courtesy term for family friend
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
a respectful term of address for the son of a family friend of the same generation (esp. son of one's father's friend or student)
archaicTraditionally used in formal and literary contexts to address sons of family friends. While technically denoting peers of the same generation, it was also extended as a mark of respect to younger family friends.
Zhāng张
dà大
ren人
yǔ与
Lǐ李
jiā家
shì是
shì世
jiāo交
，
gù故
chēng称
qí其
zhǎng长
zǐ子
wéi为
shì世
xiōng兄
。
Master Zhang and the Li family were old family friends, so he addressed the eldest son as 'shixiong'.
Tā他
shì是
jiā家
fù父
de的
rù入
shì室
dì弟
zǐ子
，
wǒ我
yǐ以
shì世
xiōng兄
chēng称
zhī之
。
He is my father's formal disciple, so I address him as 'shixiong'.
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Suī虽
bèi辈
fen分
jiào较
dī低
，
dàn但
yīn因
liǎng两
jiā家
shì世
yì谊
shēn深
hòu厚
，
yì亦
zūn尊
chēng称
wéi为
shì世
xiōng兄
。
Although of a lower generation, due to the deep friendship between the two families, he was also respectfully addressed as 'shixiong'.