您
you (courteous, as opposed to informal 你[ni3])
Closest English meanings
you (polite)
The Calligrapher — Zhào Mèngjiān 赵孟坚
Song kinsman of Zhao Mengfu; refined running script.
Song calligrapher (), master of running script — known for 《自书诗》. Song dynasty
Cultural Story
您 is a latecomer. It bolts 你 to 心 to make a you that honors the person addressed, and it belongs to the last few centuries of the language rather than the classics. The older tongue simply used 尔 or 君 and let tone do the respecting. A heart inside your listener is a Ming or Qing invention.
Common words & phrases
- 您好 hello (polite)
- 您们 you (plural, polite)
- 您的 your (polite)
Read the story behind the character
您 is the audible etiquette of the north: 您好 opens every shop transaction, 您的 is how you ask for a stranger's bag without offense. Southern speakers sometimes find it stiff; northern ones cannot drop it with elders. It is the single character that tells you a society is bowing while it talks.
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