
kindly keep (on gifts/cards), literally “favor keep”
Inscribed on business cards and gifts: please keep it.
cìjiàoㄘˋ ㄐㄧㄠˋ
kindly instruct me, literally “grant instruction”
Asking for their wisdom: 请赐教 'please teach me'.
斧正
fǔzhèngㄈㄨˇ ㄓㄥˋ
kindly correct my work, literally “axe correct”
Asking critique of writing: the axe metaphor for cutting errors.
jiǔyǎngㄐㄧㄡˇ ㄧㄤˇ
I've long heard of you, literally “long admired”
The meeting greeting: 'long admired your name'.
gōnghòuㄍㄨㄥ ㄏㄡˋ
respectfully await, literally “reverently wait”
Waiting for their arrival: 恭候光临.
gōngxǐㄍㄨㄥ ㄒㄧˇ
congratulations, literally “respectful joy”
The everyday honorific survived: congratulations.
shǎngliǎnㄕㄤˇ ㄌㄧㄢˇ
do me the honor, literally “grant face”
Asking someone to show up: 'do me the face'.
jiāfùㄐㄧㄚ ㄈㄨˋ
my father (humble), literally “house father”
The 家 set: my older family = 家+role. Never use 令 for your own.
jiāmǔㄐㄧㄚ ㄇㄨˇ
my mother (humble), literally “house mother”
My mother, humbly lowered.
jiāxiōngㄐㄧㄚ ㄒㄩㄥ
my older brother (humble), literally “house brother”
Older kin get 家, younger get 舍.
舍弟
shèdìㄕㄜˋ ㄉㄧˋ
my younger brother (humble), literally “cottage brother”
The 舍 set for younger kin: humbler register.
舍妹
shèmèiㄕㄜˋ ㄇㄟˋ
my younger sister (humble), literally “cottage sister”
The younger-sister humble form.
quǎnzǐㄑㄩㄢˇ ㄗˇ
my son (dog-son, humble), literally “dog son”
The extreme humility form: 'my little dog' for your own son.
xiǎonǚㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄋㄩˇ
my daughter (humble), literally “little daughter”
My daughter, modestly small.
zhuōjīngㄓㄨㄛ ㄐㄧㄥ
my wife (humble, archaic), literally “clumsy thorn”
The old-fashioned humble wife-word: scholarly but dated.
敝人
bìrénㄅㄧˋ ㄖㄣˊ
this humble person (me), literally “broken person”
The ultra-formal self-reference: letters and speeches.
bǐrénㄅㄧˇ ㄖㄣˊ
this lowly person (me), literally “low person”
Same humble self-lowering.
在下
zàixiàㄗㄞˋ ㄒㄧㄚˋ
your humble servant (me), literally “at below”
The wuxia-movie self-address: knights and scholars.
yújiànㄩˊ ㄐㄧㄢˋ
my foolish opinion, literally “foolish view”
Lowering your own views before offering them.
拙见 拙見
zhuōjiànㄓㄨㄛ ㄐㄧㄢˋ
my clumsy opinion, literally “clumsy view”
Same humility framing.
zhuōzuòㄓㄨㄛ ㄗㄨㄛˋ
my humble work, literally “clumsy work”
Your own writing, always clumsy.
hánshèㄏㄢˊ ㄕㄜˋ
my humble abode, literally “cold cottage”
Inviting them over: 'my cold cottage'.
bójiǔㄅㄛˊ ㄐㄧㄡˇ
thin wine (humble offering), literally “thin wine”
What you serve guests: 'a thin wine' that's actually fine.
绵薄之力 綿薄之力
miánbó zhī lìㄇㄧㄢˊ ㄅㄛˊ ㄓ ㄌㄧˋ
my meager strength, literally “cotton-thin strength”
Offering help humbly: 'my tiny power'.
cáishū xuéqiǎnㄘㄞˊ ㄕㄨ ㄒㄩㄝˊ ㄑㄧㄢˇ
my talent is thin, learning shallow, literally “talent sparse learning shallow”
The scholar's self-deprecation before speaking.
不才
bùcáiㄅㄨˋ ㄘㄞˊ
untalented me, literally “no talent”
Self-reference for speakers with opinions.
xiànchǒuㄒㄧㄢˋ ㄔㄡˇ
I embarrass myself (before performing), literally “offer ugliness”
The pre-performance humility: what you say before singing or demonstrating.
蓬荜生辉 蓬蓽生輝
péngbì shēnghuīㄆㄥˊ ㄅㄧˋ ㄕㄥ ㄏㄨㄟ
my humble house glows (with your visit), literally “thatch walls shine”
The honored-guest line: your presence illuminates my poor home.
哪里哪里 哪裡哪裡
nǎlǐ nǎlǐㄋㄚˇ ㄌㄧˇ ㄋㄚˇ ㄌㄧˇ
not at all (deflecting praise), literally “where where”
The ritual denial: compliments get waved off, then accepted internally.
过奖了 過獎了
guòjiǎng leㄍㄨㄛˋ ㄐㄧㄤˇ ㄌㄜ˙
you overpraise me, literally “over-praised”
The praise-rejection: accept with humility.
jièguāngㄐㄧㄝˋ ㄍㄨㄤ
excuse me (borrow light), literally “borrow light”
Passing through crowds: borrowing their illumination.
láojiàㄌㄠˊ ㄐㄧㄚˋ
may I trouble you, literally “labor your carriage”
The respectful bother: Beijing's preferred excuse-me.
fèixīnㄈㄟˋ ㄒㄧㄣ
troubling your mind (thank you), literally “spend heart”
Acknowledging their effort: 'it cost you thought'.
shīpéiㄕ ㄆㄟˊ
I must leave (lose the company), literally “lose accompany”
The graceful exit: leaving honored company.
liúbùㄌㄧㄡˊ ㄅㄨˋ
please don't see me out, literally “stay step”
Stops the host's escort: no need to see me off.
mànzǒuㄇㄢˋ ㄗㄡˇ
walk slowly (goodbye), literally “slow walk”
The send-off: leave gently, safe travels.
恕不远送 恕不遠送
shù bù yuǎn sòngㄕㄨˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄩㄢˇ ㄙㄨㄥˋ
forgive me for not seeing you far, literally “forgive not far send”
The polite non-escort: formal dismissal.
jiǔwéiㄐㄧㄡˇ ㄨㄟˊ
long time no see (formal), literally “long missed”
The reunion greeting: 'long absent from your presence'.
tuōfúㄊㄨㄛ ㄈㄨˊ
thanks to your blessing, literally “rely on fortune”
Attributing good news to their good wishes: 'thanks to your luck'. Also the English exam name.
请慢用 請慢用
qǐng mànyòngㄑㄧㄥˇ ㄇㄢˋ ㄩㄥˋ
please eat slowly, literally “please slow use”
Serving food: 'take your time'.
您先请 您先請
nín xiān qǐngㄋㄧㄣˊ ㄒㄧㄢ ㄑㄧㄥˇ
you first, please, literally “you first please”
Yielding precedence: doors, elevators, dishes.
别客气 別客氣
bié kèqiㄅㄧㄝˊ ㄎㄜˋ ㄑㄧ˙
don't be formal, literally “don't be polite”
Relaxing the ceremony: make yourself at home.
招待不周
zhāodài bùzhōuㄓㄠ ㄉㄞˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄓㄡ
poor hospitality (host's apology), literally “receive not thorough”
The host's ritual apology even after a feast.
一点心意 一點心意
yīdiǎn xīnyìㄧ ㄉㄧㄢˇ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄧˋ
a small token, literally “one point heart-intent”
Offering gifts: belittle the gift, elevate the sentiment.
礼轻情意重 禮輕情意重
lǐ qīng qíngyì zhòngㄌㄧˇ ㄑㄧㄥ ㄑㄧㄥˊ ㄧˋ ㄓㄨㄥˋ
light gift, heavy affection, literally “gift light sentiment heavy”
The gift-giving disclaimer: thought over value.
让您破费了 讓您破費了
ràng nín pòfèi leㄖㄤˋ ㄋㄧㄣˊ ㄆㄛˋ ㄈㄟˋ ㄌㄜ˙
I've made you spend, literally “caused you break spend”
Acknowledging their generosity: thanks for spending.
承蒙关照 承蒙關照
chéngméng guānzhàoㄔㄥˊ ㄇㄥˊ ㄍㄨㄢ ㄓㄠˋ
grateful for your care, literally “receive your favor”
The formal thanks: for guidance, hospitality, patronage.