How to address people in Chinese – Names, Titles and Honorifics

Addressing people by their title is very important in Chinese. In English you will be used to addressing people by their first name, however Chinese is more formal. With the exception of colleagues, friends and family, you should generally address people by their title.

What is a Chinese Honorific

A honorific is a title that conveys respect and courtesy to a person’s position and is the equivalent of calling someone “Mr Brown” or “Dr Smith“ in English. In Chinese honorifics are commonly used to address people with whom you are not familiar. It is also important to realise that honorifics are placed after a persons surname in Chinese, so instead of “Mr Wang”, the order is “Wang Mr” wángXiānsheng (wáng xiānshēng) where Xiānsheng (xiānshēng) means “Mister”。

In this post I will cover occupational titles. If you wish to know how to address your family, spouse or extended family, check out my post here.

Chinese names – Romanisation

It is important to understand that the format of Chinese names is Surname followed by given names, which is the opposite of English. The Chinese word for name is míngzi (míngzì) and the word for surname is xìng (xìng). To use an example 周恩来 (who was in fact the first Premier of the Peoples Republic of China) surname was zhōu (Zhōu) and given names were ēnlái (Ēnlái). In English you would write this name as Ēnlái Zhōu so it is understood that Zhōu

Chinese names are written as
Family Name + Given Name
This is the opposite order of English
e.g. Zhou Enlai is Mr Zhou, not Mr Enlai

It is important to understand that Chinese given names can be either one or two characters. Where a Chinese given name has two characters it is written without a space and the second character is not capitalised, thus the standard way or writing ZhōuEnlái Zhōu Ēnlái and not Zhōu Ēn Lái. This lack of space between the given names does not hold true in some countries outside China such as Malaysia and Singapore, where it is common to place a space between the names and capitalise the second given name (e.g. Zhōu Ēn Lái). Where a Chinese given name is written as two separate words, it is taken as their first name and not their first and middle name. e.g. The first prime minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, is Mr Lee, and his given name is “Kuan Yew” and not Kuan as “Yew” is not his middle name. Note that here that Mr Lee’s name is not Chinese Pinyin, but the example is useful nonetheless.

Finally, when writing Chinese names in English, the Pinyin tones are often not used, thus Zhōu Ēnlái would be written as Zhou Enlai.

The correct way to add a title to someones name in Chinese

In Chinese a title is always added after the persons name, as respect is given to a persons family name first and foremost. Thus for example Mr Wang is written in Chinese as “Wang Mister” and Doctor Wang would be written as “Wang Doctor”. This is the opposite of English where we add the title in front of a persons name.

In Chinese a persons title always precedes their title
i.e. SURNAME + TITLE

“Mr Wang” is written as “Wang Mister”
“Doctor Wang” is written as “Wang Doctor”

How to say Mr, Mrs, Miss and Ms in Chinese

In Chinese it is very important to address people with Mr, Mrs or Miss. The Chinese words for Mr, Mrs, Miss and Ms are:

  • Mr: Xiānsheng (xiānshēng) For example “Mr Wang” wángXiānsheng (wáng xiānshēng)
  • Mrs: tàitai (tàitài), for example “Mrs Zhang” zhāngtàitai (zhāng tàitài)
  • Miss: xiǎojie (xiǎojiě), for example “Miss Li” xiǎojie (lǐ xiǎojiě)
  • Ms: shì (nǚshì), for example “Ms Liu” Liúshì (liú nǚshì)

A few notes:

  • “Miss” xiǎojie (xiǎojiě) has a negative meaning in some parts of China as it is associated with being a prostitute. It is okay to use this is a formal setting
  • Ms” shì (nǚshì) is a polite way to address a woman that is loosely equivalent to “Ms” in English.  shì should be used with a woman’s maiden name.

Do Chinese woman take their husbands name?

In Mainland China and many countries with ethnic Chinese such as Malaysia and Singapore, women do not take their husbands name when they marry. A notable exception is Chinese who migrate to Western countries or ethnic Chinese of Western countries, that is Chinese who are born in Western countries, in both cases these women may choose to take their husbands name.

Nicknames in Chinese – xiǎomíng – 小名

Nick names are known as “xiǎomíng” xiǎomíng, which literally means “small name”. It is very common for parents to give their children nick names, and these may stay with them through their adult life. In other cases a nick name is self selected once they are a teenager or start working, especially if the nickname selected by the parents was not suitable for an adult. Nick names can be nearly anything, some examples are máomao Máomao or xiǎomíng xiǎomíng. Some nicknames may simply be the Chinese equivalent of an English name, so for example jīnmǐ jīn is “Kimy” and tāngmǔ Tāng is “Tom”.

Nicknames are commonly used by friends and at work with close colleagues. If you are meeting someone for the first time but already know their nick name, I recommend waiting for them to ask you to call them by their nick name before you do so.

English names in Chinese

It has become more popular for Chinese to give themselves an English name. Foreign names, including English names, are usually translated phonetically, meaning based on how they sound. Please check out my posts on Female English name translations and Male English name translations to find your name.

Asking how to address someone in Chinese

In some cases it is best to ask someone what they prefer to be called to avoid addressing them incorrectly. To ask someone what they prefer to be called you use the word “to address” gāizěnmechēnghu?//ssttrroonngg>>//eemm>>ssttrroonngg>>
wǒ gāi zěnme chēnghu nǐ?

How should I address you?

Broken down this means:

gāi zěnme chēnghu
gāi zěnme chēnghu
I should how address you

To ask someone what their name you use the word “to call” jiào (jiào) and simply say:

jiàoshénmemíngzi
jiào shénme míngzì

What are you called? (What is your name?)

To respond you would simply say:

jiào<name>
wǒ jiào <name>

I’m called <Name>

You can also say your name is:

//ssttrroonngg>>eemm>>ssttrroonngg>>demíngzishì<name>
wǒ de míngzì shì <name>

My name is <surname)

In both cases you could respond with either your full name or just your given name depending on how familiar you are with the person asking.

In a situation such as during hotel check-in you might respond saying your surname. Here you use the Chinese word for surname xìng (xìng):

//ssttrroonngg>>eemm>>ssttrroonngg>>xìng<surname>
wǒ xìng <surname>

My surname (is) <surname>

You can also use xìng (xìng) to ask some what their surname is:

//ssttrroonngg>>eemm>>ssttrroonngg>>xìngshénme??
nǐ xìng shénme?

What is your surname?

You might notice text books teaching you to ask someone their surname by saying guìxìng (nǐ guìxìng) or more likely nínguìxìng (nín guìxìng) where nín is a very polite form of “you” (nín) and guì (guì) can be translated as “expensive” or “noble” but is best thought of as a way of being polite when asking for someones surname. Asking nínguìxìng (nín guìxìng) perfectly correct, however it is normally used in very formal situations and not necessary for day to day use such as at work; you may hear this phrase asked at hotels for example when asking for your surname at check-in.

How to address people at work in Chinese

How to address your colleagues in Chinese

Depending on how close you are to your colleagues there are a number of ways you can address them:

  • If you are not familiar with them then it is safe to call them by either:
    • Their full name, as previously discussed the surname always comes first, that is <surname> <given name(s)> or
    • As Mr or Mrs, again where their surname is followed by Mr Xiānsheng (xiānshēng) or Mrs tàitai (tàitài)
  • If you are familiar with your colleague you can call them:
    • If they have a two character given name, then you can call them by their given name
    • Sometimes where they have a single character given name their name is simply repeated. for example Weiwei wěiwěi (wěiwěi).
    • By their nickname, see my brief description of nicknames above.
    • Sometimes you might refer to younger colleagues as little xiǎo ( xiǎo) + their <surname> e.g. “little Wang” xiǎowáng (xiǎo wáng). I’d suggest following the lead of others in the office as to whether to use this.
    • Sometimes you might refer to older colleagues as Old lǎo (lǎo) + <surname> e.g. “Old Wang” wáng (dàwáng). This isn’t saying your colleague is old but is mean as a acknowledging their seniority in age and can be taken as a form of endearment. Again I’d listen to what others in the office call colleagues and not use 老 to address all of your older colleagues!

How to address your boss in Chinese

When addressing your boss you can call them

  • As Mr Xiānsheng (xiānshēng) or Mrs tàitai (tàitài), for example Mr Zhang zhāngXiānsheng (zhāng xiānshēng) or wángtàitai (wáng tàitài)
  • As head or chief zǒng (zǒng) for example “Chief/head Zhang” zhāngzǒng (zhāng zǒng)
  • As boss lǎobǎn (lǎobǎn)
  • If you are very close to your boss you might address them in the same way you address colleagues (see above), however keep in mind that Chinese is more formal than some English speaking countries so being on a first name basis is not as common.

None of these terms are more correct than the other, however if you are new I would suggest calling your boss Mr or Mrs followed by their surname.

How to address subordinates in Chinese

If you have staff who report to you, or are simply addressing more junior employees, a good approach is to just refer to them by their full name, which is perfectly acceptable and common in Chinese. Alternatively if you are more familiar with a subordinate you might call them by

  • Their given name, but only when their given name is two characters
  • Their nick name, see above
  • As xiǎo + <surname> where they are younger than you.
  • As lǎo + <surname> where they are a reasonable number of years older than you, perhaps the same age as your father.

How to address your customers in Chinese

For formal situations refer to your customer as Mr or Mrs and their surname in the standard <surname> + <title> format

For situations less formal you might refer to your customer by their full name or if you are close you can refer to them as you would a colleague or friend. Be careful not to do this unless you are sure that they comfortable with this.

How to address classmates in Chinese

Although it is technically correct to call your classmates “fellow student” tóngxué (tóngxué), literally broken down to mean “same study”, it is not the most common way. Generally you would address your classmates as older/younger female/male classmate:

Chinese English Pronunciation (Pinyin)
xuézhǎng Older Male Classmate – “Senior” xué zhǎng
xué Younger Male Classmate xué dì
xuéjiě Older Female Classmate xué jiě
xuémèi Younger Female Classmate xué mèi

You’ll notice that all of the above words start with the character “to study” xué (xué), and with the exception of xuézhǎng (xuézhǎng) all of the other words use the character for brother and sister, that is:

  • xué is:“study” xué (xué) + the character for “younger brother” (dì)
  • xuéjiě is: “study” xué (xué) + the character for “older sister” jiě (jiě)
  • xuémèi is: “study” xué (xué) + the character for “younger sister” mèi (mèi)

The cháng (zhǎng) in xuézhǎng (xuézhǎng) simply means “senior”. Here “older brother” (gē) is not used.

If you were addressing all your classmates, you can simply address them as tóngxuémen (tóngxuémen), however it is not uncommon to simply address them as “学长学姐” (xuézhǎng xué jiě), although this literally means means “older male (and) female classmates”. You can specifically address younger classmates by saying “学弟学妹” (xué dì xué mèi) meaning “younger male and female classmates”.

You can also individually refer to class mates as you would friends, that is by either

  • Their full name i.e. surname + given names
  • Their nick name
  • As older or younger classmate (see above)
  • As older or younger brother or sister i.e.
    • “older brother” (dàgē)
    • “older sister jiě (dàjiě)
    • “younger brother” xiǎo (xiǎogē)
    • “little sister’ xiǎomèi (xiǎomèi)

How to address children in Chinese

As an adult you can address a child as háizi (háizi), meaning “child”, or a group of children as “children” háizimen (háizimen). Here adding men (men) simply turns “child” háizi (háizi) in to it’s plural form in the same way that “I” (wǒ) becomes “we” men (wǒmen) or ”he” (tāmen) becomes ”theymenssttrroonngg>> (tāmen).

Examples of this might be a teacher greeting her class in the morning:

[Teacher]
hhááiizziimmeenn zzǎǎoosshhaanngg hhǎǎoo!!
孩子们早上好!
Children, good morning!

[Children]
lǎoshī zǎoshang hǎo!
lǎoshīzǎoshanghǎo!
Teacher, good morning!

You can also refer to a child as literally “little friend” xiǎopéngyǒu (xiǎopéngyǒu), or a group of children as “little friends” xiǎopéngyǒumen ( xiǎopéngyǒumen). This is common and is not in any way as creepy or patronising as it possibly sounds in English.

How to address strangers in Chinese

There are a handful of common ways to address strangers including shop assistants, restaurant staff or small business owners in Chinese that are essential vocabulary:

English Chinese Pinyin Pronunciations
Mr Xiānsheng xiānshēng
Miss / ma’am shì nǚshì
Waiter or Waitress yuán fúwùyuán
Boss / Small business owner lǎobǎn lǎobǎn
Master (Skiller person, driver, etc) shīfu shīfù
Assistant yíngyuán yíngyèyuán
Miss xiǎojie xiǎojiě
Mate / Buddy / Dude huǒji huǒjì
Uncle shūshu shūshu
Auntie ā āyí

I have covered Mr Xiānsheng (xiānshēng) and Miss xiǎojie (xiǎojiě) above, however it is important to remember that xiǎojie has a negative connotation thus I would avoid using it unless it’s acceptable where you live.

“Waiter” – fúwùyuán 服务员

fúwùyuán yuán means “service person” and can be used to address

  • Hotel staff
  • Customer service people
  • Attendants

“Boss” – lǎobǎn 老板

lǎobǎn lǎobǎn is a generic form of address you can use for someone who is, or you can reasonably expect to be, the business owner, proprietor or manager of a business. Examples of where you might use lǎobǎn lǎobǎn include

  • The restaurant manager or senior person (not the waiter)
  • A small business owner, including the person you find siting behind the counter in a small shop who you could reasonably assume owns the business
  • A senior person in any business

“Master” – shīfù 师傅

shīfù shīfu means “master” and is a respectful way to address someone who carries out a skilled occupation. shīfù shīfu isn’t limited to martial arts masters, which is where you may have heard this term in movies, it also include:

  • Drivers, including taxi drivers
  • A doorman
  • A security guard
  • A cobbler (shoe repairer)
  • A maintenance person
  • An air conditioner installer

”Assistant” – yíngyèyuán 营业员

yíngyèyuán yíngyuán means “service person” and can be used to address

  • Service Person
  • Clerk
  • Sales Person

“Uncle” – shūshu 叔叔 and “Auntie” – āyí 阿姨

Calling someone who is older than you Auntie or Uncle is very common and polite. Technically shūshu (shūshu) is the way you should address your fathers younger brother and ā (āyí) the form of address for your mothers younger sister, however these are also used to address strangers who are older than you. A good rule of thumb is to use auntie or uncle when the person you are referring to is realistically old enough to be your auntie or uncle, that is perhaps a generation older than you.

How to address a girl or boy who is approximately your age

If you are reasonably young, perhaps a teenager or in your twenties, you can call a girl měinǚ měi, which literally means “beauty” or “beautiful girl”. The equivalent for men is shuàigē shuài, literally “handsome guy”. This isn’t appropriate for work or formal settings and is best kept for casual environments including but definitely not limited to night clubs, bars, university and social occasions. You will sometimes see sales people one the street refer to people as měi (měinǚ) or shuài (shuàigē), however I don’t recommend adopting this as a casual form of address for strangers.

Chinese Occupational Titles

This is a comprehensive list of titles and forms of address, however there are a few special forms of address which I would like to specifically highlight a few common forms of address

How to address a doctor in Chinese

(dàfū) and shēng (yīshēng) are the most common ways to address a doctor in Chinese, however these are not the only ways.

This are  a list of common titles for doctors and their meaning:

Literal Meaning Chinese Pinyin Pronunciations Notes
Medical Master shī yīshī Used for doctors of traditional medicine
Medical Scholar shēng yīshēng Used for doctors of both traditional and western medicine
Great Man dàfū This is a more casual for of address for a doctor

How to address teachers and professors in Chinese

A teacher should be addressed as lǎoshī (lǎoshī) while a doctor of philosophy (PhD) is shì (bóshì). As an example you would address a person with the surname of 王 (wáng) as wánglǎoshī (wáng lǎoshī) if they were a teacher, or wángshì (wáng bóshì) if they were a doctor (Ph D).

Complete list of occupations and forms of address in Chinese

Below is a comprehensive list of titles and occupations. You will find that in addressing people in Chinese the title is often added after their family name, so for example wánglǎoshī (wáng lǎoshī) “Teacher Wang” and wángchúshī ( wáng chúshī) for “Chef Wang”. Not all titles in this list are necessarily added after a persons family name, as discussed previously you could refer to a doctor as simply shēng (yīshēng) and may refer to a teacher as just lǎoshī (lǎoshī).

English Chinese Pinyin Pronunciation
accountant kuàishī kuàijìshī
actor nányǎnyuán nán yǎnyuán
actor (gender neutral) yǎnyuán yǎnyuán
actress yǎnyuán nǚ yǎnyuán
network administrator wǎngguǎnyuán júyùwǎng guǎnlǐ yuán
medical insurance administrator liáobǎoxiǎnguǎn yīliáo bǎoxiǎn guǎnlǐ
applications programmer yìngyòngruǎnjiànchéngyuán yìngyòng ruǎnjiàn chéngxù yuán
architect jiànzhùshī jiànzhú shī
artist shùjiā yìshùjiā
assistant customer executive guǎnzhù kèhù guǎnlǐ zhùlǐ
personnel assistant rénshìzhù rénshì zhùlǐ
store manager assistant shāngdiànjīngzhù shāngdiàn jīnglǐ zhùlǐ
assistant vice-president zǒngcáizhù fù zǒngcái zhùlǐ
assistant vice-president of human resources rényuánzǒngcáizhù rénlì zī yuán fù zǒngcái zhùlǐ
associate professor jiàoshòu fùjiàoshòu
astronaut hángyuán.. yǔháng yuán
attendant yuán fúwùyuán
auditor shěnyuán shěnjì yuán
auto mechanic chēgōng qìchē jìgōng
baker hōngpéishī hōng péi shī
barber shī lǐfǎ shī
baseball player bàngqiúxuǎnshǒu bàngqiú xuǎnshǒu
bell boy méntóng mén tóng
bellhop guǎndexíngliyuán lǚguǎn de xínglǐ yuán
benefits coordinator yuángōngxiétiáoyuán yuángōng fúlì xiétiáo yuán
garbage collector qīngjiégōng,,gōng qīngjié gōng, lèsè gōng
blacksmith tiějiang tiějiàng
boxer quánshǒu quánjí shǒu
branch manager ménjīng bùmén jīnglǐ
broker (agent) jīngrén jīngjì rén
budgeteer suànbiānzhìzhě yùsuàn biānzhì zhě
bus driver gōngchē / shì gōngchē sījī / bāshì sījī
businessman shāngrén shāngrén
butcher ,,ròushāng túfū, ròu shāng
buyer cǎigòuyuán cǎigòu yuán
captain chuánzhǎng chuánzhǎng
carpenter jiàng mùjiàng
cartoonist mànhuàjiā mànhuà jiā
cashier chūyuán chūnà yuán
chairman zǒngcái zǒngcái
chef chúshī chúshī
chemist huàxuéshī huàxué shī
claims examiner zhǔkǎoguān zhǔ kǎoguān
clerk diànyuán diànyuán
cobbler zhì(())xiéjiang zhì (bǔ) xiéjiàng
compensation manager xīnchóujīng xīnchóu jīnglǐ
computer operations supervisor diànnǎocāozuòzhǔguǎn diànnǎo cāozuò zhǔguǎn
computer operator diànnǎocāozuòyuán diànnǎo cāozuò yuán
computer programmer chéngyuán chéngxù yuán
construction worker jiànzhùgōngrén jiànzhú gōngrén
controller(general) guǎnyuán guǎnlǐ yuán
controller(international) guójiānguǎn guójì jiānguǎn
cook chúshī chúshī
cowboy niúzǎi niúzǎi
customs officer hǎiguānguānyuán hǎiguān guānyuán
dancer dǎoyǎnyuán wǔdǎoyǎnyuán
dancer zhě wǔ zhě
dentist yáyī
dentist shēng yákē yīshēng
designer shèshī shèjì shī
desk clerk jiēdàiyuán jiēdài yuán
detective zhēntàn zhēntàn
developmental engineer kāigōngchéngshī kāifā gōngchéngshī
director jīng jīnglǐ
director of human resources rényuánzǒngjiān rénlì zīyuán zǒngjiān
director of information services xìnzhǔguǎn xìnxī fúwù zhǔguǎn
director of operations yùnyíngzǒngjiān yùnyíng zǒngjiān
district manager shìjīng shì qū jīnglǐ
doctor (medical doctor) dàfū
doctor (of traditional medicine) shī yīshī
doctor (ph.d) shì bóshì
doctor (traditional or western medicine) shēng yīshēng
door-to-door salesman tuīxiāoyuán tuīxiāo yuán
driver sījī
dustman qīngjiégōng qīngjié gōng
editor biān biānjí
electrician diàngōng diàngōng
employer relations representative yuángōngguānxidàibiǎo yuángōng guānxì dàibiǎo
employment consultant zhāowèn zhāomù gùwèn
engineer gōngchéngshī gōngchéngshī
executive and managerial guǎnfen guǎnlǐ bùfèn
executive marketing director shìchǎngxíngzhèngzǒngjiān shìchǎng xíngzhèng zǒngjiān
facility manager hòuqínjīng hòuqín jīnglǐ
farmer nóngrén nóng rén
farmer nóng nóngfū
fashion designer shízhuāngshèshī shízhuāng shèjì shī
field assurance coordinator dānbǎoxiétiáoyuán tǔdì dānbǎo xiétiáo yuán
firefighter xiāofángyuán xiāofáng yuán
fisherman yúfū
florist huāshāng huā shāng
flyer fēixíngyuán fēixíngyuán
food service manager shípǐnjīng shípǐn fúwù jīnglǐ
gardener huājiàng((yuándīng)) huā jiàng (yuándīng)
gas station attendant jiāyóugōng jiāyóu gōng
general manager zǒngjīng zǒng jīnglǐ
graduate shēng bìyè shēng
guard jǐngwèi jǐngwèi
guide dǎoyóu dǎoyóu
hardware engineer yìngjiàngōngchéngshī yìngjiàn gōngchéngshī
hiredresseer shī,,měiróngshī(()) lǐfǎ shī, měiróng shī (nǚ)
hmo product manager chǎnpǐnjīng chǎnpǐn jīnglǐ
hospital administrator yuànguǎn yīyuàn guǎnlǐ
housekeeper guǎnjiā guǎnjiā
housewife jiātíngzhǔ jiātíng zhǔfù
human resources rényuánfēn rénlì zīyuán bùfèn
import/export manager jìnchūkǒujīng jìn chūkǒu jīnglǐ
information analyst xìnfēn xìnxī fēnxī
insurance claims controller bǎoxiǎnrènlǐngguǎnyuán bǎoxiǎn rènlǐng guǎnlǐ yuán
insurance coordinator bǎoxiǎnxiétiáoyuán bǎoxiǎn xiétiáo yuán
inventory manager cúnguǎnjīng kùcún guǎnlǐ jīnglǐ
janitor qīngjiégōng qīngjié gōng
job placement officer rényuánpèizhìzhuānyuán rényuán pèizhì zhuānyuán
journalist zhě jìzhě
judge guān fǎguān
labor relations specialist láodòngguānxizhuānyuán láodòng guānxì zhuānyuán
lan systems analyst tǒngfēn xìtǒng fēnxī
lawyer shī lǜshī
librarian shūguǎnyuán túshū guǎnlǐ yuán
life guard jiùshēngyuán Jiùshēng yuán
magician shùshī móshù shī
management consultant guǎnwèn guǎnlǐ gùwèn
manager jīng jīnglǐ
manager of network administration wǎngluòguǎnjīng wǎngluò guǎnlǐ jīnglǐ
manager of non-profit and charities fēiyíngxìngshàngòuguǎn fēi yínglì xìng císhàn jīgòu guǎnlǐ
manufacturer/’s representative chǎngjiādàibiǎo chǎngjiā dàibiǎo
manufacturing manager zhìzàojīng zhìzào yè jīnglǐ
market research analyst shìchǎngdiàocháfēnyuán shìchǎng tiáo chá fēnxī yuán
marketing and sales shìchǎngxiāoshòufen shìchǎng yǔ xiāoshòu bùfèn
marketing and sales director shìchǎngxiāoshòuzǒngjiān shìchǎng yǔ xiāoshòu zǒngjiān
marketing consultant shìchǎngwèn shìchǎng gùwèn
masseur nánànshī nán ànmó shī
masseuse ànshī nǚ ànmó shī
mathematician shùxuéjiā shùxué jiā
mechanic xièshī ,,xiūgōng jīxiè shī, jīxiū gōng
merchandising manager cǎigòujīng cǎigòu jīnglǐ
miner kuànggōng kuànggōng
it (computer) manager diànnǎojīng diànnǎo bù jīnglǐ
model r mótè ér
monk shang,,jiàoshì héshàng, jiàoshì
movie director dǎoyǎn dǎo yǎn
movie star diànyǐngmíngxīng diànyǐng míngxīng
musician yīnyuèjiā yīnyuè jiā
nun nígū
nurse shi hùshì
office clerk zhíyuán zhíyuán
office worker shàngbān shàngbān zú
operations analyst cāozuòfēn cāozuò fēnxī
operations manager cāozuòjīng cāozuò jīnglǐ
operator jiē线xiànyuán jiēxiànyuán
parachutist tiàosǎnrén.. tiàosǎn rén.
personnel zhíyuán zhíyuán
personnel consultant yuángōngwèn yuángōng gùwèn
personnel manager zhíyuánjīng zhíyuán jīnglǐ
pharmacist yàoshī yàojì shī
photographer shèyǐngshī shèyǐng shī
pilot fēixíngyuán fēixíngyuán
planner huàyuán jìhuà yuán
policeman jǐngchá jǐngchá
postal clerk yóuzhèngrényuán yóuzhèng rényuán
postman yóuchāi yóuchāi
president zǒngtǒng zǒngtǒng
product support manager chǎnpǐnzhīchíjīng chǎnpǐn zhīchí jīnglǐ
production manager shēngchǎnjīng shēngchǎn jīnglǐ
program manager chéngguǎnjīng chéngxù guǎnlǐ jīnglǐ
project manager xiàngjīng xiàngmù jīnglǐ
property manager fángchǎnjīng fángdìchǎn jīnglǐ
real estate appraiser fángchǎnpíngshī fángdìchǎn pínggū shī
recruiter zhāopìnrényuán zhāopìn rényuán
regional manager jīng qūyù jīnglǐ
regional sales manager xiāoshòujīng dìqū xiāoshòu jīnglǐ
retail store manager língshòudiànjīng língshòu diàn jīnglǐ
sales assistant xiāoshòuzhù xiāoshòu zhùlǐ
sales manager xiāoshòujīng xiāoshòu jīnglǐ
sales representative xiāoshòudàibiǎo xiāoshòu dàibiǎo
school principal xiàozhǎng xiàozhǎng
secretary shū mìshū
senior customer manager gāojīng gāojí kèhù jīnglǐ
service manager jīng fúwù jīnglǐ
singer shǒu gēshǒu
soldier jūnrén jūnrén
statistician tǒngyuán tǒngjì yuán
systems engineer tǒnggōngchéngshī xìtǒng gōngchéngshī
systems programmer tǒngchéngyuán xìtǒng chéngxù yuán
tailor cáifèngshī cáiféng shī
teacher lǎoshī lǎoshī
technical engineer shùgōngchéngshī jìshù gōngchéngshī
technician shùrényuán jìshù rényuán
tele-interviewer diànhuàdiàocháyuán diànhuà diàochá yuán
telecommunications manager diànxìnjīng diànxìn yè jīnglǐ
training coordinator péixùnxiétiáoyuán péixùn xiétiáo yuán
training specialist péixùnzhuānyuán péixùn zhuānyuán
transportation manager yùnshūjīng yùnshū jīnglǐ
typist yuán dǎzì yuán
vending manager shòumǎijīng shòu mǎi jīnglǐ
vice-president zǒngcái fù zǒngcái
vice-president of human resources rényuánzǒngcái rénlì zīyuán fù zǒngcái
vice-president of sales xiāoshòuzǒngcái xiāoshòu fù zǒngcái
waiter shìyìng shì yìng
waiter / attendant yuán fúwùyuán
warehouse manager cāngjīng cāngkù jīnglǐ
wholesale buyer cǎigòuyuán pīfā cǎigòu yuán
worker gōngrén gōngrén

How to say CEO in Chinese

If you’ve ever wondered how to address a CEO, CFO or other senior executives in Chinese, this is a useful list:

English Chinese Pinyin Pronunciations
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) shǒuxíngzhèngguān shǒuxí xíngzhèng guān
Chief Brand Officer (CBO) shǒupǐnpáiguān shǒuxí pǐnpái guān
Chief Cultural Officer (CCO) shǒuwénhuàguān shǒuxí wénhuà guān
Chief Development Officer (CDO) shǒukāiguān shǒuxí kāifā guān
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) shǒuzhíxíngguān shǒuxí zhíxíng guān
Chief Finance Officer (CFO) shǒucáiguān shǒuxí cáiwù guān
Chief Gonverment Officer (CGO) shǒuzhèngguānxiguān shǒuxí zhèngfǔ guānxì guān
Chief Human Resource Officer shǒurénshìguān shǒuxí rénshì guān
Chief Information Officer (CIO) shǒuxìnguān shǒuxí xìnxī guān
Chief Knowledge Officer shǒuzhīshiguān shǒuxí zhīshì guān
Chief Legal Officer (CLO) shǒuguān shǒuxí fǎlǜ guān
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) shǒushìchǎngguān shǒuxí shìchǎng guān
Chief Negotiation Officer (CNO) shǒutánpànguān shǒuxí tánpàn guān
Chief Operations Officer (COO) shǒuyùnyíngguān shǒuxí yùnyíng guān
Chief Public Relation Officer shǒugōngguānguān shǒuxí gōngguān guān
Chief Quality Officer shǒuzhìliàngguān shǒuxí zhìliàng guān
Chief Research Officer yánjiūzǒngjiān yánjiū zǒngjiān
Chief Solution Officer shǒuwènguān shǒuxí wèntí guān
Chief Technology Officer shǒushùguān shǒuxí jìshù guān
Chief User Officer zǒngjiān kèhù zǒngjiān
Chinese XO (CXO) Zhōngguóyángjiǔ zhōngguó yángjiǔ

Conclusion

Titles are commonly used in Chinese. Keep in mind that Chinese is more formal than many English speaking countries, so err on the side of caution and be more polite than you would normally be in English when addressing people; if the person you are speaking to thinks you are being too formal they will let you know to call them something more casual.