Which salutations would you like to resurrect?

[Kenny同志]

So you may ask: “Why this poll?”

Well, as a native speaker of Chinese, the lack of active salutations often gives me a headache when I am outside and have to deal with those 20-somethings.

I refuse to use such terms as 美女or 哥們兒because I don’t want to come across frivolous or rude, and I am not a person who’s generous with complements, including the word 美女, so if I greet someone with it or tell her she’s a 美女, that’s because I really think she is one. As far as the term 哥們兒 is concerned, I remember I was greeted a few times with that term, all by strangers from the north and I can tell you that I really hated it because I don’t want to be anybody’s 哥們兒; it’s over-intimate, and worse still, in the south it is often used among gangsters.

Having no proper salutations for those young men and young women, I usually begin a conversation with them with 你好. But still, I am not happy as this is somewhat awkward, especially if the person I am going to talk to and I are several metres apart.

As for other frequently used salutations such as 老公, 老婆, 你爸, 你媽, 你兒子，你女兒，你伯伯, I find them insipid sometimes and not quite suitable in certain circumstances.

And so I’ve been thinking: why don’t we resurrect some old-fashioned, yet useful and interesting salutations?

[Hofmann]

Sad. These are alive in the US of A.

[abcdefg]

I think this must be a regional difference, because 美女 is used a lot here (in Kunming) as a casual salutation. It isn't considered flirtatious and is even used by one girl when calling out to another. One also often hears 帅哥 here among the locals, although I can't bring myself to use that.

兄弟 is pretty common here between guys who are roughly contemporary. I also frequently hear and use 姑娘 as a salutation here. Didn't realize it was antique.

I only use 小姑娘 with teenage girls or younger. Same situations in which I might use 小伙子。 In a restaurant, it's more common to hear someone hailing a young 服务员 with 美女。

[Kenny同志]

Sad. These are alive in the US of A.

It is sad. The CCP has ruined Chinese culture.

I think this must be a regional difference, because 美女 is used a lot here (in Kunming) as a casual salutation. It isn't considered flirtatious and is even used by one girl when calling out to another.

I am afraid there's little regional difference. The term is used the same way here in Hunan. The problem is that it is used indiscriminately; it can be used on any women aged between 10 to 50, regardless of how they look. As a result, 美女 has been reduced to 女.

I also frequently hear and use 姑娘 as a salutation here. Didn't realize it was antique.

As far as this salutation is concerned, there is regional difference. In some places, it's not antique or old-fashioned; in some, it is. Plus, it's a polysemous word in some places. For example, here in my town, it usually means wife or a married woman, and occasionally a girl.

[Guest realmayo]

Interesting topic, would never have thought about this. In the UK people manage quite easily without. I guess once people are no longer strangers it's easier for us to use first names than it is for you.

Kenny you deploy 同志 often enough on the forums, surprised that's not on your list!

I'm curious about why you don't like 你好ing someone who is some distance away from you.

I was a bit shocked by all the 美女ing when I went back to China a few years ago and would never feel comfortable using it but as you say some people now just use it all the time as a standard. Out of interest, is 靓女 a regional thing (& as far as I'm aware it's not used at all like current 美女)?

I'd like to participate in your poll but don't have any notion of how those terms have been used.

[Lu]

I first heard 美女 (also used by young women to address other young women) and 帅哥 (also used by a guy I was on a date with to address the waiter) in Taiwan. I've been called 姑娘 by a bike taxi driver in Beijing and I was somewhat offended and somewhat amused at the same time. I agree with Kenny that not having a regular form of address you can use to get the attention of random strangers is inconvenient, but I'm not sure what should be used. Perhaps just 先生 in the old-fashioned sense, when it could be used for both men and women?

[淨土極樂]

Where I live (a big northern city) the people use 美女/姑娘 for a 16-30 girl, 丫头 for a 8-16 girl (or older if one wants to be rude/frivolous), 阿姨 for a 40+ woman (or much younger if the speaker is a child).

For males, I believe most people here use 先生/小伙子/兄弟/哥们儿/帅哥/叔叔. Also 老爷 for old guys.

小朋友 is used for little kids of both sexes.

I'm pretty sure these are mostly universal in China.

Is this another one of those topics where we get upset about the language evolution and blame it all on the CCP? Hail ye, good sir Kenny, keep fighting the good fight! 万福金安!

[Kenny同志]

Kenny you deploy 同志 often enough on the forums, surprised that's not on your list!

This term is still active. Its original sense is mostly used among Communists. One of its other senses means guy, which I've been using all the time, but it's of little use unless when you want to be funny or humorous.

I'm curious about why you don't like 你好ing someone who is some distance away from you.

Because it's a greeting, not a salutation.

Out of interest, is 靓女 a regional thing (& as far as I'm aware it's not used at all like current 美女)?

I am not sure but it's never used as a salutation in Mandarin. Perhaps it is used as one in Cantonese?

I'd like to participate in your poll but don't have any notion of how those terms have been used.

兄台 is used to address a young or middle-aged man about your age.

公子 is used to address a young man.

姑娘 is used to address a young lady.

娘子 is used to address your wife.

相公 is used to address your husband.

令郎, 令愛（or 令嬡）, 令弟, 令兄, 令堂, 令尊 are used to politely refer to the son, daughter, younger brother, older brother, mother, or father of the person you are talking to, respectively.

家父, 家母, 家兄, 家姊 are used to refer to your father, mother, older brother or older sister, respectively, when you are talking to someone.

敝兄, 敝弟 are used to refer to, humbly, your older brother or younger brother, respectively.

舍妹, 舍弟 are used to refer to your younger sister or younger brother.

為父, 為兄 are used to refer to yourself when you are talking to your children or younger brother.

嫂夫人 is used to refer to the wife of your male friend who is a bit older than you.

[淨土極樂]

I am not sure but it's never used as a salutation in Mandarin.

I heard 靓女 used at least a few times. But it is uncommon in Mandarin, yes.

[Kenny同志]

Is this another one of those topics where we get upset about the language evolution and blame it all on the CCP?

There was a time when all Chinese people were calling each other 同志, so yes, I think something had had a negative impact on the evolution of the Chinese language.

[Kenny同志]

I have no idea why my second post has been voted down.

[Guest realmayo]

one of those topics where we get upset about the language evolution and blame it all on the CCP

Surely there's a difference between genetic engineering and evolution?

Kenny, the terms you have in your poll: when were these common? Pre-1980s, say, or pre-1949?

[Kenny同志]

Some were common before 1949; others in a further earlier period of time.

[淨土極樂]

Surely there's a difference between genetic engineering and evolution?

If it was the evil CCP's doing, then why the Taiwanese aren't using these terms? Because they're too old-fashioned and awkward that's why.

Oh, hello there, it's me 愚弟 and here's my 舍妹, how are you guys all doin'.

[Kenny同志]

Context matters. If you refer to 習仲勳 when talking with 習近平, you probably won't use 你爸爸.

[Guest realmayo]

If it was the evil CCP's doing, then why the Taiwanese aren't using these terms?

Okay I'm sure that the reason everyone used 同志 40 years ago was not related to the system of government at the time.

淨土極樂 I'm not sure why you're convinced that everything about the CPP is evil: I mean it's possible to imagine that the genesis a new optimistic self-consciously egalitarian and highly politicised society would engender some changes in how people address one another, no?

What I would be interested in knowing is what people in TW would have used 30-40 years ago. But I doubt that's easily knowable.

[Kenny同志]

but I'm not sure what should be used. Perhaps just 先生 in the old-fashioned sense, when it could be used for both men and women?

Using 先生 for both genders in spoken Chinese would cause confusion. I don't think that's a good idea.

[skylee]

I've been called 姑娘 by a bike taxi driver in Beijing

Same here. I was startled by the guy and twisted my ankle and limped during my whole trip in Beijing. However, I think 姑娘 is quite harmless, and quite elegant.

I find the use of 美女 quite rude. I've been called that by Mainlanders and it was just very very weird.

PS - recently when I sent a message to one of my younger friends (male), I called him 兄弟. I thought it was nice and elegant, and he replied by calling me 姐妹. I think he does not know that 兄弟 is used to call younger guys.

[淨土極樂]

淨土極樂 I'm not sure why you're convinced that everything about the CPP is evil

I'd check your sarcasm detector. It wasn't me who proposed that "the CCP has ruined Chinese culture". But is the current mainstream mainland culture really any different from TW, apart from the simplified characters, huh?

There was a similar topic on this forum some time ago, discussing whether China should go back to 文言文 as the universal written language instead of 白话文. Well, writing in dead languages is a bad idea. Same goes for archaisms.

[Lu]

Using 先生 for both genders in spoken Chinese would cause confusion. I don't think that's a good idea.

Why would it be more confusing than using 同志 or 他/她? It's probably never going to happen (women wouldn't like it), but it's not necessarily impractical.