General forms

儿 -er
Added as a suffix, usually to a younger person’s name, for extreme familiarity. Usually, a parent or close relative to a child, or a master to his very young disciple. E.g. Xiao Chong is called Chong’er by his father and his uncle. 

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哥 -ge, 大哥 da-ge, 小弟 xiao-di / Big brother or little brother
Added as a suffix to the person’s name but only with someone very close to you. If used by a girl towards a boy, it will tend to come with romantic connotations. When not a suffix, dage or xiaodi are used liberally between boys.

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姐 -jie, 大姐 da-jie / Big sister
Same as for big brother, but it’s uncommon to see such familiarity with female characters unless it’s between two girls.

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公子 gongzi / Young Master or Noble Son

Used by servants to address the young master of a rich or aristocratic family. He would usually be a son of the head of the family. It can also be used by outsiders in a polite or subservient manner, for example, by a restaurant waiter or shop keeper towards a customer of an upper class. It can also be used as a suffix after the person's surname, e.g. Xiao-gongzi. 

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前辈 qianbei / Senior
Polite address for someone one or more generations older.

 

晚辈 wanbei / Junior
Opposite of qianbei, used by a person one or more generations younger to refer to himself when speaking to a qianbei.

 

兄 xiong, 兄弟 xiong-di / Brother
A familiar way of addressing a friend who is about the same age as you. Sometimes also used with strangers who are young men to show casualness.

 

爷 -ye, 老爷 lao-ye / old master
Added as a suffix to someone’s name, usually surname, to show respect to your elder. Mostly used by someone close to the older man, which is like calling them an uncle, but can also be used by servants to address the master of the house. Can also be prefixed with rank order, e.g. Er-ye is second (old) master. 

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Martial Arts Families

 

大师兄 da-shixiong
Oldest martial brother, usually the head disciple of the sect, e.g. Tang Lian 

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弟子 dizi, 徒儿 tu’er, 徒弟 tudi / Disciple
Disciple of a martial arts master. Any of these terms can be used depending on the person's preference.

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师父 shifu 
Martial arts teacher, can be male or female, e.g. Lei Wujie calls Lei Hong shifu and he also calls Li Hanyi shifu.

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师娘 shiniang

Wife of one's shifu. 

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师叔, 师伯 shishu, shibo 
Martial uncle, i.e. shidi / shixiong of one’s shifu, e.g. Lei Wujie calls Lei Yunhe shishu because Lei Yunhe is younger than Lei Hong.

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师姐, 师妹 shijie, shimei
Martial (older, younger) sister, e.g. Lei Wujie calls Sikong Qianluo shijie even though he’s older than her in years because Sikong Qianluo was accepted into Snow Moon City earlier than him. Tang Lian calls her shimei though.

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师兄, 师弟 shixiong, shidi
Martial (older, younger) brother, e.g. Tang Lian calls Lei Wujie shidi

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师祖 shizu / Grandmaster
Master of one’s master, e.g. Fei Xuan refers to Zhao Yuzhen as shizu because Zhao Yuzhen is one generation above Fei Xuan’s master. But, since Zhao Yuzhen took over training Fei Xuan, Fei Xuan calls him shifu. 

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师侄 shizhi
Martial nephew or niece, e.g. Lei Yunhe would refer to Lei Wujie as shizhi.

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师尊 shizun
Like shifu but with more reverence, e.g. Tang Lian calls Sikong Changfeng shizun.

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-王 wang / King
Suffix added to titles of a specialist or expert in their field, e.g. Medicine King 药王

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-仙 xian / Immortal
Suffix added to titles, e.g. Sword Immortal 剑仙

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长老 zhanglao / Elder
Senior generation member of a sect / clan, e.g. Yin Luoxia is an elder of Snow Moon City

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祖师 zushi / Grandteacher
Senior generation of celestial masters in Daoist sects.

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尊主 zunzhu / Honoured Master
For addressing the head of a house / clan / sect, but with more reverence, e.g. Citymasters of Snow Moon City are sometimes called zunzhu.

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Martial Sects Leaders

堡主 baozhu / Fortmaster
Head of Lei Clan Fort

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城主 chengzhu / Citymaster
Head of a city sect, e.g. Citymaster of Snow Moon City or Unrivaled City

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大家长 dajiazhang / Patriarch
Head of Hidden River

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家主 jiazhu / Head of House, Housemaster
Head of a house or family

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老太爷 laotaiye / Grandmaster
The Tang Sect Grandmaster, the oldest member and head of Tang Sect

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门主 menzhu / Clan Leader
Head of a clan, usually referring to the Lei Clan head

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堂主 tangzhu / Hallmaster
Head of Bai Xiao Hall

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掌教 zhangjiao / Sectmaster
Head of a school or faction, e.g. Sectmaster of Qingcheng Mountain

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宗主 zongzhu / Sect Leader
Leader of a large sect, e.g. Sect Leader of Outerheaven

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冢主 zhongzhu / Tombmaster
Head of the Sword Heart Tomb

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Imperial Family

陛下 bixia / Your Majesty
Form of address for the emperor

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皇帝 huang di / Emperor
The most common word referring to the Emperor in third person. The suffix is also added to his name, e.g. 明德帝 Ming De Di. 

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天子 tian zi / Emperor
Lit. son of Heaven, refers to the Emperor

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圣上 sheng shang / Emperor
A courtier's or minister's form of address for the current Emperor. It means literally, the holy one above.     

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父皇 fu-huang / Imperial Father (Emperor)
Father of a prince, i.e. the Emperor, e.g. the Emperor’s sons all call him this way

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孤 gu / We (the royal ‘we’)
When the Emperor speaks, he sometimes uses this word when he’s speaking formally. But, in private conversations, he reverts to using “I”. The word means “alone” because being the Emperor means nobody really gets close to him or can compare with him. 

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殿下 dianxia / Your Highness
Form of address for princes (sons of the Emperor) or those holding the title of Prince. This is only said by everyone below him in rank.

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皇子 huangzi / prince
Lit. son of Emperor, usually prefixed with their birth order, e.g. second prince, sixth prince. Note, this is not the same as the court title, Prince (below).

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皇叔 huang-shu
Lit. imperial uncle, or uncle of a prince, i.e. the Emperor’s younger brother, e.g. the Emperor’s sons call Lanyue Marquis huang-shu. Traditionally, the oldest son of the previous Emperor would become the Emperor, so technically, an Emperor has no older brothers.

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皇兄 huang-xiong
Lit. imperial brother, older brother of a prince, e.g. Lanyue Marquis calls the Emperor, and Xiao Jingxia calls Xiao Chong huang-xiong. It's a more formal address and informally, the brothers may call each other as ordinary brothers do, e.g. Er-ge means second brother.

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父王 fu-wang / Father (Prince)
Father who has the title of Prince, e.g. Xiao Lingchen calls his father, Langya Prince

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王叔 wang-shu 
Uncle who had been bestowed the title of Prince, e.g. Xiao Se calls Langya Prince

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妃 Fei/ Consort
An honorific for the Emperor’s consort or concubines, e.g. a concubine whose surname is Xuan would be called Xuan Fei

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娘娘 niangniang / My Lady
Form of address for the Emperor’s concubine

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Imperial Court Titles

王爷 wangye, 王 -wang / Prince
Highest court title bestowed onto sons or brothers of the emperor, with the suffix attached to their titles, e.g. Langya Prince, White Prince, Red Prince, Yong’An Prince. Usually, a Prince is bestowed lands and territory outside the capital which he oversees. When someone addresses a Prince, they either call him Your Highness (dianxia) or Prince (wangye). The latter is more formal as it emphasizes his rank and is usually used by other court officials. 

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侯爷 houye, 侯 -hou / Marquis
Court title second only to Prince, usually given to blood relatives of the emperor, with the suffix attached to their titles. In this novel, the only Marquis of prominence is Lanyue Marquis, the youngest brother of the Emperor. When someone addresses a Marquis formally, they call him Marquis (houye).

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太师 taishi / Grand Preceptor

The highest ranking court appointment who serves as an advisor to the Emperor.

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国师 guoshi / State Preceptor
A high-ranking court appointment. In this novel, the State Preceptor is Qi Tianchen who is also a very powerful Daoist priest and the Director of Astrology (see below).

钦天监监正 qin tian jian jian zheng / Director of Astrology
Head of the Directorate of Astronomy (钦天监). The department is in charge of observing the constellations and moon which the calendar is based on. The Daoist celestial masters also foretell the fortunes of the imperial dynasty, to some extent. 

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祭酒 jijiu / Chancellor
Chancellor of Jixia Academy (稷下学宫), which is an elite school in the imperial capital. It doesn’t feature prominently in this story, but is very important in the other novels. The teachers of the academy are called Mister or Teacher (先生).

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太监 taijian, -监  jian / Eunuch
Suffix to a title for a eunuch, or just to refer to a eunuch. Unlike ordinary eunuchs in the palace, the Five Grand Eunuchs are called dajian (大监).

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伴读太监 bandu taijian / Study Companion Eunuch
An eunuch that accompanies his prince from young and becomes the Grand Eunuch when the prince becomes the Emperor.

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公公 gonggong 
Form of address for eunuchs, e.g. Jin Xian Gonggong. There are no eunuchs of importance in the story besides the Five Grand Eunuchs.

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臣 -chen / this subject
Used by itself or as a suffix to put yourself (the speaker) in a subservient position when addressing the emperor, e.g. Xiao Chong refers to himself as this son and subject (儿臣), and Lanyue Marquis refers to himself as this subject and brother (臣弟).  

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大人 -daren / Your Excellency

A suffix added to a person's title or surname for addressing higher-ranking officials who are not nobility. It can also be used by itself to address a high-ranking official.

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卿 -qing / official or minister

Used by the emperor to address his court officials. Can be a suffix for a name or descriptor. 

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