Comparing "laoshi" and "jiaoshi"
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.
| 教师 (jiàoshī) | 老师 (lǎoshī) | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | teacher | teacher |
| Part of Speech | noun | noun |
| Formality | formal | flexible |
Contents
- 1 When addressing someone who is a teacher or works in school administration use 老师.
- 2 To formal situations or writing oftentimes both 教师 and 老师 can be used interchangeably.
- 3 To describe one’s profession use 老师.
- 4 In some set phrases only 教师 can be used
- 5 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.
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！
