Comparing "laoshi" and "jiaoshi"

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教师 and 老师 both are nouns that mean teacher, as in someone who works at a school. 教师 is used in formal situations, whereas 老师 is used in both informal and formal situations. A key difference is that 老师 can be used in a broader sense to include school administrative personnel and those outside of the school setting who possess a wide amount of knowledge.











A2HSK2ASV4567
教师 (jiàoshī) 老师 (lǎoshī)
Meaning teacher teacher
Part of Speech noun noun
Formality formal flexible


When addressing someone who is a teacher or works in school administration use 老师.

Common Phrases

In the following examples 老师 is used.

  • 老师好!
  • 老师,您好!
  • 老师,早上好!

To formal situations or writing oftentimes both 教师 and 老师 can be used interchangeably.

Common Phrases

In the following examples both 教师 and 老师 can be used.

  • 一位~
  • 一名~
  • 当~
  • 历史~
  • 科学~

To describe one’s profession use 老师.

  • 我当老师。

In some set phrases only 教师 can be used

Set Phrases

In the following set phrases only 教师 can be used.

  • 教师节
  • 教师节快乐!

老师 can also be used to as a respectful term of address to describe someone outside the school setting who possess a wide amount of knowledge.