小姐

Chinese

		small; tiny; few small; tiny; few; young	older sister
trad. (小姐)		小	姐
simp. #(小姐)		小	姐

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xiǎojiě

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄐㄧㄝˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): siu² ze²

• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): séu-chí
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): sió-chiá / siău-chê

  (Teochew, Peng'im): sio² zia²

• Wu (Northern, Wugniu): ⁵shiau-cia₅ / ³shiau-¹ci₃

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiǎojiě [Phonetic: xiáojiě]
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄐㄧㄝˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siǎojiě
    • Wade–Giles: hsiao³-chieh³
    • Yale: syǎu-jyě
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: sheaujiee
    • Palladius: сяоцзе (sjaocze)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
    • Homophones:

      [Show/Hide]
      edit edit 小姐 小解

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: siu² ze²
    • Yale: síu jé
    • Cantonese Pinyin: siu² dze²
    • Guangdong Romanization: xiu² zé²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siːu̯³⁵ t͡sɛː³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: séu-chí
    • Hakka Romanization System: seu^ˋ ji^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: seu³ ji³
    • Sinological IPA: /seu̯³¹ t͡si³¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Lukang, Sanxia, Kinmen, Hsinchu, Taichung)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sió-chiá
    • Tâi-lô: sió-tsiá
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sioyciar
    • IPA (Lukang): /sio⁵⁵⁻³⁵ t͡sia⁵⁵/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei): /sio⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡sia⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /sio⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ t͡sia⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Kinmen): /sio⁵³⁻²⁴ t͡sia⁵³/
  • (Hokkien: Kaohsiung, Tainan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: siău-chê
    • Tâi-lô: sia̋u-tsê
    • IPA (Tainan): /siau³⁵ t͡se²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /siau³⁵ t͡se²³/

Note: siău-chê - Directly from Mandarin 小姐 (xiǎojiě).

• • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: sio² zia²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: sió tsiá
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sio⁵²⁻³⁵ t͡sia⁵²⁻²¹/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁵shiau-cia₅
    • MiniDict: shiau^去 cia^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²xiau-jia₂
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɕiɔ³³ t͡ɕia⁴⁴/
  • (Northern: Jiaxing)
    • Wugniu: ³shiau-¹ci₃
    • MiniDict: shiau^上 ci^上
    • Sinological IPA (Jiaxing): /ɕiɔ⁴⁴ t͡ɕi⁵³/

Noun

小姐

1. Miss (a term of address for a young or unmarried woman)

   王小姐來了。／王小姐来了。  ―  Wáng xiǎojiě lái le.  ―  Miss Wang is here. / Miss Wang is coming.

   帳務由心細的李小姐經手，絕對不會出錯。 [MSC, trad.]
   帐务由心细的李小姐经手，绝对不会出错。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zhàngwù yóu xīnxì de Lǐ xiǎojiě jīngshǒu, juéduì bùhuì chūcuò. [Pinyin]

   The accounting is carefully handled by Miss Li; absolutely no mistakes are made.

2. young lady
3. young lady of gentry family

   大小姐  ―  dà xiǎojiě  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   小姐的身子丫鬟的命 [MSC, trad. and simp.]

   xiǎojiě de shēnzi yāhuan de mìng [Pinyin]

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

4. (dated or Mainland China slang) prostitute

Usage notes

Mainland usage issue

• In mainland China, 小姐 is less used to mean “young lady” / “Miss” because the meaning “prostitute” took over the original meaning.
• For addressing a young lady or using a title for one, one can use 女士 (nǚshì) instead. To call a waitress, the word 服務員／服务员 (fúwùyuán) is available.
• The usage of 小姐 still survives...
  • as titles in beauty contests (e.g. 世界小姐).
  • in fictions.
  • in some compound words such as 大小姐 (dàxiǎojiě).

Synonyms

• 女士 (nǚshì, “lady; miss”)
• (young lady): (Hokkien, dated) 娘仔

Derived terms

• 一小姐
• 三陪小姐 (sānpéixiǎojiě)
• 二小姐
• 公關小姐 / 公关小姐 (gōngguān xiǎojiě)
• 千金小姐
• 大小姐 (dàxiǎojiě)
• 小姐們兒 / 小姐们儿
• 小姐身子丫鬟命
• 小小姐
• 禮儀小姐 / 礼仪小姐
• 空中小姐 (kōngzhōng xiǎojiě)
• 細小姐 / 细小姐
• 陪唱小姐 (péi chàng xiǎojiě)

See also

• 太太 (tàitai, “madame, wife”)
• 夫人 (fūrén, “madame”)
• 先生 (xiānshēng, “mister”)

References

• “Entry #362”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2025.