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Definition 2024

sifu

sifu

See also: sìfú

English

Alternative forms

shifu (from Mandarin), see 師傅／师傅 (shīfu)

Noun

sifu ‎(plural sifu or sifus)

A pair of Cantonese terms, homophones, used in English to mean "master" or "teacher" in the context of martial arts, especially kung fu and tai chi, also used to denote "spiritual father" in esoteric uses.

Translations

martial arts instructor

Chinese:

Cantonese: 師傅, 师傅 ‎(si¹ fu⁶, si¹ fu²)

Mandarin: 師傅 (zh), 师傅 (zh) ‎(shīfu)

Min Nan: 師傅 (zh-min-nan), 师傅 ‎(sai-hū)
Finnish: mestari (fi)
French: sifu m, f, shifu m, f
German: Shifu m, f

Japanese: 先生 (ja) ‎(せんせい, sensei)
Korean: 사부 (ko) ‎(sabu), 선생님 (ko) ‎(seonsaengnim)
Persian: سی‌فو ‎(si-fu)
Russian: ши́фу m, f ‎(šífu), си́фу m, f ‎(sífu), ма́стер (ru) m ‎(máster)
Sanskrit: गुरु (sa) m ‎(guru)

Synonyms

(martial arts): sensei
(esoteric): guru

Anagrams

Sufi