老师
teacher
HSK level
- Pinyin
- lǎoshī
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 1
- Strokes
- 12
- Register
- neutral
- Measure word
- 位 / 个
- In episodes
- 3
Stroke order for 老师
老师 is written with 12 strokes (老: 6, 师: 6). The animation replays automatically.
What does 老师 mean?
老师 (lǎoshī) means 'teacher' — anyone who teaches at any level, from kindergarten to university.
The 老 here does NOT mean 'old'; it's an honorific prefix meaning 'respected / venerable,' the same 老 found in 老板 (boss) and 老朋友 (old friend). Two practical points English speakers miss: first, 老师 is a TITLE used like a name — you call your teacher '老师' directly, or '王老师' (Wang lǎoshī, Teacher Wang). Chinese never says 'Mr./Mrs.
+ surname' for teachers. Second, 老师 is gender-neutral; there's no 'Ms.' equivalent. University professors are usually still called 老师 in everyday speech, even though 教授 (jiàoshòu, professor) exists as a formal title.
Note: 老师 is also a respectful term of address — students call their teacher 老师 directly, or 王老师 (Teacher Wang), the way English speakers might say 'Professor Smith.' Chinese never uses 'Mr.' or 'Ms.' for teachers — always 老师.
Character by character
Memory hook: 老 (respected) + 师 (master) = the respected master = teacher.
Hear 老师 in real episodes
老师 appears in 3 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
在学校，学生学习数学，也有数学老师。
At school, students study maths, and there are also maths teachers.
Former NFL Player Proves a Maths Conjecture
可是，他们在学校前面，说：我们要老师！
But they stand in front of their schools and say: we want teachers!
French High-School Students Walk Out Over Missing Teachers: 250,000 March, Thousands Arrested and 500 Schools Shut
一个大学老师说：美国人喜欢熊猫，也会喜欢中国。
A university teacher said: when Americans like pandas, they'll like China too.
Giant Pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang Land in Atlanta as Panda Diplomacy Returns
Example sentences
他是我的中文老师。
Tā shì wǒ de Zhōngwén lǎoshī.
He is my Chinese teacher.
neutral
老师好！
Lǎoshī hǎo!
Hello, teacher!
polite, spoken
王老师，这个字怎么读？
Wáng lǎoshī, zhè gè zì zěnme dú?
Teacher Wang, how do you read this character?
polite, spoken
我妈妈是老师。
Wǒ māma shì lǎoshī.
My mom is a teacher.
spoken
Common phrases with 老师
Synonyms
教师 is the formal / written term for 'teacher' — used in job descriptions, news, official documents. You'd never call your own teacher 教师. 老师 is the everyday word and the form of address.
教授 is 'professor' — a specific academic rank. Most university instructors are still addressed as 老师 in conversation. Only address someone as 教授 if you know they hold that rank.
Don't confuse 老师 with
Same 老 prefix, different role. 老板 is 'boss / shop owner.' Don't call your teacher 老板.
师傅 is a master craftsman or skilled worker (mechanic, driver, chef). Same 师 character, but 师傅 implies trade skill, not academic teaching.
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 老师 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
You just saw 老师 in 3 episodes. Fluentide keeps feeding you news episodes at your level, so this word — and thousands like it — resurface in real sentences until they stick. Full pinyin and translation every time. Free to start.