小姐

Chinese

		small; tiny; few small; tiny; few; young	older sister
simp. and trad. (小姐)		小	姐

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): xiǎojiě

(Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄐㄧㄝˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): siu² ze²
Min Nan (POJ): sió-chiá / sia̋u-chê
Wu (Wiktionary): xiau jia (T2)

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)
  - Pinyin: xiǎojiě [Phonetic: xiáojiě] → xiǎojie (toneless final syllable variant)
  - Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄐㄧㄝˇ → ㄒㄧㄠˇ ˙ㄐㄧㄝ (toneless final syllable variant)
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: sheau.jiie
  - IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ → /ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴ d͡ʑ̥i̯ɛ⁴/
  - Homophones:
    [Show/Hide]
    ^edit
    ^edit
    小姐
    小解
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: siu² ze²
  - Yale: síu jé
  - Cantonese Pinyin: siu² dze²
  - Guangdong Romanization: xiu² zé²
  - IPA ^(key): /siːu̯³⁵ t͡sɛː³⁵/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Lukang, Sanxia, Kinmen, Hsinchu, Taichung)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sió-chiá
  - Tâi-lô: sió-tsiá
  - Phofsit Daibuun: sioyciar
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /ɕio⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ t͡ɕia⁵⁵⁴/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei): /ɕio⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡ɕia⁵³/
  - IPA (Kinmen): /ɕio⁵³⁻²⁴ t͡ɕia⁵³/
- (Hokkien: Kaohsiung, Tainan)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sia̋u-chê
  - Tâi-lô: sia̋u-tsê
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɕiaʊ³⁵ t͡se²³/
Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: xiau jia (T2)
  - IPA ^(key): /ɕiɔ³³ t͡ɕia̱⁴⁴/

Noun

小姐

Miss (a term of address for a young or unmarried woman)
王小姐來了。 / 王小姐来了。 ― Wáng xiǎojiě lái le. ― Miss Wang is here.
young lady
(slang) barmaid; prostitute

Usage notes

In 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). Do not use 小姐 to call a waitress, but use the neutral word 服務員／服务员 (fúwùyuán) for that instead. The definition may revert somewhat in the distant future (becoming similar to the word 姑娘 (gūniang)).

Synonyms

女士 (nǚshì, “lady; miss”)

Derived terms

一小姐
二小姐
公關小姐／公关小姐
千金小姐
大小姐 (dàxiǎojiě)
小姐們兒／小姐们儿

小姐身子丫鬟命
小小姐
禮儀小姐／礼仪小姐
空中小姐 (kōngzhōng xiǎojiě)
細小姐／细小姐

小姐