How to address a woman you don't know
I've got a basic question here, and I'm especially looking forward to what our friends in Spanish-speaking places have to say.
When approaching a young woman I don't know in order to ask a question, would I say "Perdón, Señora" or "Perdón Señorita" when I don't know if she is married or unmarried? Here in the USA, "Excuse me, Ma'm" would cover both married and unmarried women.
Muchas gracias!!
5 Answers
In Spanish, unlike in English, it doesn't matter if a woman is married or not, what matters is her age/maturity. "Señorita" refers to a younger woman, (I'd say till about 32, depending) but I think most women of a more mature age would take it as a compliment :D (¡cuidado! - unless they're having a bad day and take it sarcastically!). A friend of mine said it to an 'abuela' and she actually blushed and giggled! He's such a Don Juan. ;D
In Mexico we use "señorita" to address to young women, such as teenagers or women in their twenties, and "señora" to address to older women.
Colloquially, some people may use: "seño" or "señito" (the diminutive of "seño") to avoid the distinction between the two words.
Sometimes we use the term "señorita" or "señora" with a sexual connotation, to imply that a young girl is still a virgin or not.
I´m going to say the opposite of all people in this thread. In Spain, generally, this doesn´t depend of the age. If the woman is married you call her "Señora" if not "Señorita". If the woman is old, you call her "Señora", but supposing that the old woman is or has been married.
On the other hand, I think that you look for problems, because you can avoid to choose between "disculpe señorita" or "disculpe señora" by telling "Disculpe" or "Disculpa"
Since you have a couple of views from non-native speakers, I will put in my 2 cents worth, even though I cannot say my view carries any validity in this matter:
1 I am convinced that my wife is always "señorita", at least from the male waiters, when we are in Mexico (although it has been a while since we were last there) . Despite the fact that we are an obviously married middle aged couple, usually with another obviously married middle aged couple.
2 I am convinced a woman from Spain once said to me, on this very subject, that to her "señora" means you appear old enough that it wouldn't even occur to the person to "make a try", if you know what I mean.
I personally would be interested in the opinions of native speakers of both sexes from different regions.
Hello winkfish
Welcome to the SpanishDict forum. 
If you are not sure of a person's marital status I believe it is better to use señora
You could say, for example, << Desculpe señora, ¿puede indicarme cómo ir a la estación de trenes, por favor? >> = "Excuse me, madam, could you direct me to the railway station, please?"
Generally speaking, the title: "señora" is used with older, married women and older women whose marital status is unknown while señorita is used with younger single/un-married girls and younger girls whose marital status is uncertain. However, it is unlikley that most Spanish-speaking natives (women) would be offended if addressed as señorita but would consider it as a complement.
The word perdón can also be used to attract someone's attantion although it is commonly used to apologise when you accidentally bump into someone when passing by them in a crowded place such as a street.
The word desculpe means something along the lines of: " I'm sorry to disturb you / interrupt you, but."... and can be used for asking strangers for directions in the street, asking for help when someone is busy working or just attracting someon's attention although you can also simply ask for a waiter by calling señor/señora/señorita.
I hope this helps
