How to politely address older people in Mandarin
To politely address older people in Mandarin, common respectful forms are:
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For men older than you, add 老 (lǎo, meaning “old/respectful”) before their surname, e.g., 老王 (Lǎo Wáng). You can also use 先生 (xiānsheng) with the surname for formal respect, e.g., 王先生 (Wáng xiānsheng).
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For women older than you, similarly use 老 before their surname, e.g., 老李 (Lǎo Lǐ). For women around middle age, 阿姨 (āyí, “auntie”) is used respectfully. For formal address, 女士 (nǚshì) with the surname is polite, e.g., 李女士 (Lǐ nǚshì).
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For people roughly your parents’ age, you can call men 叔叔 (shūshu, “uncle”) and women 阿姨 (āyí, “auntie”) even if they are not relatives.
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For elderly people, titles like 老爷爷 (lǎo yéye) for older men and 老奶奶 (lǎo nǎinai) for older women show honor.
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It is also respectful to address older individuals using kinship titles like 伯伯 (bóbo, father’s elder brother) or 大爷 (dàye, old man) for older men, and 大妈 (dàmā) or 大娘 (dàniáng) for older women.
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Using 先生, 女士, or the person’s profession with their surname is recommended in formal situations.
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Avoid casual terms like 美女 (měinǚ) or 帅哥 (shuàigē) which can sound too informal or flirtatious.
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If the person’s surname is unknown, starting with a polite greeting like 你好 (nǐ hǎo) is safer.
Thus, polite ways usually involve a respectful title or kinship term combined with the surname or used alone according to the age and gender of the person, while formal titles like 先生 or 女士 are good for formal or unknown contexts.