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Word file #006Here to stayFamily & teachers

What does shifu mean?

师父shīfu

Say itSHEE-foo/ˈʃiː.fuː/noun (also a title)

Character by character
  1. 师shīteacher
  2. 父fufather

A master or teacher of a skill, especially of Chinese martial arts like kung fu, used as a title or as a way to speak to that teacher.

Written by the Second Language TeamWritten

A shifu is a master or teacher, most often of Chinese martial arts like kung fu and tai chi. Students use it as a title (“Shifu Chen”) and also to speak to their teacher directly (“Yes, Shifu”). Many English speakers first met it as a name. In the 2008 film Kung Fu Panda, Dustin Hoffman voices Shifu, the kung fu master who trains Po [1]. You also meet the word in wuxia novels and dramas, and in games set in old China.

English speakers say SHEE-foo. The Mandarin word is 师父 shīfu (traditional 師父), literally “teacher-father.” 师 shī means “teacher” and 父 means “father.” The first syllable has a high, flat tone. The second is short and light, in the neutral tone, so it loses the falling tone that 父 (fù) has on its own [2]. Many kung fu schools write the Cantonese form, sifu, which is the same word. Shifu is always respectful and fine anywhere. One thing to know: Chinese writes the same sound a second way, 师傅, with a different everyday meaning (see below).

Word stats

Known in English
Kung Fu Panda made Shifu a famous name, but many people think it is only the character’s name, not a real word.
Said in China today
Chinese speakers say shīfu every day, but mostly to taxi drivers and repair workers (师傅), not to kung fu masters.
Polite
Always respectful. Calling someone shifu praises their skill.
Freshness
About as many people look it up as last year. It holds its stance, like a good student.

Spotted in the wild

Kung fu class group chat · Thursday, 9:40 pm
  1. Meishifu wants everyone there at 9 sharp on saturday
  2. You9?? on a saturday??
  3. Meihe says the horse stance doesn’t care what day it is
  4. Youmy legs still care. they remember tuesday

What it means here: Shifu is the class’s kung fu teacher, and the students use it like his name.

Text from a friend in Beijing
  1. Alexlearned my first useful chinese word
  2. Alexyou say 师傅 to the taxi driver and he’s happy
  3. Youwait, like the kung fu panda guy?
  4. Alexsame sound! they call cooks and plumbers shifu too

What it means here: Alex writes 师傅 (shīfu, “master”), the everyday polite word for a skilled worker, which sounds the same as the kung fu master’s 师父.

Comments under a wuxia drama clip
  1. Priyathe way he kneels in the rain and begs the old man to be his shifu 😭
  2. Leoand the old man ignores him for a week first. every single show
  3. Priyayou don’t get a shifu, you earn one

What it means here: Here shifu is the personal master the hero will study under for years, like the “teacher-father” of Chinese stories.

How to use it

  • Shifu + name (as a title)Shifu Wong teaches the Saturday tai chi class.
  • my shifuMy shifu says my kicks look like a tired duck.
  • speaking to the teacher directly“Thank you, Shifu,” she said, and bowed.
  • study / train under a shifuHe trained under a shifu in Hong Kong for ten years.
  • surname + shifu (in Chinese, for skilled workers)Everyone at the garage calls the mechanic Wang shifu.

Don’t say it like this

  • Sounds offshīfù, with a strong falling tone at the end

    Say thisshīfu, with a short, light second syllable

    In this word the second syllable takes the neutral tone, even though 父 is fù on its own [2].

  • Sounds off“SHIFF-oo” (like “sniff”)

    Say this“SHEE-foo”

    The i in shi sounds closer to the ee in “she” than to the i in “ship.”

  • Sounds offMy math shifu gave us so much homework.

    Say thisMy math teacher gave us so much homework.

    A shifu is a master of a skill or craft. A schoolteacher is a teacher, or 老师 lǎoshī in Chinese.

  • Sounds offWriting 师父 on a note to a taxi driver

    Say thisWriting 师傅 on a note to a taxi driver

    In writing, 师傅 is the polite word for a skilled worker. 师父 is for your own teacher.

shifu or not?

Is each of these shifu? Pick an answer to find out.

  1. The kung fu teacher you have trained with every week for five years.

  2. Your university chemistry professor.

  3. In Beijing, you call out to your taxi driver to say you’ve arrived.

  4. A friend who watched one tai chi video last night.

The shifu family

  • sifuThe Cantonese form of the same word, common in kung fu schools.Same master, different dialect. Your kicks still need work in both.
  • 徒弟 túdìAn apprentice or disciple: the student of a shifu.Every shifu needs a túdì. Somebody has to sweep the training hall.
  • senseiThe Japanese word for a teacher or master, known in English from karate and judo.Sensei is from Japan, shifu is from China. Neither one accepts “I forgot” as an excuse.

Same sound, two words: 师父 and 师傅

Spoken Chinese has one sound, shīfu, but written Chinese has two words for it, with different meanings [3]. In Standard Mandarin both are said shīfu, with the second syllable in the neutral tone [2]. So you can only hear the difference from context. You see it in writing.

Point师父 shīfu师傅 shīfu
Traditional characters師父師傅
Characters师 “teacher” + 父 “father”师 “teacher” + 傅 “tutor”
Main useYour own teacher, the master you study underA polite word for anyone with a skill, such as a cook, a driver, or a carpenter [2]
FeelingClose, almost like familyPolite and everyday
Where you meet itKung fu stories, wuxia novels, apprentice lifeTaxis, kitchens, repair shops

In China, people call taxi drivers and repair workers 师傅 all the time, often with the surname first: 李师傅 Lǐ shīfu, “Master Li.” For someone who teaches you a craft, the line is not sharp. An apprentice may call that teacher either 师傅 or 师父 [2].

English shifu is much narrower than either Chinese word. It almost always means a martial-arts master, which is closest to 师父. So if you tell a Chinese friend you met a shifu today, they may first picture your taxi driver.

The master–student bond in these stories works like a family. A student is a 徒弟 túdì (apprentice). Older fellow students are 师兄 shīxiōng (“teacher-older-brother”) and 师姐 shījiě (“teacher-older-sister”). Your teacher’s own teacher is 师公 shīgōng or 师祖 shīzǔ. Sifu is the Cantonese way to say and spell the same characters [3]. Many schools with roots in Hong Kong and southern China still use it.

Sources

  1. Kung Fu Panda (2008) - Dustin Hoffman as ShifuIMDb
  2. “师父”跟“师傅”用法的不同(语文信箱)People's Daily Overseas Edition (人民日报海外版), 2015-04-18
  3. ShifuWikipedia

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