International Dating Coach and Matchmaking Consultant for Cebu Women
It’s mainly because the use of honorifics is deeply ingrained in our culture. When using polite speech, we use “Ma’am” or “Sir”. Many even combine it and say “Mamsir.” It’s funny that we do that, to the point that it’s heavily parodied in showbiz.
This is most commonly observed in establishments by employees when greeting their clients or customers.
The usual “Kuya'' (older brother) and “Ate” (older sister) can only be used in casual settings. For example, you can call the jeepney driver “Kuya” or the lady selling rice “Ate”.
We don’t expect foreigners to understand the meaning behind our honorifics immediately, so we settle with “Sir” and “Miss”. These two are most often used in predominantly English-speaking work environments as well.
Foreigners are more than free to use our honorifics, provided that it is used correctly. Our honorifics are gender and age-specific.
To sum it up, here is a list Filipino honorifics:
- Kuya - elder brother or man
- Ate - elder sister or woman
- Tita - aunt or a woman of an older generation than oneself
- Tito - uncle or a man of an older generation than oneself
- Lola - grandmother or an elderly woman
- Lolo - grandfather or an elderly man
Hope this helps!
