What does “kyoushi” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “kyoushi” to mean ‘teacher’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “kyoushi” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “kyoushi”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “kyoushi”.
- kyoushi – 教師 (きょうし) : a noun meaning ‘teacher’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
Native speakers use this noun to refer to teachers in Japanese. It’s also worth mentioning here that this noun is more like a job name and therefore rarely used by students to call their teachers.
The definition and meaning are simple and clear, I think. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Kyoushi in kanji
The kanji expression of “kyoushi” consists of the following two kanji characters:
- 教 : a kanji character widely used to express the act of teaching. This kanji can also be found in other words like “oshieru“.
- 師 : a kanji character often used to mean ‘master’, ‘teacher’, or such in Japanese.
These two kanji characters tell us that “kyoushi” literally means ‘teaching master’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the meaning, but still very understandable, I think. Teachers are teaching masters in some way.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “kyoushi” through the detailed kanji check above.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “kyoushi” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “teacher” in Japanese
watashi no musume wa kyoushi desu – 私の娘は教師です (わたしのむすめはきょうしです)
My daughter is a teacher.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make its possessive case, “watashi no“, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
- musume – 娘 (むすめ) : a noun meaning ‘daughter’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi no musume” to make the subject in the sentence.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of the Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “kyoushi” to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “kyoushi”. In the example, it refers to the job of the speaker’s daughter.
Example #2: another usage of “kyoushi”
boku no yume wa kyoushi ni naru koto desu – 僕の夢は教師になることです (ぼくのゆめはきょうしになることです)
My dream is to become a teacher.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
- yume – 夢 (ゆめ) : a noun meaning ‘dream’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say what someone or something becomes after a change or action. In the example, this is used after “kyoushi” to say what the speaker wants to become.
- naru – なる : a verb meaning ‘to become’, ‘to turn’, ‘to get’, or just ‘to be’ in Japanese.
- koto – こと : a noun, but often used as a noun clause marker. In the example, this is used after “kyoushi ni naru” to indicate the noun clause in the sentence. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this word is very similar to that of “that”.
This is another typical usage of “kyoushi”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun clause, “kyoushi ni naru koto”, which literally means ‘to become a teacher’ in Japanese.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “kyoushi” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- kyoushi – 教師 (きょうし) : a noun meaning ‘teacher’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Native speakers use this noun to refer to teachers in Japanese. It’s also worth mentioning here that this noun is more like a job name and therefore rarely used by students to call their teachers. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘teaching master’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the meaning, but still very understandable, I think. Teachers are teaching masters in some way.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.