"您需要什么？"
Translation:What do you need?
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The drop down hints note that 您 is to be used in more formal situations, which is interesting. Does anyone know of some times you'd use 您 over 你 in day-to-day life in China?
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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.
I do really like when people can explain things that way, it really make things a lot easier for us. Thank you
I'm pretty sure you can use 您 when addressing your grandparents to show filial piety/respect for the elderly (孝).
In China, the only time I heard 您 was during formal speaches for events and politcal speaches.
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.
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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".)
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Would the closest in English bearing significant levels of respect translate as, "What does one require?"
So my answer for another question was rejected because I thought 需要 meant "must" when it was supposed be "want" and now my answer was rejected because i wrote "want" when is was supposed to be need. it feels like it's all just a guessing game now
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Does this not also mean "Do you need something"? If not how would you say that in Chinese?
You could say "你需要什么吗?" In this sentence, the 什么 changes from a question word into 'something'.
需要 (xūyào) = need, want, demand, require.
要 (yào) = want, wish, desire, demand... So just like in English need & want, there's a lot of overlap. To me, 需要 has a stronger meaning in the way "need" is stronger than "want".