Abstract: Politeness is a complex social phenomenon. It is the basic social norms of human communication and an important link to maintain harmonious interpersonal relationships. Because of cultural differences, politeness principles and politeness formulae of different countries are different. The present study compares English and Chinese politeness principle. And it makes a contrastive study about politeness formulae between English and Chinese from five aspects: forms of address, humble and honorific language, private taboo, accepting the invitation and thanking. Due to cultural differences, politeness principle and politeness formulae in Chinese and English cultures differ. It is important to understand the differences and use politeness formulae properly in cross-cultural communication. 

Key Words: politeness principle; politeness formulae; contrastive analysis

摘要：礼貌是一种复杂的社会现象，是人类交际的基本社会准则，是维系和谐人际关系的重要纽带，也是缩小话语冲突、维护社会平衡以及友善关系的一种方法,对社会成员都产生制约作用。 由于文化背景差异，不同民族的礼貌原则及礼貌用语存在差异。本文首先对比了中英礼貌原则，并从称呼语、谦逊和敬语、隐私语、接受邀请、致谢五个方面对中英礼貌用语作了对比分析。文化差异导致中英礼貌用语的差异，了解这些差异，在跨文化交际中正确使用礼貌用语是十分重要的。

关键词：礼貌原则；礼貌用语；对比分析