先生 vs 教師
JLPT N5 vocabulary · what is the difference?
先生 is a title and a way of addressing someone — teachers, but also doctors, lawyers and other experts. 教師 is the name of the occupation, the word you write on a form or use to describe what someone does. Never call your teacher 教師さん; you address them as 先生, or as 名前 plus 先生.
When to use each
先生
せんせい
Use 先生 to address or refer to someone with respect, on its own or after their family name. It covers teachers, doctors, lawyers, writers and others, and it already carries respect, so no さん is added.
田中先生、質問があります。
たなかせんせい、しつもんがあります。
Tanaka-sensei, I have a question.
病院で山田先生に診てもらいました。
びょういんでやまだせんせいにみてもらいました。
Dr Yamada examined me at the hospital.
教師
きょうし
Use 教師 as a neutral job label: on forms, in job listings, and when stating someone's profession. It is never used to address a person and never takes さん.
職業の欄に教師と書きました。
しょくぎょうのらんにきょうしとかきました。
I wrote "teacher" in the occupation box.
姉は中学校の教師です。
あねはちゅうがっこうのきょうしです。
My older sister is a junior-high teacher.
Sentences where only one works
先生、おはようございます。
せんせい、おはようございます。
Good morning, sensei.
Addressing someone is the one job 教師 can never do. Only 先生 works here.
兄は高校の教師をしています。
あにはこうこうのきょうしをしています。
My older brother works as a high-school teacher.
Talking about your own family to an outsider calls for the neutral 教師; 先生 would put respectful language on your own relative.
教師になるために大学で勉強しています。
きょうしになるためにだいがくでべんきょうしています。
I am studying at university to become a teacher.
This is about the profession, so 教師 is the standard choice. 先生になる is also said, and sounds slightly more everyday.
日本語の先生はとても優しいです。
にほんごのせんせいはとてもやさしいです。
My Japanese teacher is very kind.
Referring to your own teacher takes 先生. 教師 would sound like you were describing a stranger in a report.
Common mistakes
教師さん、ありがとうございました。
先生、ありがとうございました。
教師 is a job label, not a form of address, and it never takes さん. To a Japanese ear this is like calling someone "Mr Occupation" — clearly wrong, and slightly comic.
私の父は先生です。
私の父は教師です。
When you tell an outsider what your own family member does, you use plain, humble language. 先生 puts a respectful title on your father, which sounds boastful.
先生さんに聞いてください。
先生に聞いてください。
先生 is itself an honorific title, so adding さん doubles it up. The title alone is already polite.
Frequently asked questions
Can I call my teacher 教師?
No. Use 先生, either alone or after their family name. 教師 describes the job from the outside and sounds cold when aimed at a person.
Why are doctors called 先生?
先生 is a title for anyone whose expertise you are relying on — doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers, instructors. Teaching is only one of its uses.
Which do I write on a form?
教師. Forms and job listings want the neutral occupation word, and 先生 would look out of place there.