teacher
HSK level
老师 is written with 12 strokes (老: 6, 师: 6). The animation replays automatically.
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.
老师 appears in 2 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
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
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.
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.
Acquire it by listening
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