I am wondering if it's common to address a non-married woman age 38 madame when they know for certain she isn't married? A French man I MET KNOWS I am not married and calls me madame. Forgot to mention he has romantic interest in me.
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Possible duplicate of Comment s'adresser à une femme dont l'état civil est inconnu ?– TotoCommented Jan 30, 2018 at 18:48
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2@Toto I believe this is not the same question: in this case, the civil state is known.– TurtleCommented Jan 30, 2018 at 23:10
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2 Answers
Sure, mademoiselle usage is quickly dropping when applying to adults, regardless of the known marital status. Not to mention that nowadays, one fourth of the people living in couple in France are not married anyway.
Madame is a considered a mark of respect. Of course, I expect for someone having a romantic interest in you to quickly switch from madame to Mary (or whatever your first name is) without ever needing to use mademoiselle.
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@LukeSawczak Rien de particulier à ajouter par rapport à ce qui a été dit dans la question déjà posée il y a plus de cinq ans sur le sujet, sauf que la tendance se confirme. On ne dit plus vraiment mademoiselle à une femme de plus d'une petite vingtaine d'années sauf bien sûr si elle en exprime le souhait.– jlliagreCommented Jan 30, 2018 at 21:07
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Thanks for letting me know. I guess he is probably giving me a hint :) Is madame meaning more of MRS. Or my lady?– MaryCommented Jan 30, 2018 at 21:49
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2@Mary Il peut être intéressant de noter que le mot Mademoiselle est considéré par certaines personnes comme "nommant la femme selon son statut avec/sans mari, donc la plaçant en position inférieure dans le couple". La loi française a pour cette raison retiré l'option "Mademoiselle" des formulaires officiels, et interdit son usage (dans certains cadres).– TurtleCommented Jan 30, 2018 at 23:16
Yes it is common to call women madame if they look mature enough. You would not call a 40 year old mademoiselle even if she looked younger. I suppose it all depends on how you perceive the person. You could call a 25 year old Madame or mademoiselle, it is up to teh individual.
