先生 (sensei) is a title for a teacher or respected professional. It is also used to address doctors and some writers, artists, and other specialists. Put it after a surname, as in 田中先生, without さん. A teacher can describe their own job with 先生 or 教師 depending on context.
also sensei / 〜先生 / 教師 / 恩師
teacher · doctor · the person who got there first
Sentences
5 sentences, word by word
〜先生 · the title after a name
polite
。
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山田
やまだ
Yamada
surname · 山 mountain ＋ 田 rice field, among the commonest in Japan
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先生
せんせい ［3］
teacher; doctor — as a title
suffix · takes the さん slot after a surname, and cannot stack with it
先生N5surname ＋ 先生, never ＋ さん
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に
に
to; at; into
particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state
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聞いて
きいて
ask — て-form
て-form of 聞く · the same verb covers asking and listening
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みます
みます
try — and see
polite みる · 〜てみる, do it and find out what happens
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I'll go and ask Dr Yamada.
先生 · as direct address
polite
、。
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先生
せんせい ［3］
sir; ma'am
noun · used alone to address them, with no name and no さん
先生N5address, no name attached
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質問
しつもん ［0］
question
noun · 質 nature ＋ 問 asking; 質問する to ask one
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が
が
marks the subject
particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object
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あります
あります
there is
polite ある · existence, and it covers abstract things like questions
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Sir, I have a question.
〜と呼ばれる · who else gets it
plain
。
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医者
いしゃ ［0］
doctor
noun · 医 medicine ＋ 者 person; お医者さん is the softer form
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も
も
too; as well
particle · replaces を and が, never stacks with them
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先生
せんせい ［3］
sensei
noun · the title travelling well beyond teaching
先生N5doctors, lawyers, artists
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と
と
as — quoting
particle · the quotative と, marking the words someone is called by
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呼ばれる
よばれる
is called
passive of 呼ぶ · 〜と呼ばれる, to be called something
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Doctors get called sensei too.
先生になる · the job, not the title
polite
。
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私
わたし ［0］
I
pronoun · neutral, and usually dropped once it is obvious
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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先生
せんせい ［3］
a teacher — the occupation
noun · here a role you enter, which is why it can describe you at all
先生N5先生になる, become one
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に
に
to; at; into
particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state
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なりたい
なりたい
want to become
たい form of なる · desire, and only ever about the speaker
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です
です
polite ending
copula · sits after たい to make the wish polite
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I want to be a teacher.
呼び捨てにする · dropping the title
plain
。
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先生
せんせい ［3］
a teacher
noun · the person whose title is at stake
先生N5the title you are removing
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を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
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呼び捨て
よびすて ［0］
bare name, no suffix
noun · 呼び calling ＋ 捨て throwing away — the suffix is discarded
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に
に
into — the resulting state
particle · 〜にする, treat something as; here, reduce it to bare name
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しない
しない
do not
plain negative of する · a general rule rather than one occasion
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You don't call a teacher by their bare name.
Forms
How is 先生 used?
先生
As a form of address on its own, the way English uses sir or doctor: 先生、質問があります. No name, and no さん.
Surname＋先生
The title takes the さん slot. 山田先生 is complete; 山田先生さん is a double honorific and 山田さん demotes them.
Subject ＋ の＋先生
Naming what they teach: 数学の先生, ピアノの先生. Also 私の先生 for the one who taught you.
先生＋になる
Here it is the job rather than the title, and it behaves like any other noun: 先生になりたい, I want to be a teacher.
Meaning
What 先生 is actually claiming
It says you got here first. 先 is before and 生 is born — literally born earlier. That is the older sense of the word. Today it names a teacher and serves as a respectful title for certain professionals. Usage depends on social context, not the literal components alone.
So it is not only for teachers. Doctors are 先生, and so are dentists, lawyers, accountants, politicians, novelists and manga artists. What they share is a body of knowledge you are on the receiving end of. Calling a doctor お医者さん to their face is possible and slightly distancing; 先生 is the normal address.
It is a title, so it replaces さん.山田先生 — never 山田先生さん, which stacks two honorifics. 山田さん may sound overly familiar where a title is expected. Similar forms are used with 社長, 部長 and every other rank.
Speaking about your own role. In formal self-introductions, 教師です clearly names your occupation. 先生です can also be natural when describing your work or speaking to children. You can also say 教えています.
Inside the word
先 ＋ 生 — born before you
The literal reading is a claim about time
先 ahead, before — as in お先に and 先週 — and 生 to be born or to live. Someone born ahead of you. The same logic sits under 先輩, 先 plus 輩 fellow, which is the version for people only slightly further along.
Why it cannot go after さん
Japanese allows exactly one honorific per name. A title outranks さん and simply takes its place — 山田先生, 田中社長, 鈴木部長. Stacking them is the mistake 二重敬語 names, and it sounds fussy rather than extra polite.
［3］, with ［0］ also on record
Kanjium gives 先生 ［3］: the fall lands after せんせ, so the final い drops. A flat ［0］ reading is also recorded and is what you often hear inside a name — やまだせんせい run together as one phrase.
Watch out
Where 先生 goes wrong
Saying 先生さん
Two honorifics on one person. 先生 already is the polite form of address, so nothing goes after it — and nothing goes in front of it either except a surname.
Calling yourself 先生
教師 clearly names your occupation in a formal self-introduction. A teacher can also describe themselves as 先生 when the context is clear, especially with children: 先生はね….
Assuming it means teacher
It means the one who knows. A patient calls their surgeon 先生, a reader calls a manga artist 先生, and a constituency calls its representative 先生 — the last one often with an edge on it.
Downgrading someone to さん
If you know the person holds the title, さん is not the safe neutral choice — it is a small demotion, and it is noticed. When you are unsure whether a title applies, さん is fine; once you know, use it.
Also asked
Questions people ask about 先生
What does 先生 (sensei) mean?
Literally born before — 先 ahead plus 生 born. It is a title for anyone whose knowledge puts them ahead of you, which is why it covers teachers, doctors, lawyers, politicians and manga artists alike.
Is 先生 only used for teachers?
No. Doctors and dentists are addressed as 先生 as a matter of course, and so are lawyers, accountants, novelists, manga artists and members of parliament. The common thread is expertise you are on the receiving end of, not a classroom.
What is the difference between 先生 and 先輩?
How far ahead they are. 先輩 is someone a year or two above you in the same school or company — a peer with a head start. 先生 is someone whose knowledge puts them in a different category, and it comes with the deference to match.
Can you say 先生さん?
No. 先生 is itself the honorific and replaces さん rather than joining it. The pattern is surname ＋ title: 山田先生, 田中社長, 鈴木部長.
How do you address your teacher in Japanese?
先生 on its own, exactly as English uses sir or miss, or surname ＋ 先生 when you need to say which one. Never their bare name — 呼び捨て to a teacher is a pointed insult rather than casual friendliness.
What is the difference between 先生 and 教師?
教師 is the occupation and 先生 is the address. You say 教師です about your own work and 先生 about someone else's standing — using 先生 for yourself claims the rank.
References
Sources and usage notes
Kotobank: 先生 — Lists teacher, physician and other respected professional uses of 先生.
