Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 醫生 / 医生 | yīshēng |
| 大夫 | dàifu |
| 醫師 / 医师 | yīshī |
These terms are used to refer to a medical professional or doctor. While 醫生 / 医生 is the standard and most widely recognized term, other variations exist depending on the level of formality or the specific type of medicine being practiced, such as 中医师 for a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 醫生 / 医生 (yīshēng) is composed of 醫 (medical/to treat) and 生 (person/scholar/born), literally meaning 'medical person'.
Which one should you use?
醫生 / 医生 (yīshēng) is the most common and standard term for a medical doctor in both spoken and written Chinese. In contrast, 醫師 / 医师 (yīshī) is a more formal, professional term. 大夫 (dàifu) is a colloquial way to refer to a physician.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
醫生 / 医生 is the standard term used in most situations. 醫師 / 医师 is a more formal term often used in official titles, medical documents or academic contexts. 大夫 is a colloquial term.
Is it said differently in some regions?
大夫 (dàifu) is a common colloquial term used primarily in Northern China. In Taiwanese Minnan, the term for physician is I-seng (醫生).
How do you pronounce it?
yīshēng
Did you know?
- When using the colloquial term 大夫 (dàifu), the pronunciation of 'fu' changes from the standard 'fū' to a neutral tone. If you pronounce it with the original tone, it sounds like you are calling someone 'great husband' instead of 'doctor'.
- The term 大夫 (dàifu) originally referred to a high-ranking government official in ancient China, not a medical professional.
- If you are in a hospital in mainland China, you might hear a doctor being called 主任 (zhǔrèn). Although this literally translates to 'director' or 'head', it is a very common way to address senior physicians, functioning much like 'Doctor' in English.
Example sentences for Chinese are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “physician” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
