"您需要什么?"
Translation:What do you need?
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543
Much like "vous" in French and "Sie" in German. Used when you meet a stranger, your customer or need to show common respect (like in ads, notices, announcements, etc.).
您 comes from the liaison of 你们, so technically there should be no 您们, In real life, the plural form of 您 is occasionally seen. But more often 您 is used for addressing a single person (usually the customer or any random reader of your sign). For example, it would be weird to use 您们 during a lecture, 各位听众 (or just 各位) would be more appropriate.
There are some other cases where you shouldn't use 您. For example, the author of a book shouldn't address the reader as 您, unless you are trying to express "this book is written specially for YOU!", which is too flattering. 您 is also never used between lovers and relatives, as it gives a sense of aloofness.
Note: It's okay if you can't remember all the nuances. Even if you don't use 您 when you meet a stranger, you won't be seen as too rude, especially if you are not a native Chinese speaker.
Just a though : to me 您 shows respect, the more os when using 需 with 要. Is it correct then to use "What do you need" alone as a translation? I mean, the thing is the absence of the same amount of politeness in the english translation. Is it because I am not a native english speaker that I see things that way or indeed does it lacks a bit of respectfulness in the english sentence to match the chinese one?
The English sentence does lack the level of respect indicated in the Chinese sentence; however, I can't really think of a sentence that conveys the exact same meaning with a higher level of respect. The closest thing would probably be, "Do you need anything?" but I also understand that the Chinese translation for that would be 您需要什么吗 which is slightly different.
1254
The closest in English would be "What does sir need?" (which is so formal in English you'd only hear it rarely, and even then usually with a touch of disdain being expressed for "sir".)
415
Would the closest in English bearing significant levels of respect translate as, "What does one require?"
867
Does this not also mean "Do you need something"? If not how would you say that in Chinese?