先生
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- 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-san1
- 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 Neipu)
- Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sîn-sâng
- Hakka Romanization System: xinˊ sangˊ
- Hagfa Pinyim: xin1 sang1
- Sinological IPA: /sin²⁴⁻¹¹ saŋ²⁴/
- (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
- Hakka Romanization System: sinˋ sangˋ
- Sinological IPA: /sin⁵³ saŋ⁵³/
- (Meixian)
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
- 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
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
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
- (husband):
- (Taoist priest):
- (doctor):
- (teacher):
- (female prostitute):
Derived terms
Descendants
Sino-Xenic (先生):
Others:
See also
References
- (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.
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