In the Paradox universe, one of the words in Universal (the lingua franca for the Alliance created by the Seersa) for friend. There are several variations:
- arii - friend; agreed upon friend, good friend. Vocative case: something you call someone you know you can count on. Pronounced "AH ree."
- alet - friend, formal; a polite mode of address that implies that you are friendly toward the person, in the way that one is polite and friendly toward strangers. Can be used in the vocative ("I see what you mean, alet.") or as a title ("I see, Sarah-alet."); when used thus, has some of the same connotations of politeness among strangers as "Ms. Sarah" would for English speakers. Said "AH leht."
- kara - friend, child; what one calls small children. Pronounced "KAH rah."
The plural form adds -sen: ariisen (many friends), aletsen (many friends, polite/strangers), karasen (many dear children).
Modifiers for family relations exist: -hir (pronounced "hear") for "brother" and -shir (pronounced "shear") for "sister."