Laoshi
/ˈlaʊ.ʃiː/; Mandarin [lǎʊ̯˨˩ ʂɻ̩˥]noun
A Mandarin Chinese term meaning teacher, especially used by students when addressing or referring to an instructor.
Did you know?The honorific combines 老, “old,” with 師, “teacher” or “master,” reflecting the traditional association between age, learning, and social authority.
Etymological Timeline
Old Chinese, before 200 CE
Old Chinese
老師 (*rˤuʔ srij)
“Teacher or master; an honorific compound associated with learned authority”
Middle Chinese, 6th–10th centuries
Middle Chinese
老 /lɑuX/ + 師 /ʃˠi/
“Old or venerable + teacher, master”
Late Imperial Chinese, 14th–19th centuries
Written Chinese
老師
“Teacher; a respectful form of address for an instructor or learned person”
20th Century
Mandarin
lǎoshī
“Teacher, instructor, or tutor; pronounced with third tone on lǎo and first tone on shī”
Modern English
English loanword
laoshi
“A Mandarin term used in English-language writing and conversation for a teacher or instructor”