non-player character

English

Etymology

From non- +‎ player character.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

non-player character (plural non-player characters)

1. (roleplaying games, video games) A character in a role-playing game or computer game whose actions are not controlled by a player.

   Antonym: player character

2. (Internet slang, derogatory) A person who does not think for themselves nor make their own decisions.

Usage notes

• Often used to specifically refer to characters who are not hostile towards the players. Hostile non-player characters are instead called enemies, monsters, mobs, villains or creeps.

Synonyms

• NPC
• AI (for computer games, but not role-playing games)
• computer (for computer games, but not role-playing games)

Translations

character in a role-playing game or computer game

• Catalan: personatge no jugador (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 非玩家角色 (fēi-wánjiā juésè)

• Finnish: NPC (fi), ei-pelaaja-hahmo, ei-pelaajahahmo
• French: personnage non-joueur m (PNJ), ordi (fr) m
• German: Nicht-Spieler-Charakter (NSC or NPC)
• Indonesian: karakter non-pemain sg
• Italian: personaggio non giocante (PNG)
• Polish: bohater niezależny m (BN)
• Portuguese: non-player character m (NPC), personagem não jogável m or f
• Romanian: personaj non-jucător n
• Russian: неигрово́й персона́ж m (neigrovój personáž)
• Spanish: personaje no-jugador m (NPC)
• Swedish: spelledarperson (SLP)
• Ukrainian: неігрови́й персона́ж m (neihrovýj personáž) (НІП)