You can describe a student in the same year or cohort as you as your 同学 (tóng xué) – schoolmate (literally “same study”), or 同班 (tóng bān) – classmate (literally “same class”).īut, students in the years above you are 学长 (xué zhǎng) if male (literally “study elder”) or 学姐 (xué jiě) if female (literally “study big sister”), while guys in the years below are 学弟 (xué dì) (“study little brother”) and girls are 学妹 (xué mèi) (you’ve guessed it, “study little sister”). However, the ways students talk about each other are more complicated. Teachers typically refer to students by their names, or simply 学生 (xué sheng) – student. In fact, the Mandarin word 老师 (lǎo shī) is infused with so much respect that people who are highly admired for their knowledge and skills are often called 老师 (lǎo shī) even if they don’t actually work as teachers.Ģ. When I taught high school in China, my students would typically start the class by standing up and shouting “老师好 (lǎo shī hǎo)” in unison (which can be pretty loud when there are 60 teenagers in one small classroom!). Wang”, you should say:Īnd, instead of saying “您好 (nín hǎo) – hello”, you should say: Teachers in China are addressed as 老师 (lǎo shī) – teacher.įor example, instead of saying “Mr.
When I was at school in the UK, we called all of our teachers “Mr.” or “Ms.”īut, if I called my Professors in China “先生 (xiān sheng) – Mr.” or “女士 (nǚ shì) – Ms.”, they’d think I was extremely strange, or even downright rude. That’s why – as a former teacher and current PhD student in China – I’m sharing the most important things I’ve learned about Chinese classroom etiquette in this blog post. Chinese people view hard study in the classroom (and hours of homework after school!) as the ticket to a better life.īecause they spend so much time at school, 老师 (lǎo shī) – teachers, 学生 (xué sheng) – students, and 同学 (tóng xué) – schoolmates play a huge role in each other’s lives.Īnd, that means if you want to understand the formative years of your Chinese friends and colleagues, or you are preparing to study or teach in China, understanding Chinese classroom etiquette is crucial.
One of the first things I learned about Chinese culture is that education is super important.
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