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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| HKCanadian Diglot Newbie Canada Joined 5065 days ago 11 posts - 12 votes Speaks: English, Cantonese* Studies: French, Mandarin | Message 9 of 10 13 January 2011 at 11:51pm | IP Logged | ||
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BrandeX: I know what you mean. When I was living in Hong Kong, I'd call chefs, bus drivers and carpenters "si fu" as a sign of respect when asking them for a favour or service. Though I do tend to think of kung fu masters first and foremost when I hear the term "si fu".
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| Ari Heptaglot Senior Member Norway Joined 6583 days ago 2314 posts - 5695 votes  Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese Studies: Czech, Latin, German | Message 10 of 10 14 January 2011 at 1:51am | IP Logged | ||
Well, it's not like the connection between the word "sifu" and martial arts masters is a Western phenomenon. You certainly do use the word with skilled workers, and it can be translated as "master craftsman" or something similar, but the kung fu connection is old and very prevalent in martial arts circles in China. In writing, I'd hesitate to use the form "師父" about a TV repairman, preferring the form "師傅". The "師父" form is accompanied by a host of other titles not applicable to TV repairmen, such as "師母" ("si1 mou5" sifu's wife), "師兄" ("si1 hing1" elder martial brother), "師弟" ("si1 dai6" younger martial brother) and so on. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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