SirSamuel

Ooh ooh, I know how to get on a list!

Ahem

Luigi did nothing wrong

Lol i feel ya

*pedant

Oh yeah, dropping the 님 makes total sense, I just didn't know if there was another word used besides "선생" for teacher in a general sense.

Don't worry about your English, it's better than mine and I'm a native speaker and occasional pedant. Your comment absolutely makes sense.

♥️

That can be the challenge with Chief as well, it's often said in a masculine context. Boss and Captain don't have the same challenges (although penal culture can affect when Boss is appropriate to use)

Found Obama

Hat tipping intensifies

Could… could it be summed up… like considering cultural context, including historical respect for certain vocations, and Confucian influences in earlier centuries, as a word like, I don't know, Teacher?

I kid I kid, i get what you're saying, but teacher is generally accepted as the English translation for 선생님 to the best of my knowledge. Granted, I haven't studied the language for almost 20 years but I think that's still the case, yes?

Also, and genuinely curious here, what is used for "teacher" in a school setting? Like I can see a little kid saying 제 선생님은 재미있서 because of how 선생님 is used. But if a teenager said their teacher sucks what word would they use?

If we're going non-English, I'd prefer to address people like Death of Rats

The Death of Rats materialized behind the heap in the forge, and trudged to the sad little heap of fur that had been a rat that got in the way of the scythe. Its ghost was standing beside it, looking apprehensive. It didn’t seem very pleased to see him. “Squeak? Squeak?” SQUEAK, the Death of Rats explained. “Squeak?” SQUEAK, the Death of Rats confirmed. “[Preen whiskers] [twitch nose]?” The Death of Rats shook its head. SQUEAK. The rat was crestfallen. The Death of Rats laid a bony but not entirely unkind paw on its shoulder. SQUEAK. The rat nodded sadly.

• Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett