I was raised to address strangers and those I wish to show social deference to as “Sir” or “Ma’am”. It’s a difficult habit to break, as it is deeply engrained.

What is an equivalent gender neutral honorific that is relatively common in English? If I can’t break the habit I’d rather have a substitute word to use instead of an awkward pause in the middle of addressing someone

I’d just use Google to ask but I’d rather ask the people directly rather than an AI generated answer based off of Reddit threads

ETA: I suppose if Yessir and Yes’m work, Yesn’t could too? Mostly joking… but maybe… 🤔

  • Mesophar@pawb.socialEnglish
    2·
    9 hours ago

    I would recommend asking the person what they prefer, for people you know ahead of time are non-binary. For people you don’t know ahead of time, choose whichever you think is most likely, apologize if you get it wrong, and ask them afterwards what they prefer.

    Unless it is adopted widely by society, any third option will likely be met with confusion, and will still likely offend some people.

    For a suggestion of a third option, however, might I offer “boss”? Slightly more formal than chief (in my experience), gender neutral, and allows you to make it as playful or respectful as the situation needs.