What is "sifu"

n. 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.

Sifu is the Cantonese spelling of shīfu (Mandarin Chinese) that has different meaning depending on the context. It is used as a title for and role of a skillful person or a master. It is written with the Chinese characters 師傅 /师傅 or 師父/师父. The character 師/师 means "skilled person", while the meaning of 傅 is "tutor" and the meaning of 父 is "father". Both characters 傅 and 父 are pronounced fu with the same tones in Cantonese and Mandarin, creating some ambiguity. A similar term often used in Chinese is 老師/老师 (Cantonese Chinese pronunciation: lou5 si1; Mandarin Chinese pronunciation: lǎoshī), meaning "teacher" or literally "old person of skill".

Though pronounced identically and bearing similar meanings, the two terms are distinct and usage is different. The former term (師傅/师傅) bears only the meaning of "master", and is used to express the speaker's general respect for the addressee's skills and experience, and is likewise the term frequently used for cab drivers or other skilled laborers. Thus, for example, a customer may address an automotive mechanic as such. The latter term (師父/师父) bears the dual meaning of "master" and "father", and thus connotes a linearity in a teacher-student relationship. As such, when addressing a tradesperson, it would only be used to address the speaker's own teacher or master. In the preceding example, the mechanic's apprentice would address his or her master as such, but the customer would not. On the other hand, a religious personality, and by extension, experts of Chinese martial arts, can be addressed as "master-father" (師父/师父) or as (師傅/师傅) in all contexts.