![]() ![]() For Hokkien and Teochew communities in Singapore and Malaysia, " Sensei" is the proper word to address school teachers. It is likely both the current Southern Chinese and Japanese usages are more reflective of its Middle Chinese etymology. In Japanese, sensei is still used to address people of both genders. Prior to the development of the modern vernacular, xiānshēng was used to address teachers of both genders this has fallen out of usage in Standard Chinese, though it is retained in some southern Chinese Chinese varieties such as Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew and Hakka, where it still has the meaning "teacher" or "doctor". ![]() In modern Standard Chinese, it is used in the same way as the title "Mr". Middle Chinese pronunciation of this term may have been * senʃaŋ or * sienʃaŋ. Xiansheng was a courtesy title for a man of respected stature. The Japanese expression of 'sensei' shares the same characters as the Chinese word 先生, pronounced xiānshēng in Standard Chinese. For a more senior member of a group who has not achieved the level of sensei, the term senpai ( 先輩) is used – note the common use of 先 "before" in martial arts, this is particularly used for the most senior non-sensei member. This compound term, "dai-sensei" (大先生), is sometimes used to refer to the top sensei in a particular school or tradition, particularly within the iemoto system. The word prefaced by the adjective 大, pronounced "dai" (or "ō"), which means "great" or "large", is often translated " grand master". The two characters that make up the term can be directly translated as "born before" and imply one who teaches based on wisdom from age and experience.
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