선생님
seonsaengnim
hanja 先生
teacher
Part of speech · noun
Pattern visualization
Syllable → jamo breakdown (RR romanization)
선
ㅅsinitial+ㅓeomedial+ㄴnfinal
생
ㅅsinitial+ㅐaemedial+ㅇngfinal
님
ㄴninitial+ㅣimedial+ㅁmfinal
先before
生life
Show stroke order animation
6 strokes · 4.1s
5 strokes · 3.4s
Examples
- 선생님, 질문이 있어요.Teacher, I have a question.
- 우리 선생님은 아주 친절해요.Our teacher is very kind.
Collocations
한국어 선생님선생님께담임 선생님
Mnemonic
seonsaeng (先生) = 先 (seon, before/earlier) + 生 (saeng, born) — "the earlier-born", i.e. one who knows first: a teacher. The suffix -nim is a native honorific added to show respect.
Quick check
What does the suffix -nim add to seonsaeng?