xiān sheng
Monsieur; monsieur
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你好，先生。
Nǐ hǎo, xiānsheng.
Hello, sir.
这位先生是我们的老师。
Zhè wèi xiānsheng shì wǒmen de lǎoshī.
This gentleman is our teacher.
先生，您要买什么？
Xiānsheng, nín yào mǎi shénme?
Sir, what would you like to buy?
老师 (lǎoshī)
teacher
先生 (xiānsheng)
mister
师傅 (shīfu)
master
女士 (nǚshì)
Ms.
小姐 (xiǎojiě)
Miss
The Chinese word 先生 (xiānshēng) is composed of two characters: 先 (xiān) and 生 (shēng). The character 先 originally meant "first" or "before", but over time it came to be used in a more general sense to mean "superior" or "honorable". The character 生 originally meant "to give birth" or "to grow", but it also came to be used in a more general sense to mean "person" or "life". When these two characters are combined, they form the word 先生, which literally means "superior person" or "honorable person". This word is often used as a title of respect for men, similar to the English word "Mr." or "Sir". It can also be used as a term of address for teachers or other respected figures.
