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Is it acceptable in modern Russian to address a person as "господин Смирнов" / "госпожа Смирнова"? Or does that sound weird, outdated, or perhaps condescending?

Vadim Landa
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oz1cz
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  • This is a purely political issue. It is better to look - to whom you are addressing like this and what you want to express with this address. The reaction will also depend on him. Of course these words there are in Russian. Linguistically. And they means what they mean (too many connotations and alliterations), and this is not just a neutral adressing - just like the "comrade" too. –  Пилум Oct 31 '20 at 17:06

3 Answers3

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I would say господин/госпожа are very rarely used nowadays! I could only remember Что? Где? Когда? TV show as an example. In most cases when you say Mr./Ms. we say First Name + Patronymic.

Alexander Kudashkin
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Short answer: It is fully equivalent to Mr./Ms. nowadays.

Long answer: Господин/госпожа is a modern polite address, to be combined with the last name.

Господин Иванов!

A possible polite address is also first name + patronymic if you know it. It's more polite, but also somewhat closer. Not a clerk to a customer, but business partners to each other.

Сергей Иванович!

It was not acceptable in the Soviet times because of the "bourgeois" connotations, as it was the address in tsar era. Soviet times had товарищ (i.e. the over-used "comrade") and гражданин/гражданка ("citizen", used rather in unique circumstances when the addressed person "was not a comrade", i.e. that how a coroner could address the murderer suspect).

Товарищ Сидоров!

Still somewhat in use is гражданин/гражданка, as it has no "communist" connotation, although quite special, even if not in the above sense. When in doubt, use господин/госпожа.

To call out someone on the street ("Hey, you!", "Excuse me!", etc.) use молодой человек/девушка.

Девушка, вы обронили билет!

dymanoid
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Oleg Lobachev
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  • How old a person can you address with "молодой человек" / "девушка"? – oz1cz Nov 27 '17 at 20:44
  • @oz1cz - it's always Ok for people into their 30s, and tolerable after that. My mother was sometimes addressed as "девушка" in her 60s. Problem is that different ways of addressing, like "Гражданка", "Женщина", let alone "Госпожа" may sound more awkward, depending on situation. – Alexander Nov 27 '17 at 20:53
  • i've seen "девушка" being said to women over 40, these excesses are all because there's no proper vocabulary for address in modern Russian, the language is seriously lacking in this department, a more suitable address would be женщина, but it is not very polite and of low register, although being put up with because there's no better alternative – Баян Купи-ка Nov 27 '17 at 20:54
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    I would argue that it's not fully equivalent to mister. Russian children don't call their teacher господин Иванов, while Mr. Jones is the normal way of addressing a teacher or, say, a father-in-law in English. – Sergey Slepov Nov 27 '17 at 21:02
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    Also to me, born in the Soviet era, господин still sounds 'too bourgeois' and I would twitch if someone called me господин Слепов. I don't think I'll ever use it myself, even in a formal setting, unless I become a prosecutor or something. :) – Sergey Slepov Nov 27 '17 at 21:16
  • So how does a Russian child address a teacher? – oz1cz Nov 27 '17 at 21:18
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    First name + patronymic. Сергей Иванович. There is no such option in English. – Oleg Lobachev Nov 27 '17 at 22:03
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    by the name and the patronymic, it's a standard way of addressing aquaintances who's your senior, and anyone in a formal setting... patronymic alone with simplified pronunciation is often used to address seniors in informal relationships, usually at workplaces – Баян Купи-ка Nov 27 '17 at 22:04
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    It's not frequently used in everyday life, even in formal situations. And never in informal speech. – V.V. Nov 28 '17 at 05:05
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    Can be used informally for irony, Да что вы такое говорите, господин хороший!. – Oleg Lobachev Nov 28 '17 at 08:17
  • So, is there any situation where господин + last name should be used instead of first name + patronymic? To put it another way: Are there situations where first name + patronymic is too intimate? – oz1cz Nov 28 '17 at 10:18
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    When you don't know the patronymic, for example? ;) – Oleg Lobachev Nov 28 '17 at 10:19
  • Okay, @OlegLobachev. I just edited my comment, but you beat me to it. :-) Are there situations where first name + patronymic is too intimate? – oz1cz Nov 28 '17 at 10:20
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    No. Definitely not too intimate, but it might be too "close" or friendly. First name + patronymic is totally professional. But imagine a case when someone gets pulled over by a cop. A first name + patronymic might be not the way to go here to address the driver. – Oleg Lobachev Nov 28 '17 at 10:44
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    but if a cop feels lenient he, after checking the driver's ID and finding out what his first name and patronymic are, might address him this way showing his amiability, because after all addressing with patronymic is a sign of respect – Баян Купи-ка Nov 29 '17 at 15:57
  • This is a purely political issue. It is better to look - to whom you are addressing like this and what you want to express with this address. The reaction will also depend on him. Of course these words there are in Russian. Linguistically. And they means what they mean (too many connotations and alliterations), and this is not just a neutral adressing - just like the "comrade" too. –  Пилум Oct 31 '20 at 17:06
  • "is a modern polite address" - for somebody may be is, for somebody this will be the insult. –  Пилум Oct 31 '20 at 17:09
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Nowadays, господин/госпожа are for sure acceptable, though one has to keep in mind - that these words are extremely official.

So during common conversation you should avoid these words. Господин/госпожа applicable in official messaging or if you want to address someone extremely officially, e.g. Mr. Petrov, we are going to arrest you/г-н Петров, мы собираемся арестовать вас

Barmaley
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