先生
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Chinese
[edit]early; prior; former early; prior; former; in advance; first |
to be born; to give birth; life to be born; to give birth; life; to grow; student; raw | ||
---|---|---|---|
simp. and trad. (先生) |
先 | 生 | |
Literally: “one who was born earlier”. |
Etymology
[edit](This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
[edit]- Mandarin
- (Standard)
- (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): xian1 sen1
- (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): щянсын (xi͡ansɨn, I-I)
- Cantonese (Jyutping): sin1 saang1
- Gan (Wiktionary): xien1 sen
- Hakka
- Jin (Wiktionary): xie1 seng1
- Eastern Min (BUC): sĭng-săng
- Southern Min
- Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): 1shi-san
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄢ ㄕㄥ → ㄒㄧㄢ ˙ㄕㄥ (toneless final syllable variant)
- Tongyong Pinyin: sianshe̊ng
- Wade–Giles: hsien1-shêng5
- Yale: syān-sheng
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shian.sheng
- Palladius: сяньшэн (sjanʹšɛn)
- Sinological IPA (key): /ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵/ → /ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʂɤŋ²/
- (Chengdu)
- Sichuanese Pinyin: xian1 sen1
- Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: xiansen
- Sinological IPA (key): /ɕiɛn⁵⁵ sən⁵⁵/
- (Dungan)
- Cyrillic and Wiktionary: щянсын (xi͡ansɨn, I-I)
- Sinological IPA (key): /ɕiæ̃²⁴ səŋ²⁴/
- (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: sin1 saang1
- Yale: sīn sāang
- Cantonese Pinyin: sin1 saang1
- Guangdong Romanization: xin1 sang1
- Sinological IPA (key): /siːn⁵⁵ saːŋ⁵⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Gan
- (Nanchang)
- Wiktionary: xien1 sen
- Sinological IPA (key): /ɕiɛn⁴² sɛn²/
- (Nanchang)
- Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
- Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sîn-sâng
- Hakka Romanization System: xinˊ sangˊ
- Hagfa Pinyim: xin1 sang1
- Sinological IPA: /sin²⁴⁻¹¹ saŋ²⁴/
- (Meixian)
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
- Jin
- (Taiyuan)+
- Wiktionary: xie1 seng1
- Sinological IPA (old-style): /ɕie¹¹ sə̃ŋ¹¹/
- (Taiyuan)+
- Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
- Bàng-uâ-cê: sĭng-săng
- Sinological IPA (key): /siŋ⁵⁵ (s-)naŋ⁵⁵/
- (Fuzhou)
- Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Tong'an, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Lukang, Sanxia, Kinmen, Magong, Hsinchu, Singapore)
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Yilan, Taichung, Singapore, Penang)
- (Hokkien: Tainan, Singapore)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sian-seⁿ
- Tâi-lô: sian-senn
- Phofsit Daibuun: siensvef
- IPA (Singapore): /siɛn⁴⁴⁻²² sẽ⁴⁴/
- IPA (Tainan): /siɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ sẽ⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sian-seng
- Tâi-lô: sian-sing
- Phofsit Daibuun: siensefng
- IPA (Zhangzhou): /siɛn⁴⁴⁻²² siɪŋ⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Hui'an)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sen-siⁿ
- Tâi-lô: sen-sinn
- Phofsit Daibuun: sensvy
- IPA (Hui'an): /sen³³ sĩ³³/
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
Note: When following a surname, it is read in the neutral tone.
- (Teochew)
- Peng'im: sing1 sên1 / sêng1 sên1
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: sing seⁿ / seng seⁿ
- Sinological IPA (key): /siŋ³³⁻²³ sẽ³³/, /seŋ³³⁻²³ sẽ³³/
- (Teochew)
Note: sêng1 sên1 - Jieyang.
- Middle Chinese: sen sraeng
- Old Chinese
- (Baxter–Sagart): /*sˤər sreŋ|sreŋ/
- (Zhengzhang): /*sɯːn sʰleːŋ/
Noun
[edit]先生
- An honorific for adults, usually conferred on males: mister; sir; gentleman
- husband
- (literal, Classical) one who was born earlier
- 誕彌厥月,先生如達。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11th – 7th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Dàn mí jué yuè, xiānshēng rú dá. [Pinyin]
- When she had fulfilled her months,
Her first-born son [came forth] like a lamb.
诞弥厥月,先生如达。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
- (literary) father and elder brother
- (literary) ancestor
- (literary) Taoist priest
- (Gan, Hakka, Min, dated in Mandarin and Jin) doctor
- (honorific in Mandarin, Jin; common in Cantonese, Gan, Hakka, Min) teacher
- 他在學堂的時候,先生問他:「直隸省的西邊是哪一省?」他說是陝西。先生說:「錯了,是山西,不是陝西。」他說:「陝西同山西,不是差不多嗎?」 [MSC, trad.]
- From: 1924, Hu Shih, Life of Mr. Close Enough
- Tā zài xuétáng de shíhòu, xiānshēng wèn tā: “Zhílì Shěng de xībiān shì nǎ yī shěng?” Tā shuō shì Shǎnxī. Xiānshēng shuō: “Cuò le, shì Shānxī, bùshì Shǎnxī.” Tā shuō: “Shǎnxī tóng Shānxī, bùshì chābùduō ma?” [Pinyin]
- When he went to school, the teacher asked him: "Which province is west of Zhili Province?" He answered Shaanxi. The teacher said: "Wrong, it is Shanxi, not Shaanxi." He said: "Would Shaanxi and Shanxi not be close enough?"
他在学堂的时候,先生问他:「直隶省的西边是哪一省?」他说是陕西。先生说:「错了,是山西,不是陕西。」他说:「陕西同山西,不是差不多吗?」 [MSC, simp.]
- (obsolete or Wu) female prostitute
- (Singapore Hokkien) traditional Chinese physician
Usage notes
[edit]Some females are also referred with the term 先生, however, this term is reserved for older and highly respected ones only, e.g. Soong Ching-ling, He Xiangning and Yang Jiang. For most instances 女士 (nǚshì, “Ms.”) is used. Whether this term can be used for females is still a topic being debated among scholars.
Synonyms
[edit]- (husband):
- (Taoist priest):
- (doctor):
- (teacher):
- (female prostitute):
Derived terms
[edit]Descendants
[edit]Sino-Xenic (先生):
Others:
- → English: sinseh (via Hokkien)
- → Indonesian: sinse, singse, sengsai (via Hokkien)
- → Khmer: ស៊ិនសែ (sɨnsae) (via Teochew)
- → Thai: ซินแส (sin-sɛ̌ɛ), จีนแส (jiin-sɛ̌ɛ) (via Teochew)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- (Min Nan) “Entry #2069”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.
Japanese
[edit]Etymology 1
[edit]Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
先 | 生 |
せん Grade: 1 |
せい Grade: 1 |
kan'on |
From Middle Chinese 先生 (MC sen|senH sraeng|sraengH, literally “born earlier”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]- an elder
- a scholar
- a teacher or a professor
- 1984 February 20 [1983 June 15], Motoka Murakami, “多感な季節の巻 [A Season Full of Emotions]”, in 六三四の剣 [Musashi’s Sword], 4th edition, volume 10 (fiction), Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, pages 161–162:
- 学校のみんなも先生のことさ好いてる……母っちゃすきか⁉
- Gakkō no minna mo Sensei no koto sa suiteru…… Katcha suki ka⁉
- Everybody at school likes Sensei…… Ya like him, Ma⁉
- Mochiron suki yo‼ Honto ni ii sensei desu mono…
- Of course‼ He’s a very good teacher…
- Ora mo suki dā. N demo, Sensei wa Sensei dā… Ora no totcha ni wa narenē!
- Ah like him, too. But Sensei’s only Sensei… He could never be mah pa!
- E…⁉ Sore… hyotto shite, watakushi to Yaegashi Sensei ga kekkon surutte koto……⁉
- What…⁉ Wait… You think I’m gonna marry Yaegashi Sensei……⁉
- 学校のみんなも先生のことさ好いてる……母っちゃすきか⁉
- sensei (Japanese martial arts teacher)
- sir, a polite form of address to teachers, doctors, etc.
Usage notes
[edit]- This is a term of respect, reserved only for speaking about others, and considered somewhat impolite (immodest) to use when referring to oneself. Instead, the term 教師 (kyōshi, “teacher”, literally “teaching + teacher”) is considered more socially appropriate when referring to oneself.
- This is an example of a word that can be spelled with katakana to convey an informal conversational tone, as センセー.
Derived terms
[edit]- 大先生 (daisensei): great teacher, high authority
Descendants
[edit]- → English: sensei
- → French: sensei
- → Hokkien: siăn-sé
- → Korean: 센세이 (sensei)
- → Indonesian: sensei
- → Palauan: sensei
- → Portuguese: sensei
- → Spanish: sensei
- → Yami: sinsi
Suffix
[edit]- a title used after the name of teachers, doctors, lawyers, or certain other professionals
See also
[edit]- 師匠 (shishō): a master, a teacher
- 医師 (ishi): a medical doctor
- 教師 (kyōshi): a teacher
- 教授 (kyōju): a professor
- 弁護士 (bengoshi): an attorney, a lawyer
Etymology 2
[edit]Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
先 | 生 |
しぇん Grade: 1 |
しぇい Grade: 1 |
irregular |
Noun
[edit]References
[edit]- 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.
Korean
[edit]Hanja in this term | |
---|---|
先 | 生 |
Noun
[edit]Okinawan
[edit]Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
先 | 生 |
しん Grade: 1 |
しー Grade: 1 |
on'yomi |
Etymology
[edit]From Middle Chinese 先生 (MC sen|senH sraeng|sraengH). Cognate with Japanese 先生 (sensei), Korean 선생 (seonsaeng), Jeju 선싕 (seonsuing).
Noun
[edit]先生 (shinshī)
Vietnamese
[edit]chữ Hán Nôm in this term | |
---|---|
先 | 生 |
Noun
[edit]先生
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