How to address people in Chinese
Let's see how we should address older and younger people, friends and strangers.
Addressing by name
When introducing yourself or addressing other people, we should firstly state the last name and then the first name. For example:
丁力波 
邓小平
The surname usually consists of one character, while the first name consists of one or two characters.
邓小平
The surname usually consists of one character, while the first name consists of one or two characters. Pay attention
In English, there is usually a space between the Chinese surname and the first name. However the first name is written in one word.
For example: Feng Yuxiang.
When addressing someone by their profession or with prefixes like “Sir”, “Mrs.”, “Ms.”; we first say the surname and then the addressing terms.
For example:
王先生
李小姐
龙医生
李小姐
龙医生 Examples
很荣幸见到您，王先生
Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wang
hěn róngxìng jiàndào nín, wáng xiānshēng
李老师，您好！
Hello, Mr Lee!
lǐ lǎoshī, nín hǎo
Pay attention
We also can address people without saying their surname. For example: 先生, 小姐, 医生.
Addressing using the prefixes 老 and 小
In informal communication, it is possible to address older people with the prefix 老 .
For example:
老张 (or Old Zhang);
老李 (or Old Lee).
.
For example:
老张 (or Old Zhang);
老李 (or Old Lee).We also use the prefix 老 when addressing elderly strangers in a polite manner. For example:
老奶奶
老爷爷
老爷爷 When addressing younger people we can use the prefix 小 .
For example:
小张 (or little Zhang);
小李 (or little Lee).
.
For example:
小张 (or little Zhang);
小李 (or little Lee).Examples
嘿，老张，我会交叉手指祝你好运的！
Hey old Chang, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and wish you luck!
hēi, lǎo zhāng, wǒ huì jiāochā shǒuzhǐ zhù nǐ hǎo yùn de
小李！快点儿！
Little Lee! Hurry up!
xiǎo lǐ! kuài diǎnr
We also can use the prefix 小 before the surname when a superior addresses to subordinates who are junior in age:
Examples
小王，请把文拿过来吧
Little Wang, please bring the documents here!
xiǎo wáng, qǐng bǎ wénjiàn náguòlái ba
小陈，怎么又迟到了呢？
Little Chen, why are you late again?
xiǎo chén, zěnme yòu chídào le ne
The Chinese often address male strangers with 老 and the word “brother”.
For example:
老弟
老兄
Sometimes they also use 老姐儿 sister when addressing women.
老兄
Sometimes they also use 老姐儿 sister when addressing women.Examples
老弟，别这样说了
Bro, don't say that
lǎodì, bié zhèyàng shuō le
We use the same pattern, but with the prefix 小 when addressing children:
小妹妹
小弟弟
小弟弟
Pay attention
However, we most often address children as 小朋友 , which literally means “little friend”.
, which literally means “little friend”.