Western stars and their Chinese nicknames

Michelle Dockery from the PBS/BBC series "Downton Abbey" arrives at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California August 25, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

Michelle Dockery: Big Miss

British actress Michelle Dockery plays the role of the eldest daughter of the House of Crawley in the hit mini-series, Downton Abbey.

In China, servants often refer to daughters of aristocratic families by their birth order with the word 小姐 (xiao jie), or "Miss."

In Dockery's case, since she is the eldest daughter, her "title" in the family is 大小姐 (da xiao jie), or the "Big Miss."

It is also worthy to note that the term "Big Miss" in Chinese often carries an arrogant and overbearing connotation, which fits perfectly with Dockery's character, Lady Mary Crawley.