大夫

dàifu
noun HSK 3 #3,299

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 doctor (colloquial)

Characters

Literally 'great man.' Originally an official rank in ancient China; now colloquially means 'doctor' (pronounced dàifu).

Examples

Nǐ qù kàn dàifu le ma?
Did you go see the doctor?
Dàifu shuō méi shénme dà wèntí.
The doctor said there's no big problem.
Zhè wèi dàifu yīshù hěn gāo.
This doctor has great medical skills.

Tips

grammar
As 'doctor,' 大夫 is pronounced dàifu (with a neutral second tone). In ancient Chinese, 大夫 (dàfū) was a high official rank — different pronunciation, different meaning!
usage
大夫 is colloquial and mostly used in northern China. 医生 (yīshēng) is the standard/formal word for doctor used everywhere.

Stroke Order