Learn Chinese Characters

Meaning

a division (milit.); teacher; master; expert; model

Chinese: 老师、师傅或军队编制。

Hear the Four Tones

The same syllable “shi” becomes a different word in each tone. 师 is the 1st tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.

Stroke Order

Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.

Common Words

  • 老师lǎo shīteacher
  • 教师jiào shīteacher
  • 工程师gōng chéng shīengineer
  • 律师lǜ shīlawyer
  • 师傅shī fumaster; qualified worker; respectful form of address for older men

Example Sentence

张老师是我最喜欢的老师。Zhāng lǎo shī shì wǒ zuì xǐ huan de lǎo shī.Teacher Zhang is my favorite teacher.

Zhāngto open up老师lǎo shīteachershìisIzuìmost喜欢xǐ huanto likedeof老师lǎo shīteacher

Go deeper

Where this character comes from

Simplified from 師. It means ‘a teacher, master; a specialist, expert (工程师); a model, to learn from; an army division’ (老师, 师傅, 师生).

A way to remember it

‘Teacher / master / expert’: 老师 (teacher), 师傅 (master).