小姐

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word 小姐. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word 小姐, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say 小姐 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word 小姐 you have here. The definition of the word 小姐 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of小姐, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

Chinese

small; tiny; few
small; tiny; few; young
 
older sister
trad. (小姐)
simp. #(小姐)

Pronunciation


Note: siău-chê - Directly from Mandarin 小姐 (xiǎojiě).

Noun

小姐

  1. Miss (a term of address for a young or unmarried woman)
    小姐小姐  ―  Wáng xiǎojiě lái le.  ―  Miss Wang is here. / Miss Wang is coming.
    帳務心細小姐經手絕對不會出錯 [MSC, trad.]
    帐务心细小姐经手绝对不会出错 [MSC, simp.]
    Zhàngwù yóu xīnxì de Lǐ xiǎojiě jīngshǒu, juéduì bùhuì chūcuò.
    The accounting is carefully handled by Miss Li; absolutely no mistakes are made.
  2. young lady
  3. (chiefly Mainland China, dated or slang) barmaid; prostitute

Usage notes

  • In mainland China, 小姐 is less used to mean “young lady” because the meaning “prostitute” took over the original meaning; 女士 (nǚshì) is used instead.
    • One can still use 小姐 as a title (see the usage example).
    • One should not use 小姐 to call a waitress; the neutral word 服務員服务员 (fúwùyuán) should be used for that instead.
    • The definition may revert somewhat in the distant future (as with 姑娘 (gūniang)).
    • The term is still used in some compound words such as 大小姐 (dàxiǎojiě).

Synonyms

  • 女士 (nǚshì, “lady; miss”)
  • (young lady): (Hokkien, dated) 娘仔

Derived terms

See also

  • 太太 (tàitai, “madame, wife”)
  • 夫人 (fūrén, “madame”)
  • 先生 (xiānshēng, “mister”)

References