Sihing - Sidai - ???

[Serpent]

If your older kung fu brother is your sihing and your younger kung fu brother is your sidai, what do you call a brother that is contemporary with you? - Same level, same experience, joined about the same time, etc.?

And what about the equivalent for girls?

Anyone?

[David Jamieson]

What's the term for "classmate"?

cheers

[joedoe]

Try this site:

http://pages.prodigy.net/david_wolfe/pmaa/Chinese_terms_S.html

[Edit]: I think it used to be pretty rare to have someone that started at exactly the same time as you, so sidai or sihing sufficed.

[Serpent]

Originally posted by joedoe
Try this site:

http://pages.prodigy.net/david_wolfe/pmaa/Chinese_terms_S.html

[Edit]: I think it used to be pretty rare to have someone that started at exactly the same time as you, so sidai or sihing sufficed.

Hmm. Not much there. I wonder after another post piqued my interest. After all, there are many instances where you might have a number of students that all started within a year or so of each other. Say it's not five or ten years later and they'd all be considered quite contemporary and would be hard pressed to refer to each other comfortably as Sihing or Sidai. There must be another term - perhaps KL's "classmate" is one.

I do actually have a brother who's first class at our school was exactly the same day as me. So what's he!? He'd never done any kung fu before whereas I'd trained in other schools for years previously - would that make me his sihing in kung fu, just not with this particular school?

Also, sijair is older sister, correct? What's younger sister? I can't remember!

[Fu-Pau]

Cantonese:
Dai Si heng (eldest brother)
Dai Si jeh (eldest sister)
Si heng (older brother)
Si jeh (older sister)
Si dai (younger brother)
Si mui (younger sister)

[Marky]

call them tongxue if it means that much to you. That's the only Chinese word I know for "classmate". Sorry it's in Mandarin, I don't know Cantonese (or much Mandarin, for that matter).

[brothernumber9]

just call them by thier name if they are your contemporary, joined around the same time. unless there is a big disparity in skill level it avoids a superiority/inferiority kind of connotation.

[hasayfu]

Fu-Pau got it right.

Your classmates are your si-Hing/Dai (literally brothers) but you usually use this in the third person. (ie. these are my si-hing/dai) and not in first. (ie. Not hello si-hing/dai)

The older/younger mark is who ever trained with sifu first. Just like twins have one who came out first and is thus the older, same for your school. The phrase is, who ever walked through the door first. Thus in first person, you always address them accordingly.

It is no indication of skill level. It's only family order. So in your example, which ever of you walked through the door first is the si-hing and the one second is the si-dai. Past experience plays no factor. (unless it was with that Sifu)