A respectful term for a teacher, master, or mentor, often used in traditional arts, crafts, or as a title.
彼は私の書道の師です。
He is my calligraphy teacher.
He studied painting, looking up to that painter as his mentor.
師の教えを守る。
I follow my master's teachings.
Used for founders or leaders of religious sects, often as a suffix (e.g., 教祖, 法師).
その宗派の師は多くの信者に尊敬されている。
The religious leader of that sect is respected by many followers.
Suffix attached to professions or roles to indicate a specialist (e.g., 医師, 技師, 教師).
彼は有名な医師です。
He is a famous doctor.
彼は有名な占い師だ。
He is a famous fortune-teller.
brigade of 2500 men (Zhou dynasty)
Historical military unit in ancient China; rarely encountered outside historical texts.
周王朝の軍隊では、師は二千五百人から成る部隊を指した。
In the Zhou dynasty army, a 'shi' referred to a unit of 2500 soldiers.
She continues making pottery with a famous potter as her teacher.
師匠 specifically names the master of a traditional art or craft under whom one apprentices, whereas 師 is a broader term for any respected teacher or mentor.
弟子 is the disciple who studies under a 師, making the two words a direct teacher-student pair rather than opposites in meaning.
士 and 師 share the reading し and both appear as professional suffixes (弁護士 vs 医師), but 士 marks a qualified specialist or warrior-class figure while 師 marks a teacher or master figure.
When counting a 師 as a person, the general people-counter 人 is used since 師 is a role or title rather than a distinct physical object.
From Middle Chinese 師 (srij, “master, teacher, specialist”). The historical military sense is also derived from the same Chinese root.
fortune teller; diviner; soothsayer
engineer; technician
division (military)
officiating priest; presiding priest · religious teacher; high-ranking priest · guru; instructor
strategist; tactician; schemer
Buddhist priest; bonze · layman dressed like a priest · person (suffix)
missionary
former teacher; mentor
study under; be a pupil of; apprentice oneself to
hunter; huntsman
teacher and student; master and disciple
great teacher; high Buddhist master
clown
gardener
holy master; guru
old master; venerable teacher · old monk; aged priest
swindler; con artist; crook
prospector · speculator · adventurer; impostor; con artist
December; twelfth month of the lunar calendar
Zen master; high-ranking Zen monk
fatherly master; revered teacher
founder of a sect; patriarch