Everyone who wants to study in China must know that China is a state of ceremonies, whose people use term of respect frequently in their life. Term of respect is used in daily communication, especially in letters, which is a polite expression in conversation.
The following are some terms usually used by Chinese to show respect, which will be helpful for students wholearning Mandarin Chinese.
The first clan of character that help students learn Mandarin is “令”, which is a call for the relative of your conversation partner. For examples, “令尊” is a call of his father and “令堂” is for mother. “令郎” is his son and “令爱令媛” is address of his daughter, etc.
The clan of character “拜” is also frequently-used in Chinese culture. For example, “拜读” means you read his book, “拜访” means you pay a visit to him, “拜托” is a term used when you have things wanted him to do for you and “拜望” is a visit to him.
The clan of character “奉” is used when your motivation is related to your conversation partner. Here are some examples to help learn to speak Chinese. “奉告” means you tell him something, “奉还” means you give something back to him, “奉陪” indicates to accompany, 奉劝means to advise someone to do or not to do something.
The clan of character “惠” is a motivation from your conversation partner. For instance, “惠存” means to save something that are given by the others. “惠顾” is to express somebody is coming to you shop to buy something. “惠赠” often used to ask the opposite person to give you some gifts. All above are often used tolearn Mandarin in China.
The next clan is the character “恭”, carrying the meaning of treating others respectively. The words like 恭贺、恭候、恭请、恭迎、恭喜 are often taught when you attend Chinese school in China. The most common ones are “恭喜发财” and “恭贺新禧”.
The clan of character “垂” means a motivation from others especially older than you. “垂爱” means the care from the opposite of your conversation, “垂问” and “垂询” implies people inquire something from you
The clan of character “贵” is often seen when you learn Chinese language in China. They are used when something related to the opposite side of your conversation. For examples, “贵干” is a question asking the others what he want to do. “贵庚” is used when you ask his age; “贵姓” is for asking family name; 贵恙is used to ask how about his illness, whether it is recovery or worse.
Another clan of character we often learn when we study Chinese is “大”, which is a respected term for someone related to your talking partner or himself. For example, “大伯” is both a call to your uncle and an elder man than your father. “大哥大姐” is a respective call to some elder friends or familiars; “大驾” means the opposite side has a higher status than you, such as “大驾光临”.
The clan of character “敬” is used when your action is related to others. For examples, “敬告” is to tell; “敬贺” is to congratulate someone did something successfully; “敬请” is to invite the opposite side to come respectfully
Some other terms should be mentioned to help learn Chinese in China are the clans of character “光” , “雅” and “玉”. “光” carries the meaning of glory or somebody‘s coming to visit you. For example, “光顾” is the coming of customers and”光临” means the coming of the guests.
“雅” is used to express the goodwill and behavior from the opposite side of your communication. For example, “雅教” is a commence or advice from others and “雅意” is the goodwill or suggest from others.”玉” is a use related to the body or action from the opposite side of conversation. for example, “玉照” is used to describe her photos or pictures and “玉成” is helping him to achieve something successfully.
After learning these terms that for expressing respect, we can put them into use when we meet someone. They must be surprised for what you are saying.