Teacher in Chinese

Known as the "engineer of the human soul", teacher is one of the most well-respected professions in human society. In Chinese history and culture, teacher plays a significant role as well, and we use "laoshi" to call teacher in Chinese. The word originally refers to senior scholars or academic teachers, and this can be traced back to the biography of Mencius Xunqing in the Historical Records.

The following part of this passage will firstly introduce the pronunciation and using scenario of "laoshi", and different types of "laoshi", as well as its synonyms will be discussed, including their pronunciations and differences.

Pronunciation

"Laoshi" consists of two characters. "Lao" is a prefix with the meaning of old, "Shi" means teacher, so the direct translation of "laoshi" is "old teacher" in English. But the character "lao" here is not related to the actual age of teacher, instead, it is an expression of respect. "Lǎoshī" is how it pronunce in Chinese, which is similar to /l aʊ ʃ/ in English.  

Using Scenario

"Laoshi" is used as a title. In Chinese culture, directly call teachers by their names is very disrespectful, therefore, you can either address your teacher as "laoshi", or add teachers' surname or full name in front of the title "laoshi".

Different Types of "laoshi"

Except for the most well-known title "laoshi", there are a few ways to call teacher in Chinese, based on different categories. For example, teachers target at students at different stages are called differently, "yòu'ér lǎoshī", "xiǎoxué lǎoshī", "zhōngxué lǎoshī", "dàxué lǎoshī", "quánzhí lǎoshī" are the exclusive appellations for kindergarten teachers, primary school teachers, secondary school teachers, university teachers and full-time teachers respectively.

Synonym of "Laoshi"

There are several synonyms for "laoshi" in Chinese, the following passages will introduce three main appellations, "jiaoshi", "daoshi" and "shifu", which means school teacher, mentor and master respectively.

School Teacher: Jiàoshī /jy aʊ ʃ/  

"Jiaoshi" is pronounced as "jiàoshī" in Chinese, which refers to teachers in a mainstream education system. Compared with "laoshi", it is more formal, and is more frequently used in written language, rather than in oral.

Mentor in Chinese: Dǎoshī /d aʊ ʃ/  

"Daoshi" is pronounced as "dǎoshī", who plays a role of guiding or mentoring in certain subjects. Usually, "daoshi" work in institutions of higher education.

Master: Shīfù /ʃ f/  

"Shifu" is pronounced as "shīfù", which means master in Chinese. When artisans or craftsmen teach or work in some industries requiring sophisticated craft and technical skills, we call them "shifu". It does not matter whether the person is indeed a teacher or professional master, as long as he/she is good in this specific field. During an apprenticeship, "shifu" can also be a mentor or a teacher.