<p>You don't translate that. Just say Mr Zhang.</p>

<p>Such obsequiousness is more a Chinese thing.</p>

<p>I call strangers on the street 老板 or 师傅. </p>

<p>在中国， 你真正的老板是你的女朋友！（别忘了！）</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-05T08:38:51.930Z
oh? "Mr" can be a substitute for "老板" in this case? :0 Wouldn't the original meaning get lost if it becomes "Mr" though?
harurookies
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-05T08:48:53.233Z
If you translate it to "Mr", you also need to make sure the 老板 is male.
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-05T12:17:33.480Z
> 在中国， 你真正的老板是你的女朋友
it couldn't be more true
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-05T14:53:09.510Z
Wasn't there a joke somewhere that in some Asian cities, if you get the money, EVERYONE will call you "boss"? Or did I just watch too much Nick Cage movies?
Kasey Chang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-05T22:06:13.433Z
@Becky: sorry, you are right, that's just my latent chauvinism surfacing! Please don't tell my gf!
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-05T08:08:26.873Z
2020-06-05T08:08:26.873Z
Pedroski
<p>how does one translate '(surname)老板' from Chinese to English?
I understand that the word '老板' means boss/shopkeeper/shop owner/chief, but when a surname is added in front of their position, how exactly can i translate it so it sounds grammatically correct? 
For instance, let's say I want to translate ‘张老板' into English. So ‘张老板' would become 'Boss Zhang/Shopkeeper Zhang' when used in a sentence. But it sounds so odd and awkward somehow?</p>

<translation><grammar><sentence-structure>
How to translate "(surname)老板“ in English
# How to translate "(surname)老板“ in English

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-06-05)

how does one translate '(surname)老板' from Chinese to English?
I understand that the word '老板' means boss/shopkeeper/shop owner/chief, but when a surname is added in front of their position, how exactly can i translate it so it sounds grammatically correct?
For instance, let's say I want to translate ‘张老板' into English. So ‘张老板' would become 'Boss Zhang/Shopkeeper Zhang' when used in a sentence. But it sounds so odd and awkward somehow?

**Tags:** translation, grammar, sentence-structure


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-06-05. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

You don't translate that. Just say Mr Zhang.

Such obsequiousness is more a Chinese thing.

I call strangers on the street 老板 or 师傅.

在中国， 你真正的老板是你的女朋友！（别忘了！）

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: oh? "Mr" can be a substitute for "老板" in this case? :0 Wouldn't the original meaning get lost if it becomes "Mr" though?  
> **username_2**: If you translate it to "Mr", you also need to make sure the 老板 is male.  
> **username_3**: > 在中国， 你真正的老板是你的女朋友 it couldn't be more true  
> **username_4**: Wasn't there a joke somewhere that in some Asian cities, if you get the money, EVERYONE will call you "boss"? Or did I just watch too much Nick Cage movies?  
> **username_1**: @username_2: sorry, you are right, that's just my latent chauvinism surfacing! Please don't tell my gf!  

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