Where we start
Session 1 gave you the sounds. Tonight they go to work in the moment every partnership starts: the introduction. Lumen Logistics, the invented Singapore freight company of the running case, is sending you to meet its new Shanghai distributor. Before anyone talks freight, someone will hand you a card, say a name and wait to hear what you call them. That is the whole of tonight.
★ What you walk out with tonight. You can read a Chinese name and say which part is the surname, address anyone by surname and title, fall back on a safe default when you do not know the title, give and receive a card the way your counterpart expects, and say a five-line self-introduction ending in 很高兴认识您 (hěn gāoxìng rènshi nín, pleased to meet you).
Surname first
5 min liveA Chinese name is written and said surname first, given name second. 王明 (Wáng Míng, Wang Ming) is a man whose family name is 王 (Wáng, Wang) and whose own name is 明 (Míng, Ming). Most surnames are one character and most given names one or two, so a three-character name is usually one plus two. The surname is the part you will use: it goes in front of the title.
LiveReading a name, and the three surnames you will meet first3 min▶
Read a Chinese name from the left: the first character is almost always the surname. 王 (Wáng, Wang), 李 (Lǐ, Li) and 张 (Zhāng, Zhang) are among the most common surnames in China, so you will meet all three in your first week. A handful of surnames take two characters, but at this level, assume one.
The given name is personal. In a first business meeting you address people by surname plus title, as in 王经理 (Wáng jīnglǐ, Manager Wang), which is what the business Chinese guides describe. Calling a new counterpart by their given name alone is not part of that pattern; as common practice, wait until they invite it.
On the English side of a card, many Chinese professionals print the surname in capitals or put it first so a foreign reader cannot get it backwards. That is a common printing habit, not a rule, so when a card is ambiguous, ask: 您贵姓 (nín guìxìng, what is your surname, polite)?
Self-studySaying your own surname, and asking theirs3 min▶
Two verbs carry a name. 姓 (xìng, to be surnamed) gives the surname only: 我姓王 (wǒ xìng Wáng, my surname is Wang). 叫 (jiào, to be called) gives the full name: 我叫王明 (wǒ jiào Wáng Míng, my name is Wang Ming). In a business introduction you often say both, surname first, because the surname is what the other side will use with your title.
The polite question is 您贵姓 (nín guìxìng, what is your surname, polite), with 贵 (guì, honourable, expensive) honouring the other person's name. The answer never repeats 贵 (guì, honourable): it is simply 我姓李 (wǒ xìng Lǐ, my surname is Li).
If you have no Chinese name, use your own name. A Chinese name chosen by a colleague or a teacher helps people remember you, but a name you picked from a list can sound odd; ask someone you trust before printing it on a card.
The card read backwards. A constructed case, like Lumen Logistics, 鲁门物流 (Lǔmén Wùliú, Lumen Logistics), and every person in these six sessions. Lumen's sales lead read a Shanghai card printed "Zhang Wei" and spent the first meeting saying "Mr Wei". 张 (Zhāng, Zhang) is the surname; the right address was 张经理 (Zhāng jīnglǐ, Manager Zhang). Nobody corrected him in the room. The distributor's assistant mentioned it, kindly, by message afterwards.
Titles do the work
6 min liveWhere an English speaker says "Hi, Ming", a Chinese business speaker says the surname and a title, with the title after the name: 王经理 (Wáng jīnglǐ, Manager Wang). The title carries the respect a first name would otherwise have to carry, and it tells everyone at the table who you think you are talking to. So the only real question is whether you know their title.
LiveFour titles that cover a first meeting3 min▶
| Say | For | How sure |
|---|---|---|
| 王经理 (Wáng jīnglǐ, Manager Wang) | anyone whose card says manager; the most common title you will use | Described in the business Chinese guides |
| 李总 (Lǐ zǒng, President Li) | the head of a company or a division; 总 (zǒng, chief) is short for a longer title | Very widely heard, but no style guide was found that documents it |
| 张老师 (Zhāng lǎoshī, Teacher Zhang) | a teacher, and in common practice also a senior expert or a respected trainer | Common practice |
| 王先生 (Wáng xiānsheng, Mr Wang) · 李女士 (Lǐ nǚshì, Ms Li) | anyone whose title you do not know | Common practice; the safe default |
Say the title every time you address the person, not only the first time. 王经理 (Wáng jīnglǐ, Manager Wang) is what you call him across the table, in a message and on the phone, the way an English speaker would keep saying "Ming".
Self-studyWhen to reach for 先生 (xiānsheng, Mr) and 女士 (nǚshì, Ms)3 min▶
If the card has no title you recognise, or you were introduced without one, 先生 (xiānsheng, Mr) and 女士 (nǚshì, Ms) after the surname are the common-practice default: polite, neutral and never wrong in a business setting. Once you learn the title, switch to it; using the title shows you noticed.
Do not guess upward or downward. Calling a manager 李总 (Lǐ zǒng, President Li) to flatter, or a director 李先生 (Lǐ xiānsheng, Mr Li) because you were unsure, both draw attention to the guess. The no branch of the tree is the honest answer when you do not know.
Pronunciation check: 经理 (jīnglǐ, manager) is a first tone then a third, and 先生 (xiānsheng, Mr) ends on a neutral tone. You will say 经理 (jīnglǐ, manager) to the tone trainer in the build-along.
The safe default that paid off. A constructed case. At Lumen's first video call, a woman joined late and was introduced only as "from finance". Lumen's operations lead called her 陈女士 (Chén nǚshì, Ms Chen) until the distributor's manager mentioned she ran finance; from then on it was 陈经理 (Chén jīnglǐ, Manager Chen). The default bought time without a wrong guess.
Giving and receiving a card
4 min liveThe card exchange is the one piece of etiquette both business Chinese guides describe: hand the card over with two hands, with the Chinese side facing the person receiving it so they can read it straight away. Receive theirs the same way, with two hands. What you do with it next is common practice rather than a documented rule, and it is easy.
LiveFour moves, in order2 min▶
1. Two hands. Hold your card by its two top corners and offer it with both hands; receive theirs with both hands too. 2. Chinese side facing them. Turn the card so the Chinese side reads the right way up for the person receiving it. These two are what the business Chinese guides describe.
3. Read it. Look at the card for a moment and find the surname and the title: that is where your next sentence comes from. 4. Keep it in view. In a meeting, set the card on the table in front of you, in the order people are sitting, rather than pocketing it at once. Moves 3 and 4 are common practice, not documented in the sources found.
A short phrase goes with the handover: 这是我的名片 (zhè shì wǒ de míngpiàn, this is my business card). When you take theirs, 谢谢 (xièxie, thank you) and their surname and title, read off the card, is enough.
Self-studyPrinting your own card2 min▶
A two-sided card, English on one side and Chinese on the other, is common practice for anyone working with Chinese partners. On the Chinese side, put the company name, your name and your title; adding pinyin under your Chinese name helps people say it, as Lumen's card does in session 1.
Translate your title into the word your counterpart would use. 经理 (jīnglǐ, manager) is the safe word for most manager roles. If your English title is unusual, ask a Chinese-speaking colleague which title a Shanghai reader would expect, rather than translating word by word.
Your self-introduction in five lines
★ 22 min · everyone says itFive lines, the same five every time you meet someone new: a polite hello, your surname, your full name, your company and title, and pleased to meet you. Write yours first, then say it. The tone trainer below listens to 经理 (jīnglǐ, manager) and 公司 (gōngsī, company), the two words in the introduction that learners flatten most. Nothing you record leaves the browser.
Open politely. 您 (nín, you, polite) is the respectful form of 你 (nǐ, you); with a new business contact, use it. Say it to the person, with a small nod, before anything else.
Give your surname. If you have a Chinese surname, use it; if not, use the surname of your own name. Lumen's model card is Wang Ming.
Give your full name, surname first. A non-Chinese name can stay in its own order; say it slowly once, then repeat the surname.
Company, then title. The particle 的 (de, possessive) links them: Lumen Logistics' manager. Swap 经理 (jīnglǐ, manager) for your own title if you know the Chinese word.
Close, then say all five lines to the trainer. Press calibrate and say mā má mǎ mà once, then pick 经理 (jīnglǐ, manager) and 公司 (gōngsī, company) and say each at normal speed. 公司 (gōngsī, company) is two first tones: keep it high and flat, not falling. The trainer's list writes changed tones, as in 不是 (bú shì, is not); standard pinyin (GB/T 16159-2012) writes the original tone. No microphone? The synthetic voice button runs the same scoring.
Say it standing up. You will say these five lines on your feet, holding a card, with someone looking at you. Practise them that way three times tonight: the words are easy, and doing it with your hands full is the part that needs rehearsal.
Before session 3
30 min- Say your five lines once a day for three days, out loud, ending with 很高兴认识您 (hěn gāoxìng rènshi nín, pleased to meet you). Time yourself: under 15 seconds is fluent enough for a first meeting.
- Address five people. Take five business cards or LinkedIn profiles of Chinese-speaking contacts, find each surname, and write the address you would use: surname + title, or surname + 先生 (xiānsheng, Mr) or 女士 (nǚshì, Ms).
- Rehearse the handover. With a friend, a colleague or a mirror: two hands, Chinese side facing them, 这是我的名片 (zhè shì wǒ de míngpiàn, this is my business card). Then receive a card, read it, and say the surname and title back.
- Score 经理 (jīnglǐ, manager) and 公司 (gōngsī, company) on the trainer and write down what it heard. Session 3 opens the trainer up and shows how it decides.
Three questions
Clear all three and session 2 gets stamped in your passport.
1 · A card reads 张伟 (Zhāng Wěi, Zhang Wei). How do you address him in a first meeting, if he is a manager?
Chinese names are surname then given name, so 张 (Zhāng, Zhang) is the family name. Address is surname plus title, with the title after the surname.
2 · You are introduced to a woman surnamed Li and nobody mentions her title. What is the safe way to address her?
先生 (xiānsheng, Mr) and 女士 (nǚshì, Ms) after the surname are polite and never wrong. Guessing a higher title draws attention to the guess, and 李总 (Lǐ zǒng, President Li) is widely heard but not documented in any style guide found.
3 · How do you hand over your business card?
The two-handed exchange, Chinese side facing the recipient, is what the business Chinese guides describe. Reading the card you receive and keeping it on the table during the meeting are common practice on top of that.
What this session teaches, and where it came from
Every fact on this page, and its verification tier, is recorded in the course's source map.
Session 2 cheat sheet · pin this
You have said 经理 (jīnglǐ, manager) and 公司 (gōngsī, company) to the trainer twice now. Session 3 opens it up: how a browser hears a tone, why it scores your shape against your own voice and not a template voice, and why a checker that scores dictionary tones would mark a correct speaker wrong.