先生

xiānsheng

Mr.; husband; teacher (formal)

Type: NounsHSK 1
Character origin

先 (first) + 生 (to be born). The one born first (in wisdom or age) — hence 'mister' and 'teacher'.

Did you know?

It also means 'husband' in some contexts ('my mister'). It's a formal title. For married women you use 太太 (tàitai) or 夫人 (fūrén).

Example sentence

李先生是老师。

Lǐ xiānsheng shì lǎoshī.

Mr. Li is a teacher.

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