The Hokkien language uses a broad array of honorific suffixes or prefixes for addressing or referring to people. Most are suffixes. Honorifics are often non-gender-neutral; some imply a feminine context (such as sió-chiá) while others imply a masculine one (such as sian-siâ¿), and still others imply both.
Sian-siâ¿ (), also pronounced sian-seâ¿ in some Hokkien dialects, is the most commonplace male honorific and is a title of respect typically used between equals of any age. Sian-siâ¿ is also used to refer to or address authority figures, especially teachers and doctors. The usage is also seen in other East Asian languages (see sensei).
Sió-chiá () is a term for an unmarried woman.
Honorifics for family members have two different forms in Hokkien.
For a younger family member to call an elder one, the prefixes a- (é¿) or chóÃÂ- (ç¥Â) is used as the honorific. The usage may also be used to mention one's own family members. For examples:
Note that it is very impolite to say lÃÂn chóÃÂ-má (your great grandma) in some situations; it may be regarded as a rude singular first personal pronoun for the female speakers. (See Hokkien pronouns)
For someone to mention his or her own parents to a non-family-member, the prefix lÃÂu- (èÂÂ) is sometimes used to replace the prefix a- as the honorific.
For someone to mention his or her own elder family members to a non-family-member, the prefix án- (俺), which literally means my, is also used in some areas. For examples:
Similar to suffix -su and -sà « mentioned later, the suffix -sai (師) is used for some people with skillful techniques; for example, kûn-thâu-sai (æ³é Â師) for martial artists, phah-thih-á-sai (æÂÂéÂ愯Â師) for blacksmiths, phah-chioÃÂh-sai (æÂÂç³師) for masons, thôÃÂ-chúi-sai (å¡Â水師) for plasterers, chóng-phòÃÂ-sai (總èÂÂ師) for chefs and sai-kà Âng (師堬) for a daoshi.
Many people with different occupations get their own honorifics with a suffix -su (師) in Hokkien. For example, i-su (é«師) for doctors, ioÃÂh-chè-su (èÂ¥åÂÂ師) for pharmacists, kang-têng-su (å·¥ç¨Â師) for engineers, lÃÂu-su (èÂÂ師) for teachers, and luÃÂt-su (å¾Â師) for lawyers.
For academic degrees, the titles are suffixed with -sà « (士); for examples, phok-sà « (Ã¥ÂÂ士) for doctorate degree, seÃÂk-sà « (碩士) for master's degree, and haÃÂk-sà « (å¸士) for bachelor's degree. In addition, some occupations have their honorifics with a suffix -sà «; for example, hà ÂÃÂ-sà « (è·士) for nurses, piÃÂn-sà « (辯士) for voice-overs, and chà ÂÃÂ-sán-sà « (å©ç¢士) for midwives.