Yesterday, a new employee from America, Daisy, came to work for our company. My superior asked me to show her around the office and help her to be familiar with her duties as soon as possible. As we walked around,, I noticed her Chinese was good and I asked whether she had been China before. She said this was the first time in China, but she learned Chinese an online teacher off the Chinese lessons online website.
My superior, Wang Wei, passed us while going to his office. I greeted him “láo bǎn hǎo” (老板好!) and Daisy copied me and said, “láo bǎn hǎo” to our boss as well. Wang Wei was very glad to hear Daisy greeting him in Chinese and encouraged her to learn more from the business Chinese online website and apply what she learned at her work. She agreed to do so, promising to try her best to learn Chinese better.
After showing her around the office, we went to dinner together. At the table, she asked me what “láo bǎn” (老板) means. I told her it means “boss” or “general manager.” But she still looked puzzled and asked me why the Chinese character “láo” (老), which means old, is used to greet someone who is not old at all. I laughed softly and said to her, “That’s a very interesting question." I went on to explain that, actually, the Chinese character "láo" (老) does not not always mean old. For example, it connotes love and intimacy in ‘lǎo po’ (老婆).” In "láo bǎn" (老板), it means respect; it shows that the boss is the senior executive who has the final say on important issues. After my explanation, Daisy fully understood and said to me that Chinese language was so interesting but so complicated; she needed to continually learn more about the special uses of Chinese words. I offered my help and she accepted happily.
On the way back to office, I told her that the Chinese people had strict rule of the hierarchy regarding the title “láo bǎn” (老板). It can only used as a title for the general manager of the company. It's too high of a title for your immediate manager. If you use it for your immediate manager, both managers could become angry with you. Daisy understood. I recommended her to learn more about the correct uses of Chinese titles from the website: Learn Business Chinese Online.
