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-siⁿ), and still others imply both.
Sian-siⁿ, also pronounced sian-seⁿ in some Hokkien dialects, is the most commonplace male honorific and is a title of respect typically used between equals of any age. Sian-siⁿ 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 (小姐) 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- (阿) or chó͘- (祖) is used as the honorific. The usage may also be used to mention one's own family members. For examples:
| Base noun | Honorific | English translation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pe̍h-ōe-jī | Hàn-jī | Pe̍h-ōe-jī | Hàn-jī | ||
| kong | 公 | chó͘-kong | 祖公 | great grandfather | |
| má | 媽 | chó͘-má | 祖媽 | great grandmother | |
| kong | 公 | a-kong | 阿公 | grandfather | |
| má | 媽 | a-má | 阿媽 | grandmother | |
| pah | 爸 | a-pah | 阿爸 | father | |
| bú / bó | 母 | a-bú / a-bó | 阿母 | mother | |
| hiaⁿ | 兄 | a-hiaⁿ | 阿兄 | elder brother | |
| ché / chí | 姊 | a-ché / a-chí | 阿姊 | elder sister | |
Note that it is very impolite to say lín chó͘-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 lāu- (老) is sometimes used to replace the prefix a- as the honorific.
| Base noun | Honorific | English translation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pe̍h-ōe-jī | Hàn-jī | Pe̍h-ōe-jī | Hàn-jī | ||
| pē | 父 | lāu-pē | 老父 | father | |
| bú / bó | 母 | lāu-bú / lāu-bó | 老母 | mother | |
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:
| Base noun | Honorific | English translation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pe̍h-ōe-jī | Hàn-jī | Pe̍h-ōe-jī | Hàn-jī | ||
| má | 媽 | án-má | 俺媽 | grandmother | |
| niâ | 娘 | án-niâ | 俺娘 | mother | |
| ko͘ | 姑 | án-ko͘ | 俺姑 | aunt | |
Similar to suffix -su and -sū mentioned later, the suffix -sai (師) is used for some people with skillful techniques; for example, kûn-thâu-sai (拳頭師) for martial artists, phah-thih-á-sai (拍鐵仔師) for blacksmiths, phah-chio̍h-sai (拍石師) for masons, thô͘-chúi-sai (塗水師) for plasterers, chóng-phò͘-sai (總舖師) for chefs and sai-kōng (師公) for a daoshi.
Many people with different occupations get their own honorifics with a suffix -su (師) in Hokkien. For example, i-su (醫師) for doctors, io̍h-chè-su (藥劑師) for pharmacists, kang-têng-su (工程師) for engineers, lāu-su (老師) for teachers, and lu̍t-su (律師) for lawyers.
For academic degrees, the titles are suffixed with -sū (士); for examples, phok-sū (博士) for doctorate degree, se̍k-sū (碩士) for master's degree, and ha̍k-sū (學士) for bachelor's degree. In addition, some occupations have their honorifics with a suffix -sū; for example, hō͘-sū (護士) for nurses, piān-sū (辯士) for voice-overs, and chō͘-sán-sū (助產士) for midwives.
| Pe̍h-ōe-jī | Hàn-jī | Literal meaning | Gender | Usage | Examples | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| chí / ché | elder sister | female | suffix | Mary-chí | The honorific chí or ché is usually added right after one's name, and it shows a "sister-like" respect. | ||
| hiaⁿ | elder brother | male | suffix | John-hiaⁿ | The honorific hiaⁿ is usually added right after one's name, and it shows a "brother-like" respect. | ||
| iâ | father, master | male | suffix | Sêng-hông-iâ (城隍爺), lāu-iâ (老爺), siàu-iâ (少爺) | The honorific iâ is usually used for gods, deities, or honorable people. | ||
| koaⁿ | neutral | suffix | sin-lông-koaⁿ (新郎倌) means bridegroom | ||||
| kùi | noble | neutral | prefix |
| |||
| lán | you | neutral | pronoun | Lán tó-ūi beh chhōe? (Who is this on the phone?) | The Hokkien pronoun lán usually means "we" (inclusive), but it is often used to ask for one's information on telephone conversation politely. | ||
| lāu | old, experienced | male, sometimes female | prefix |
| The prefix lāu may sometimes be impolite or even rude to call someone because the word lāu means "old"; for example, lāu-hòe-á (老歲仔) for old person or lāu-kâu (老猴), which literally means "old monkey", for old man or husband. Therefore, one should note that the prefix lāu doesn't always imply respect. | ||
| sòe | year | neutral | |||||
| thâu | the head | neutral | prefix or suffix |
| In Hokkien-language, the noun thâu originally means "head", and is later extended to the "leader" or the "master". |