仙侠

仙俠

xiānxiá

noun

Meanings

1 xianxia
2 fantasy genre featuring immortal cultivators, sword-wielding heroes and Daoist magic

Characters

immortal, Daoist transcendent

chivalrous hero, knight-errant

Examples

《花千骨》是经典的仙侠剧。

《Huā Qiāngǔ》 shì jīngdiǎn de xiānxiá jù.

The Journey of Flower is a classic xianxia drama.

他专门写仙侠小说。

Tā zhuānmén xiě xiānxiá xiǎoshuō.

He specifically writes xianxia novels.

仙侠游戏这两年特别火。

Xiānxiá yóuxì zhè liǎng nián tèbié huǒ.

Xianxia games have been huge the last couple of years.

Tips

culture

Combines 仙 (Daoist immortal) with 侠 (wuxia martial hero). Distinct from 玄幻 (pure fantasy, often with Western elements) and 武侠 (classical martial-arts with no supernatural). A massive export genre via Netflix adaptations and Chinese-to-English web-novel translations.

In Pop Culture

诛仙 Zhū Xiān

Jade Dynasty

seminal xianxia novel by 萧鼎, adapted many times for TV and film

修真 xiūzhēn

cultivation

the central xianxia trope: practitioners cultivate qi through meditation and trials to become immortal

Stroke Order

仙 xiān

侠 xiá