先生
Chinese
early; prior; former; in advance; first |
to be born; to give birth; life; to grow; student; raw | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| simp. and trad. (先生) |
先 | 生 | |
| Literally: “one who was born earlier”. | |||
Pronunciation
Noun
先生
- An honorific for adults, usually conferred on males. mister; sir
- husband
- (literary) one who was born earlier
- (literary) father and elder brother
- (literary) ancestor
- (literary) Taoist priest
- (Gan, Hakka, Min, dated in Mandarin and Jin) doctor
- (Cantonese, Gan, Hakka, Min, dated in Mandarin, honorific in Jin) teacher
- 他在學堂的時候，先生問他：「直隸省的西邊是哪一省？」他說是陝西。先生說：「錯了，是山西，不是陝西。」他說：「陝西同山西，不是差不多嗎？」 [MSC, trad.]
- From: 1924: Hu Shih, Life of Mr. Close Enough
- Tā zài xuétáng de shíhòu, xiānshēng wèn tā: “Zhílì Shěng de xībiān shì nǎ yī shěng?” Tā shuō shì Shǎnxī. Xiānshēng shuō: “Cuò le, shì Shānxī, bùshì Shǎnxī.” Tā shuō: “Shǎnxī tóng Shānxī, bùshì chābùduō ma?” [Pinyin]
- When he went to school, the teacher asked him: "Which province is west of Zhili Province?" He answered Shaanxi. The teacher said: "Wrong, it is Shanxi, not Shaanxi." He said: "Would Shaanxi and Shanxi not be close enough?"
他在学堂的时候，先生问他：“直隶省的西边是哪一省？”他说是陕西。先生说：“错了，是山西，不是陕西。”他说：“陕西同山西，不是差不多吗？” [MSC, simp.]
- (archaic) female prostitute
Synonyms
| Dialectal synonyms of 老師 (“teacher”) [map] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Variety | Location | Words |
| Classical Chinese | 師 | |
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 教師 | |
| Mandarin | Beijing | 老師 |
| Taiwan | 老師 | |
| Jinan | 老師、先生 | |
| Xi'an | 老師、先生 | |
| Wuhan | 老師、教師 | |
| Chengdu | 老師、先生 | |
| Yangzhou | 教師、先生、老師 | |
| Hefei | 教師、老師、先生 | |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | 老師、先生 |
| Hong Kong | 老師、先生、阿Sir male、搣匙 female | |
| Taishan | 老師、先生 | |
| Yangjiang | 老師、先生 | |
| Gan | Nanchang | 老師、先生 |
| Hakka | Meixian | 老師、先生 |
| Jin | Taiyuan | 老師、先生 |
| Min Bei | Jian'ou | 老師、先生 |
| Min Dong | Fuzhou | 先生、老師 |
| Min Nan | Xiamen | 先生、老師 |
| Quanzhou | 先生、老師 | |
| Zhangzhou | 先生、老師、教學仔、教冊仔 | |
| Taipei | 先生、老師 | |
| Kaohsiung | 先生、老師 | |
| Tainan | 先生、老師 | |
| Taichung | 先生、老師 | |
| Hsinchu | 先生 | |
| Lukang | 先生、老師 | |
| Sanxia | 先生、老師 | |
| Yilan | 先生、老師 | |
| Kinmen | 先生 | |
| Magong | 先生 | |
| Penang | 先生、老師 | |
| Wu | Shanghai | 老師、教師、教書先生 |
| Suzhou | 教師、教書先生 | |
| Wenzhou | 教師、教書先生、先生 | |
| Xiang | Changsha | 老師、教書先生 |
| Shuangfeng | 老師、教書先生 | |
Descendants
Derived terms
|
See also
References
- (Min Nan) “Entry #2069”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (in Chinese and Min Nan), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2011.
Japanese
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 先 | 生 |
| せん Grade: 1 |
せい Grade: 1 |
| on’yomi | |
Etymology
From Middle Chinese compound 先生 (sen sræng, literally “first + to be born”).
Pronunciation
Noun
先生 (hiragana せんせい, rōmaji sensei)
- one who was born earlier: an elder
- one who excels at a subject: a scholar
- one who teaches: a teacher or professor
- sensei (Japanese martial arts teacher)
- sir, a polite form of address to teachers, doctors, etc.
Usage notes
This is a term of respect, reserved only for speaking about others, and considered somewhat impolite (immodest) to use when referring to oneself. Instead, the term 教師 (kyōshi, “teacher”, literally “teaching + teacher”) is considered more socially appropriate when referring to oneself.
Derived terms
Derived terms
- 大先生 (daisensei): great teacher, high authority
Suffix
先生 (hiragana せんせい, rōmaji -sensei)
- a title used after the name of teachers, doctors, lawyers, or certain other professionals
See also
References
- 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.
Korean
| Hanja in this term | |
|---|---|
| 先 | 生 |
Noun
先生 • (seonsaeng) (hangeul 선생)
Vietnamese
| Hán tự in this word | |
|---|---|
| 先 | 生 |
Noun
先生
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