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Xianxia and wuxia terms in Chinese

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Genres and tropes

  1. wǔ武xiá侠

    martial arts chivalry (genre, as in wuxia novels)

  2. xiān仙xiá侠

    xianxia (fantasy genre about immortals and martial heroes)

  3. xuán玄huàn幻

    xuanhuan; Chinese fantasy (genre of web fiction)

  4. xiū修zhēn真

    (fiction) to cultivate immortality (Taoist cultivation in fantasy novels)

  5. dān耽měi美

    boys' love (BL) fiction and comics

  6. chóng重shēng生

    rebirth (web fiction genre)

  7. chuān穿yuè越

    to time-travel

  8. xì系tǒng统

    system

  9. jīn金shǒu手zhǐ指

    unfair advantage (in fiction)

  10. dǎ打liǎn脸

    to be proven wrong; to contradict someone's claims

  11. bà霸dào道zǒng总cái裁

    domineering CEO (romance stereotype)

Cultivation

  1. xiū修xiān仙

    to cultivate immortality (in Taoism and fantasy fiction)

  2. xiū修liàn炼

    cultivation (in fantasy fiction)

  3. xiū修wéi为

    (in fantasy fiction) cultivation level; power level

  4. jìng境jiè界

    realm; level

  5. líng灵qì气

    spiritual energy (in fantasy and Daoism)

  6. líng灵gēn根

    (fiction) spiritual root (aptitude for cultivation)

  7. dān丹tián田

    dantian (point below the navel where qi gathers)

  8. jīng经mài脉

    meridians; energy channels

  9. zhēn真qì气

    vital energy; true qi

  10. nèi内lì力

    (martial arts) inner strength

  11. bì闭guān关

    to go into seclusion (for meditation or study)

  12. zǒu走huǒ火rù入mó魔

    to go wrong in one's practice (martial arts, qigong)

  13. xīn心mó魔

    inner demons

  14. dù渡jié劫

    (fiction) to undergo a heavenly tribulation (to advance in cultivation)

  15. tiān天jié劫

    heavenly tribulation (cultivation fiction)

  16. fēi飞shēng升

    to ascend to heaven (as an immortal)

  17. tiān天dào道

    the way of heaven; natural law

The realms

  1. liàn炼qì气

    Qi Refining (first stage of cultivation in xianxia fiction)

  2. zhù筑jī基

    (fiction) Foundation Establishment (cultivation stage)

  3. jīn金dān丹

    golden core (in xianxia fiction)

  4. yuán元yīng婴

    Nascent Soul (cultivation stage)

  5. huà化shén神

    (fiction) Deity Transformation (a cultivation stage in xianxia stories)

The martial world

  1. jiāng江hú湖

    the world of itinerant martial artists and outlaws

  2. wǔ武lín林

    martial arts world

  3. mén门pài派

    sect; school (of martial arts etc.)

  4. zōng宗mén门

    sect (in fantasy fiction)

  5. zōng宗zhǔ主

    sect leader; head of a clan

  6. zhǎng掌mén门

    head of a martial arts school or sect

  7. zhǎng长lǎo老

    elder

  8. dì弟zǐ子

    disciple; pupil

  9. sǎn散xiū修

    (fiction) independent cultivator (not in a sect)

  10. dào道yǒu友

    fellow Taoist; fellow cultivator

  11. zhèng正dào道

    the right way; the correct path

  12. mó魔dào道

    (fiction) demonic cultivation

  13. mó魔tóu头

    devil; fiend

Skills and treasures

  1. nèi内gōng功

    internal martial arts; internal exercises (of breath and organs)

  2. qīng轻gōng功

    (martial arts) art of lightness (leaping and running effortlessly)

  3. jiàn剑fǎ法

    swordsmanship; sword technique

  4. zhǎng掌fǎ法

    palm technique (martial arts)

  5. xīn心fǎ法

    mental technique; secret method (martial arts)

  6. mì秘jí籍

    secret manual (of martial arts etc.)

  7. yù御jiàn剑

    to wield a flying sword (xianxia)

  8. fǎ法bǎo宝

    magic weapon

  9. fǎ法qì器

    (fiction) magic artifact

  10. líng灵shí石

    (fiction) spirit stone

  11. dān丹yào药

    elixir; (Taoist) pill of immortality

  12. liàn炼dān丹

    to make elixirs of immortality (Taoist alchemy)

What is the difference between wuxia and xianxia?

武侠 (wǔxiá) is martial heroes in a human world, the 江湖 (jiānghú) of wandering fighters, sects and feuds. 仙侠 (xiānxiá) adds immortals and magic: its heroes cultivate, 修仙 (xiūxiān), to become immortal. 玄幻 (xuánhuàn) is the wider fantasy genre, with worlds that need not be Chinese at all.

What are the cultivation realms in order?

The order many novels share starts with 炼气 (liànqì), Qi Refining, then 筑基 (zhùjī), Foundation Establishment, 金丹 (jīndān), Golden Core, 元婴 (yuányīng), Nascent Soul, and 化神 (huàshén), Deity Transformation. Higher realms differ from one novel to the next.

What does 江湖 mean?

Literally rivers and lakes: the world of wandering martial artists and outlaws outside the law and the court. People still say it of any world with its own rules, like business: 人在江湖，身不由己, in the jianghu you can’t always do as you like.

What do 闭关 and 走火入魔 mean?

闭关 (bìguān) is going into seclusion to cultivate, often for years in a novel; today people also say it of shutting themselves away to study. 走火入魔 (zǒuhuǒ rùmó) is cultivation gone wrong, a qi deviation, and in everyday speech being obsessed.

What are the titles of address in xianxia novels?

师父 (shīfu) is your master, 师兄 (shīxiōng) and 师姐 (shījiě) the disciples who joined before you, 前辈 (qiánbèi) anyone senior, and 道友 (dàoyǒu), fellow cultivator, a stranger on the same path. Our Chinese honorifics page has them all with sound.

Can I read web novels in Chinese?

Yes, and they are a good way to read a lot: the same terms come back on every page. Our free Chrome extension shows the pinyin and meaning of any word you point at on a Chinese web page, so you can read raw chapters and keep the words you meet.

Can’t hear it?

Play uses your device’s Mandarin voice. Edge, Chrome and Safari have one; a browser with none plays each character in our recorded voice instead.

More for reading Chinese novels

Terms, pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary; the order of the realms is the one most novels share.