선생
seonsaeng · TOPIK 1
teacher
🍎 先生 = first + born: the one born before you, so the one who teaches
Hanja 先 (seon, before/first) + 生 (saeng, born/life). A teacher is literally an elder who got there earlier. Same characters as Chinese xiānsheng and Japanese sensei. Usually said with the honorific 님: 선생님.