A few general daily life questions (taxi, airport, hotel)

[AlexanderH]

1. How do I address a taxi driver? Do I use 您?

2. What is the correct word for "reserve" and "check in" ? I'll be staying at a hostel.

3. If a person is my age, do I use 您? At most hostels I've been in, people behind the counter are in their early 20s like me, so how do I address them?

I'm still very hazy on titles and which are proper based on age, profession, relationship, etc.

[andelicek.andy]

1.i use 你, but you can be polite and address 您.

2. 订， 登记

3.你，你，你...actually, i did address almost everyone in china 你，elder men/women...just if u wanna be polite you use 您...IMHO!!!(maybe i am just too unpolite)

[Jane_PA]

1.i use 你, but you can be polite and address 您.

Usually, 您 is a polite use of 你. But if you are in Beijing, you may hear 您 more often than 你 because that is a local habit. But if you are a foreigner, don't over concern about this. Also, I always use 您 to any unknown or unfamiliar persons, regardless the profession. In my sense, polite or not does not depend on the profession, but depend on how familiar you are with that person. I almost never used 您 to my elder brothers. Sure, we should use 您 to senior persons.

In summary, use 您 is never wrong. Particularly to taxi drivers, I always use 您。

What is the correct word for "reserve" and "check in" ? I'll be staying at a hostel.

Reserve is 预订，订。

Check in is 登记。

3. If a person is my age, do I use 您? At most hostels I've been in, people behind the counter are in their early 20s like me, so how do I address them?

Unless that person you can tell who are much younger than you, not really like an adult like a taxi driver is, you should use 你。Call a young girl 您 is funny, that is true.

[abcdefg]

How do I address a taxi driver? Do I use 您?

I would add that 师傅 = shīfu works well in this context. More courteous than 司机 = sījī.

[rezaf]

师傅 and你are fine， don't over use 您。 您 is for calling your boss or your customer. If you are too polite they might 绕你一圈！

[Jane_PA]

师傅 and你are fine， don't over use 您。 您 is for calling your boss or your customer. If you are too polite they might 绕你一圈！

I am not sure other places... But nowdays in Beijing, taxi drivers rarely intentionly take a longer way to a destination...Sometimes, it might be because the traffic is bad and he may want to take a less traffic way, not because he intentionally to do that for cheating money. If some taxi drivers want to cheat you, that would not depend what do you say, but depend can they tell you are a local person or not. Even I speak good Chinese, but they could tell I am not a local person immediately. Remember to ask for reciept all the time is a good way to keep the cost to ask a local friend to judge did the driver cheat you. Or, take a map with you maybe. Even the taxi driver can tell you are a nonlocal people, but he might be careful for not doing the unnecessary detour badly.

Yes, 师傅 is a very good and polite way to call taxi drivers. If you are obvious nonlocal people, using 您 or 你 is not a big deal. But usually Beijing local people would use 您 for taxi drivers, sales in the store, tailoers etc, is a little like western people say thank you all the time. Sure, it also depends on are you familiar with them or not. An adult, if he is a taxi driver, I would use 您. The same age guy, if he is my friend or colleague, I never use 您。您 shows a distance between the two persons.

Sure, using 您 to teenagers are not a good way.