称呼: Terms of Address

[sirslope]

I'm writing a letter to which a family is the recipient and I'm looking for a respectful form of address. It is my understanding that 尊敬的《名字》 can be used when addressing a single person; can this be extended to multiple people, i.e. 尊敬的A, B, C? How about 尊敬的《性》家庭?

[skylee]

It doesn't sound like a good idea to me. I don't even think 尊敬的A, B, C is good for a letter.

[YuehanHao]

As a novice, I have previously used a similar greeting to write to my in-laws. I don't remember where I got the idea or whether it was my own invention, but I think what I used was something like 尊敬的亲戚。 I realize there could be various ways of considering this an incorrect form of address, but it was the best I could come up with at the time. My wife said her family was pleased to see the word 尊敬, and knowing my Chinese is not that good, I think the in-laws looked past the mistakes and picked out the meaning I had intended. Maybe I will come up with something better one of these days...

约翰好

[melop]

I think it's okay to write:

尊敬的XX(the surname of the family)先生、夫人和公子(if the child is a boy)/千金(if the child is a girl).

Or, you don't address the children in the title if he/she is not adult.