# Soldiers Addressing Officers, in Other Languages **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 20, 2011, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929 "2011-09-20T11:57:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/1 "2011-09-20T11:57:39Z")
How do Spanish-speaking soldiers address officers? “Sí Señor” and/or “Sí Señora”? Do French-speaking soldiers say “Oui Monsieur” and/or “Oui Madame”? What about in languages that don’t have direct equivalents to “Sir” and “Ma’am” (such as Japanese)? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/2 "2011-09-20T12:17:02Z")
In Norwegian you use the officer’s title. “Yes, lieutenant!” ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/3 "2011-09-20T12:29:27Z")
> [@naita](#): > > In Norwegian you use the officer’s title. “Yes, lieutenant!” Does Norwegian have an equivalent to “Sir” and/or “Ma’am”? ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/4 "2011-09-20T13:11:16Z")
Don’t know exactly about Norwegian, but I suppose it is the same as in Swedish. You could say “Herrn” [Mister] and “Frun” [Mrs] (or “Fröken” [Miss]), but that would sound very archaic. ETA And it also would sound very un-military. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/5 "2011-09-20T13:16:45Z")
> [@naita](#): > > In Norwegian you use the officer’s title. “Yes, lieutenant!” Same thing in French, you use the title of the officer adressing you. There’s no Sir thing, you aint his butler. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/6 "2011-09-20T13:27:25Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Same thing in French, you use the title of the officer adressing you. There’s no Sir thing, you aint his butler. That would explain all the instances of “Oui, mon capitaine!” in WW2 movies. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/7 "2011-09-20T13:28:03Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Same thing in French, you use the title of the officer adressing you. There’s no Sir thing, you aint his butler. [stereotypical French actor in English language movie] “_Oui, mon capitaine_” [/stereotype] ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/8 "2011-09-20T14:41:00Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > How do Spanish-speaking soldiers address officers? “Sí Señor” and/or “Sí Señora”? “Sí, mi [insert grade here]”, both for officers and non-coms; gendered forms to be used where applicable (not all grades have gender differentiation). Note that “sí, mi jefe” or “sí, mi presidente” are used only by foreign writers - it’s not real Spanish; the real Spanish for those two would be “sí, jefe” and “sí, señor Presidente” (you could also address either one by (nick)name\*). The “yes, my [grade]” is restricted to military grades. - I’m not talking about a cutesy name, but cases like calling the current president of Spain “Mr Zapatero” - that’s his second lastname so it’s not how someone would normally be adressed - or “ZP” - the initials of the slogan for the campaign in which he got first elected (“Zapatero Presidente”). Someone whose slogan was “Zapatero Presidente” sure can’t complain if people call him by the name _he_ used! ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/9 "2011-09-20T17:36:27Z")
In the Israeli army, the standard word is “commander”. To anyone who is, well, your commander–(i.e. your boss,) no matter which rank…you say “yes, commander”. (But only in boot camp…after that, you can often just use first names like in any other job.) ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/10 "2011-09-20T18:15:02Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Don’t know exactly about Norwegian, but I suppose it is the same as in Swedish. You could say “Herrn” [Mister] and “Frun” [Mrs] (or “Fröken” [Miss]), but that would sound very archaic. > > ETA And it also would sound very un-military. This goes for Norwegian as well. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/11 "2011-09-20T19:42:51Z")
> [@naita](#): > > In Norwegian you use the officer’s title. “Yes, lieutenant!” While I’ve never been in the armed forces, I am quite certain that it’s the same in Germany. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/12 "2011-09-20T19:58:03Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > In the Israeli army, the standard word is “commander”. > To anyone who is, well, your commander–(i.e. your boss,) no matter which rank..you say “yes, commander”. > > (But only in boot camp…after that, you can often just use first names like in any other job.) Beyond the general “commander”, officers are also occasionally referred to by their position, rather than their rank; or more specifically, by an abbreviation of their position. For instance, a battalion commander (_Mefaked Gedud_) would be addressed as _Ha-MGD_(pronounced “Magad”); a platoon commander (Mefaked Machlaka) would be address as \*Ha-MM \*(pronounced “Mem-Mem”). Israeli soldiers consider an officer’s position far more important than his or her rank. Of course, as \*\*chappachula \*\*noted, most of the IDF is on a first-name basis. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/13 "2011-09-20T20:29:34Z")
> [@Fish\_Cheer](#): > > While I’ve never been in the armed forces, I am quite certain that it’s the same in Germany. I think it’s slightly more formal in German, including a “Herr” - “Jawohl, Herr Kommandant”. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/14 "2011-09-20T20:37:13Z")
> [@naita](#): > > I think it’s slightly more formal in German, including a “Herr” - “Jawohl, Herr Kommandant”. Absolutely. My mistake, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/15 "2011-09-21T10:29:05Z")
I ran into a young Scotsman, who had just left military service, yesterday and he kept on calling me Sir against my protests on the grounds that I 1) am older, 2) have grey hair and 3) have a beard. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/16 "2011-09-21T14:42:49Z")
> [@naita](#): > > I think it’s slightly more formal in German, including a “Herr” - “Jawohl, Herr Kommandant”. It’s not so much that it’s formal (although it is), it’s that military and other titles don’t replace your Mr. or Mrs. title. In America, someone who becomes a doctor of medicine goes from being called Mr. Smith to Dr. Smith. In Germany, that same man would go from Herr Schmidt to Herr Doktor Schmidt, and a woman would go from Frau Schmidt to Frau Doktor Schmidt. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/17 "2011-09-22T01:35:29Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > In the Israeli army, the standard word is “commander”. > To anyone who is, well, your commander–(i.e. your boss,) no matter which rank..you say “yes, commander”. > > (But only in boot camp…after that, you can often just use first names like in any other job.) Really? It would seem really odd to me to say (in Hebrew) the equivalent of, “Yes, Bob,” when talking to an officer. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/18 "2011-09-22T02:12:48Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Same thing in French, you use the title of the officer adressing you. There’s no Sir thing, you aint his butler. In the Canadian forces, “Monsieur” and “Madame” are the accepted ways of addressing officers in French. I believe this practice was adopted from the British tradition, but, nonetheless, it’s done “in French.” ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/19 "2011-09-22T02:16:36Z")
> [@Rysdad](#): > > Really? It would seem really odd to me to say (in Hebrew) the equivalent of, “Yes, Bob,” when talking to an officer. That’s how it works. My commander, when I was in regular IDF, was addressed as “Micky”. My base commander was addressed as “Eitan” (his first name). In reserves, it is even more relaxed. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929/20 "2011-09-22T02:37:51Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > That’s how it works. My commander, when I was in regular IDF, was addressed as “Micky”. My base commander was addressed as “Eitan” (his first name). > > In reserves, it is even more relaxed. _More_ relaxed? “Sure, schlamazl!”? Hm. Do members of the IDF interact much with any US armed forces? How does that go over? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soldiers-addressing-officers-in-other-languages/596929.md?page=2)