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HSK 4

大夫

doctor (colloquial)

nouncolloquial
大
dà4th tone
夫
funeutral tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
dàifu
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 4
Strokes
7
Register
colloquial
Measure word
位 / 个

Stroke order for 大夫

大夫 is written with 7 strokes (大: 3, 夫: 4). The animation replays automatically.

What does 大夫 mean?

大夫 (dàifu) is the everyday spoken word for a medical doctor or physician, especially the one you see at a clinic or hospital.

It is a colloquial northern-flavored term that is fully standard across Mandarin and slightly warmer and more familiar than the neutral 医生 (yīshēng). The seed translation 'senior official in imperial China' refers to the historical reading dàfū (大夫), a completely different word that survives only in classical contexts; in modern conversation 大夫 always means 'doctor' and is pronounced dàifu with a neutral tone on 夫.

English speakers should note two things: the tone reading is irregular (夫 loses its first tone), and you address a doctor directly as 大夫 the way English uses 'Doctor' — 王大夫 (Dr. Wang) — rather than by first name.

Note: Read dàifu (not dàfū) when it means 'doctor.' The dàfū reading is a separate, archaic meaning ('senior official in imperial China') and is not used in daily speech.

Character by character

大dàbig; great
+
夫fuman; here part of the doctor word (toneless)
=
大夫

Example sentences

你最好去看大夫。

Nǐ zuì hǎo qù kàn dàifu.

You'd better go see a doctor.

spoken

王大夫，我肚子疼。

Wáng dàifu, wǒ dùzi téng.

Dr. Wang, my stomach hurts.

spoken

这位大夫很有经验。

Zhè wèi dàifu hěn yǒu jīngyàn.

This doctor is very experienced.

neutral

大夫说我需要多休息。

Dàifu shuō wǒ xūyào duō xiūxi.

The doctor said I need to rest more.

neutral

Common phrases with 大夫

看大夫kàn dàifuto see a doctor
找大夫zhǎo dàifuto find/get a doctor
王大夫Wáng dàifuDr. Wang
牙科大夫yákē dàifudentist

Synonyms

医生yīshēng

医生 is the neutral, slightly more formal word for doctor, standard everywhere and preferred in writing. 大夫 is warmer and more colloquial, common in northern speech and when addressing a doctor directly.

Don't confuse 大夫 with

大人dàren

大人 means 'adult' or historically a term of respect for an official. Different word — don't confuse the 夫 in 大夫 (doctor) with the 人 in 大人 (adult).

FAQ

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