Originally Posted by
tauphi
Heh, I've heard exactly the opposite -- that it's more of a taboo in the south, i.e., Shenzhen/Guangzhou where this particular meaning originated. Of course there's also the suggestion there of substituting it with 靚女, the Cantonese equivalent of 美女.
Honestly I don't buy this taboo story as I still hear it used everywhere in the non-derogatory sense.
Xiaojie means miss or young lady. Its also appropriate to reference a female server, such as in a restaurant, as xiaojie. "surname" +xiaojie = miss "surname".
It was originally considered a derogatory name in south China, however with the
spread of mandarin its no longer considered offensive.
Its considerably more appropriate than
Moondog's suggestion of
meinu which translates to " hey ...good looking".
