<p>In my experience, 帥哥 is more addressed to refer to young people. It's like "Hey young man" in English. No matter what, being young is a beauty. People call the young generation 帥哥 in memory of their own long passed golden youth years. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-28T21:31:23.427Z
" People call the young generation 帥哥 in memory of their own long passed golden youth years. " That's just your imagination unfortunately. The youth use the term among themselves, so your theory doesn't quite apply.
deutschZuid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-04T21:30:05.430Z
Youth = beauty applies to every society, i.e. all people.
user76935
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-05T01:54:56.020Z
Thanks for the comments! I did mention 帥哥 is "more" addressed to refer to young people. I didn't want to be arbitrary. It's just in my own real life experience in a Chinese-speaking country for more than 30 years, NOT THEORY! I admit that language is spoken by people and its usage varies depending on different people and different contexts.
ChineseHulu.com
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T15:17:37.757Z
2014-05-27T15:17:37.757Z
ChineseHulu.com
<p>Meaning: handsome guy.</p>

<p>Frequency: <strong>females</strong> use this word, males seldom use it.</p>

<p>3 situations.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>A literally handsome guy;</p></li>
<li><p>Greeting, commonly used in market;</p></li>
<li><p>Humour, to exaggerate the ugliness of a guy.</p></li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-08T13:39:09.420Z
2014-06-08T13:39:09.420Z
Kiddy
<p>帥哥 is just a noun commonly use in Taiwan and sometimes in China. It have the same meaning to "sir"(not Madam!!), but more causal way to greet someone. You can also use it to a stranger as more polite and respect. Normally you won't use the 帥哥 to a friend or family.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T10:34:43.557Z
2014-05-27T10:34:43.557Z
tommyip
<p>帥哥 (shuai ge), though it literally means "handsome", has nothing to do with one's appearance. It's just a polite way for addressing a young person.</p>

<p>Any situation, in English, where one might say "guy" or "gal" can be replaced by this. So, anytime you may want to draw someone's attention or someone else may want to draw your attention, you could just use 帥哥.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T10:10:41.770Z
Thanks. My understanding thusfar was that it was a flattering term for something to do with handsome. I do wonder, though, when I address my Chinese friend like this, why he often directly replies: “我不帥吧”...
user76935
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T10:17:05.547Z
Maybe he's playing with you. In restaurants you can call the waiters 帅哥 aswell to get their attention.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T10:23:26.537Z
I didn't get that from what he said, though. "Hey, mate, how are you?" And he would say: "I am not a mate!". “嗨帥哥，你好嗎？”他說：“我不帥吧” What is the playing here? That "he" is secretely a "she", transgender??
user76935
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T10:26:08.583Z
And what's the difference then if you want to address someone who you actually think looks handsome?
user76935
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T10:36:52.490Z
You can't replace "madam" with "帥哥"!! It is only for male!!
tommyip
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T10:44:46.590Z
@Red2awn - What is your point here? If you can't add anything useful please leave your comment out.
user76935
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T12:09:40.103Z
Hi, the answer is right, nowadays you can just address some male stranger as "帅哥"(counterpart "靓仔" in Guangdong province) at not-too-serious occasions. (such as on the street or in the restaurant) If your friend is answering you "我不帅吧". He is exactly playing with you. Because he knows "帅哥" is really an informal phrase for addressing strangers, which is rarely taught in textbooks for foreigners. So you can just tell him where you've learnt this phrase(or more exactly, this usage). And you don't need  to be afraid of using it.
Michael Yin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T12:15:21.987Z
Ok, the point of your friend is really simple, he knows you might not be sure about language usage, so he wants to get you confused.
Michael Yin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T13:10:05.370Z
“帥哥” literal meaning: handsome guy. It can only be used for male, never for female.
Victor
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T18:02:04.620Z
Thanks Michael for clearifying this matter. I don't think my Chinese friend can know what I've learned from textbooks (I know he doesn't know what Europeans learn from textbooks (he'll beat me if he knows I questions this about him, lol). He wouldn't have been surprised if I had learned that from textbooks, because he thinks the European textbooks are really up-to-date ;-)
user76935
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T18:06:29.133Z
Nevertheless, how would you be able to distinguish whether someone just calls you 帥哥 (mate) or actually intends to flatter you with 帥哥 (handsome)? I presume the answer will be something along the lines of "it all depends on the context", but still, I would like to know if no stranger or friend could intend to call you 帥哥 (handsome) when they say 帥哥 (mate).
user76935
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-28T00:38:52.890Z
I don't think people will ever use this as flattery - and even if they did they don't mean it in the way that we would understand it as westerners. Even sometimes people might tell you 你很帅 but it just means "you look very smart" or "you look very sharp".
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-28T09:01:25.660Z
How is "you look very smart" not a compliment/flattery? And if you then actually want to flatter someone for being handsome, how would you say that?
user76935
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-28T09:02:24.097Z
@user76935 compare "hey handsome" and "looking sharp" - it's not exactly a pick-up line is my point,.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T10:06:24.403Z
2014-06-04T21:34:55.913Z
2014-06-04T21:34:55.913Z
Mou某
<p>I do hear people say that a lot to me in China and I am always surprised by the timings and situations in which people just, kind of bluntly I feel, say this. I wonder what all those situations would be where someone could say that to you and why it's been said so often, it seems prioritized to saying some other, more proper things (I believe) sometimes (as if appearance is the most important thing "to talk about and mention", giving it a lot of priority.)</p>

<meaning-in-context><expressions>
In what situations can one use 帥哥?
# In what situations can one use 帥哥?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-05-27)

I do hear people say that a lot to me in China and I am always surprised by the timings and situations in which people just, kind of bluntly I feel, say this. I wonder what all those situations would be where someone could say that to you and why it's been said so often, it seems prioritized to saying some other, more proper things (I believe) sometimes (as if appearance is the most important thing "to talk about and mention", giving it a lot of priority.)

**Tags:** meaning-in-context, expressions


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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-05-27. Score: 4

In my experience, 帥哥 is more addressed to refer to young people. It's like "Hey young man" in English. No matter what, being young is a beauty. People call the young generation 帥哥 in memory of their own long passed golden youth years.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: " People call the young generation 帥哥 in memory of their own long passed golden youth years. " That's just your imagination unfortunately. The youth use the term among themselves, so your theory doesn't quite apply.  
> **username_0**: Youth = beauty applies to every society, i.e. all people.  
> **username_1**: Thanks for the comments! I did mention 帥哥 is "more" addressed to refer to young people. I didn't want to be arbitrary. It's just in my own real life experience in a Chinese-speaking country for more than 30 years, NOT THEORY! I admit that language is spoken by people and its usage varies depending on different people and different contexts.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-06-08. Score: 3

Meaning: handsome guy.

Frequency: **females** use this word, males seldom use it.

3 situations.

1. A literally handsome guy;
2. Greeting, commonly used in market;
3. Humour, to exaggerate the ugliness of a guy.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2014-05-27. Score: 3

帥哥 is just a noun commonly use in Taiwan and sometimes in China. It have the same meaning to "sir"(not Madam!!), but more causal way to greet someone. You can also use it to a stranger as more polite and respect. Normally you won't use the 帥哥 to a friend or family.


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### Answer by username_5 on 2014-05-27. Score: 3

帥哥 (shuai ge), though it literally means "handsome", has nothing to do with one's appearance. It's just a polite way for addressing a young person.

Any situation, in English, where one might say "guy" or "gal" can be replaced by this. So, anytime you may want to draw someone's attention or someone else may want to draw your attention, you could just use 帥哥.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks. My understanding thusfar was that it was a flattering term for something to do with handsome. I do wonder, though, when I address my Chinese friend like this, why he often directly replies: “我不帥吧”...  
> **username_5**: Maybe he's playing with you. In restaurants you can call the waiters 帅哥 aswell to get their attention.  
> **username_0**: I didn't get that from what he said, though. "Hey, mate, how are you?" And he would say: "I am not a mate!". “嗨帥哥，你好嗎？”他說：“我不帥吧” What is the playing here? That "he" is secretely a "she", transgender??  
> **username_0**: And what's the difference then if you want to address someone who you actually think looks handsome?  
> **username_4**: You can't replace "madam" with "帥哥"!! It is only for male!!  
> **username_0**: @Red2awn - What is your point here? If you can't add anything useful please leave your comment out.  
> **username_6**: Hi, the answer is right, nowadays you can just address some male stranger as "帅哥"(counterpart "靓仔" in Guangdong province) at not-too-serious occasions. (such as on the street or in the restaurant) If your friend is answering you "我不帅吧". He is exactly playing with you. Because he knows "帅哥" is really an informal phrase for addressing strangers, which is rarely taught in textbooks for foreigners. So you can just tell him where you've learnt this phrase(or more exactly, this usage). And you don't need  to be afraid of using it.  
> **username_6**: Ok, the point of your friend is really simple, he knows you might not be sure about language usage, so he wants to get you confused.  
> **username_7**: “帥哥” literal meaning: handsome guy. It can only be used for male, never for female.  
> **username_0**: Thanks username_6 for clearifying this matter. I don't think my Chinese friend can know what I've learned from textbooks (I know he doesn't know what Europeans learn from textbooks (he'll beat me if he knows I questions this about him, lol). He wouldn't have been surprised if I had learned that from textbooks, because he thinks the European textbooks are really up-to-date ;-)  
> **username_0**: Nevertheless, how would you be able to distinguish whether someone just calls you 帥哥 (mate) or actually intends to flatter you with 帥哥 (handsome)? I presume the answer will be something along the lines of "it all depends on the context", but still, I would like to know if no stranger or friend could intend to call you 帥哥 (handsome) when they say 帥哥 (mate).  
> **username_5**: I don't think people will ever use this as flattery - and even if they did they don't mean it in the way that we would understand it as westerners. Even sometimes people might tell you 你很帅 but it just means "you look very smart" or "you look very sharp".  
> **username_0**: How is "you look very smart" not a compliment/flattery? And if you then actually want to flatter someone for being handsome, how would you say that?  
> **username_5**: @username_0 compare "hey handsome" and "looking sharp" - it's not exactly a pick-up line is my point,.  

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