How to Address People Politely in Mandarin Chinese

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Addressing people in Chinese is something that isn't really taught properly in textbooks.

You are often taught that 你好 (nǐhǎo) is 'hello' and 您好 (nínhǎo) is a polite way of saying hello, and that's it, whereas in fact there is a lot more subtlety to how you address different people in Chinese to show politeness and respect.

Whether you're travelling in China or you're doing business in a Chinese speaking region, it's important to know how to address people in the correct way, to avoid any embarrassing mistakes and to make sure you are treating people with the correct respect.
The first thing you need to know is which part of the name is the family name (surname) and which part is the given name.

When names are written in Chinese, the family name always comes first, however some Chinese people will reverse the order of their names when are abroad or dealing with foreigners and put their family name at the end, to be in line with the 'standard' in English.

Sometimes people will write their family name in capitals on a business card or email. Also, the given name is often two syllables and the family name will often be one, which can often make it clear which name is which, but if you're really not sure which name is the family name then you can always ask 您贵姓? (nín guì xìng?) which means 'What is your surname'.

If you know the person's family name, then the next thing you need to think about is their age and level of seniority compared to you, and also their position / job title. All of these things will affect how you address them.