The Hokkien language uses a broad array of honorific suffixes or prefixes for addressing or referring to people. Most of these honorifics attach to the end of people's names, as in Joseph sian-siⁿ where the honorific sian-siⁿ was attached to the name Joseph. Some of the honorifics attach to the front of the words. These 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), but there are still some honorifics imply the both.
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Sian-siⁿ
Sian-siⁿ (先生), 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).
Familial honorifics
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:
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.
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:
Sai
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, and chóng-phò͘-sai (總舖師) for chefs.
Su
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.
Sū
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.