私の先生
watashi no sensei
The Japanese phrase for "my teacher" is 私の先生 (watashi no sensei).
私の先生 is used to refer to a person who teaches the speaker. The term 先生 (sensei) is a common and widely used way to address a teacher formally in Japanese. Notably, 先生 is often used as a title or a direct form of address rather than just a noun.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 私 (watashi, 'I/me'), the possessive particle の (no) and 先生 (sensei, 'teacher').
How do you pronounce it?
watashi no sensei
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often over-use the possessive 私の when referring to people in Japanese. In many contexts, simply saying 先生 is more natural if the relationship is already understood.
Did you know?
- The characters in 先生 literally translate to 'born before', implying that a teacher is someone who has more life experience.
- The word 先生 is used for people who are not teachers, such as doctors, lawyers, authors and politicians.
- In many creative professional circles, such as manga or literature, being addressed as 先生 is a sign of high respect for one's mastery of the craft.
Examples in context
- 彼は私の先生です。He is my teacher.This sentence is useful for identifying someone as my teacher using the pronoun 'he'.Tatoeba #105758 by bunbuku, translation #297929 by CK
- あの方が、私の先生です。That's my teacher.This sentence is useful for pointing out 'that person' as my teacher.Tatoeba #10624296 by small_snow, translation #2094637 by AlanF_US
- その男の人は私の先生です。That man is my teacher.This sentence is useful for identifying 'that man' as my teacher.Tatoeba #1196226 by FiRez, translation #1196228 by FiRez
- Watashi no sensei wa yasashii desu. (私の先生は優しいです。)My teacher is kind.
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ren and Misaki are walking on campus and see a professor.
- 蓮 Ren見て、あそこに私の先生がいるよ。Mite, asoko ni watashi no sensei ga iru yo.Look, my teacher is over there.
- 美咲 Misakiえっ、あの人が私の先生の先生なの？Ett, ano hito ga watashi no sensei no sensei nano?What, that person is your teacher's teacher?
- 蓮 Renうん、すごく親切な先生なんだ。Un, sugoku shinsetsu na sensei nanda.Yeah, they are a very kind teacher.
- 美咲 Misakiいい先生に当たってよかったね、蓮君。Ii sensei ni atatte yokatta ne, Ren-kun.You're lucky to have a good teacher, Ren.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
