Name Guide
Courtesy Names
Courtesy names were a tradition reserved for the upper class and were typically granted at the age of twenty. While it was generally a male-exclusive tradition, there is historical precedent for women adopting courtesy names after marriage. It was furthermore considered disrespectful for peers of the same generation to address one another by their birth name, especially in formal or written communication. Instead, one’s birth name was used by elders, close friends, and spouses.
This tradition is no longer practiced in modern China, but is commonly seen in wuxia and xianxia media. As such, many characters in these novels have more than one name in these stories, though the tradition is often treated malleably for the sake of storytelling. For example, in Husky, characters receive their courtesy names at the age of fifteen rather than twenty.
Diminutives, nicknames, and name tags
A-: Friendly diminutive. Always a prefix. Usually for monosyllabic names, or one syllable out of a two-syllable name.
Da-: A prefix meaning “eldest.”
Doubling: Doubling a syllable of a person’s name can be a nickname, i.e. “Mengmeng”; it has childish or cutesy connotations.
-er: A word for “son” or “child.” Added to a name, it expresses affection. Similar to calling someone “Little” or “Sonny.” Always a suffix.
Xiao-: A diminutive meaning “little.” Always a prefix.
Family
All of these terms can be used alone or with the person’s name.
Di/Didi: Younger brother or a younger male friend.
Ge/Gege: Older brother or an older male friend.
Jie/Jiejie/Zizi: Older sister or an older female friend; “zizi” is a regional variant of “jieije.”
Mei/Meimei: Younger sister or a younger female friend.
Cultivation
-jun: A term of respect, often used as a suffix after a title.
Daozhang/Xianjun: Polite terms of address for cultivators, equivalent to “Mr. Cultivator.” Can be used alone as a title or attached to someone’s family name. Xianjun has an implication of immortality.
Qianbei: A respectful title or suffix for someone older, more experienced, and/or more skilled in a particular discipline. Not to be used for blood relatives.
Xianzhu: “Immortal lord/leader.” Used in Husky as a respectful title for Eighteen, the leader of Peach Blossom Springs.
Zongshi: A title or suffix for a person of particularly outstanding skill; largely only applied to cultivators in the story of Husky.
Cultivation Sects
Shizun: Teacher/master. For one’s master in one’s own sect. Gender neutral. Literal meaning is “honored/venerable master” and is a more respectful address, though Shifu is not disrespectful.
Shixiong/Shige: Older martial brother. For senior male members of one’s own sect. Shige is a more familiar variant.
Shijie: Older martial sister. For senior female members of one’s own sect.
Shidi: Younger martial brother. For junior male members of one’s own sect.
Shimei: Younger martial sister. For junior female members of one’s own sect.
Shiniang: Wife of shizun/shifu.
Zunzhu: “Esteemed leader.” Used to refer to the leader of a sect. Can be used on its own or appended to a family name, e.g., Xue-zunzhu.
Other
Gong/gonggong: A title or suffix. Can be used to refer to an elderly man, a man of high status, a grandfather, a father-in-law, or in a palace context, a eunuch.
Gongzi: Young master of an affluent household, or a polite way to address young men.
Taizi: “Crown prince.” A respectful title of address for the next in line to the throne.
Yifu: Person formally acknowledged as one’s father; sometimes a “godfather.”