老师好
lǎo shī hǎo
Hello teacher · trad. 老師好
老师好 (lǎo shī hǎo) is the standard and most common way to greet a teacher, professor, or instructor in Mandarin Chinese. It's a respectful and appropriate greeting for anyone in an educational role.
When to use it
Polite and respectful. It's suitable for all academic settings, from elementary school to university. While 您好 (nín hǎo) is generally more formal, 老师好 already conveys sufficient respect. You can also simply say 老师 (lǎo shī) to address them, which implies a greeting.
How to pronounce it
Sounds like “LAO-shur HOW.” The first syllable 'lao' is a falling-rising tone, 'shi' is a flat tone, and 'hao' is a rising tone due to tone sandhi with 'shi' (though 'shi' is not a third tone, 'hao' still often takes a rising tone in this common phrase, or a full third tone if emphasized).
Other ways to say it
- 您好，老师nín hǎo ， lǎo shīhello, teacher (more polite/formal)
- 老师lǎo shīteacher (simple address, implies greeting)
- 老师，早上好lǎo shī ， zǎo shàng hǎogood morning, teacher
Examples
老师好！您今天怎么样？
lǎo shī hǎo ！ nín jīn tiān zěn me yàng ？
Hello teacher! How are you today?
老师好，请问这个字怎么写？
lǎo shī hǎo ， qǐng wèn zhè ge zì zěn me xiě ？
Hello teacher, how do you write this character?
同学们，老师好！
tóng xué men ， lǎo shī hǎo ！
Students, hello teacher! (often said by a class leader or in unison)
Pro tip: Unlike '你好' (nǐ hǎo), where the '好' comes after the pronoun, '老师好' places '老师' (teacher) first. This is the natural and respectful order for greeting someone by their title.
Related phrases
和平 · Peace钱 · Money闭嘴 · Shut up
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