First, I don't need actual name suggestions. I just need someone to explain to me in clear language what the deal is with Chinese people and all these different names that indicate courtesy. But it could also be that those are just the equivalent of the Japanese San, chan, kun, etc. but I just haven't picked up on it. Also, there seems to be something with the length of last names?
Is there anyone with a reasonable understanding of this? So far I've discovered that ah-Yu and Yu-er are affectionate ways of calling someone named Yu.
I’ll try to explain this the best way I can:
(Note, there are more but this is all I can remember)
I’ll use one of my character’s name to simplify this, let’s say his name is Zhang Jie (Zhang being the family name and Jie being his real name)
Similar to Japanese culture, Chinese people do call people by their family name more often than by their real name. It is a sign of respect.
If someone calls my character “A-Jie” or “A-Zhang” (ah-Jie / ah-Zhang), it usually means that they are around the same age and show a mutual sign of respect. However, this is an informal way to refer to someone.
(Think of it as “-dono” from Japanese)
If someone calls my character “Lao-Zhang” or “Lao-Jie”, it means that Zhang Jie is older than the person calling him and that the person in question respects Zhang Jie.
(Think of it as “-san” from Japanese)
If someone calls my character “Xiao-Zhang”, it means that the someone in question is older than Zhang Jie and calls him with a friendly manner. Directly translated, “Xiao-Zhang” means “Little Brother Zhang”
(This can be used for both male and female [would be “Little Sister …” for female])
(Think of it as “-kun” or “-chan” from Japanese)
If someone calls my character “Zhang-Er”, it means one of two things; one, my character’s actual name is “Zhang Zhang” and the ‘Er’ is used by friends to get rid of the unnecessary repetition, or two, the someone in question shows endearment towards Zhang.
The ‘Er’ means ‘child’ so by adding ‘Er’ to the end of his family name, it shows that the person sees Zhang Jie as a family member younger than themselves.
That’s all I can remember, hopefully this can help
:P
OOOOH!!!! that explains a lot! thank you!
