Example sentences
lǎo老shī师hǎo好！
Hello, teacher!
wáng王lǎo老shī师bù不zài在。
Teacher Wang isn't here.
The story behind the character
老
A bent, stooped figure leaning on a cane, hair hanging loose. Xu Shen wrote 老, 考也. 七十曰老. One character, the whole back view of an old person.
师
The traditional 師 meant an army. 2,500 men made one 师. Xu Shen wrote 师, 二千五百人为师. Only later did it come to mean a teacher. So the 师 in "teacher" was once an army of 2,500.