"教師" (Kyōshi) Vs. "先生" (Sensei): What Sets Them Apart?

(Joy bowing to a doctor [Sensei] vs. Joy writing her occupation on a resume [Kyoushi])

“Good morning, Tanaka-sensei!”
“My occupation is Kyoushi.”
If you look up “Teacher” in a dictionary, you will find both 先生 (Sensei) and 教師 (Kyōshi). However, mixing them up can make you sound either very strange or surprisingly arrogant! Let’s learn the golden rule of titles vs. professions.

🗣 Conversation Scene

Joy is updating her teacher profile for JPLT Online School.

Joy

ケンさん、オンラインスクールのプロフィールを書きました！
「私の職業（しょくぎょう）は先生（せんせい）です」でいいですか？
(Ken, I wrote my profile for the online school! Is “My occupation is Sensei” okay?)

Ken

Joyさん、自分の仕事には「教師（きょうし）」を使いますよ。
「先生」は敬称（Title of respect）だから、自分で使うと少し偉（えら）そうに聞こえます。
(Joy, for your own job, you use “Kyōshi”. Since “Sensei” is a title of respect, using it for yourself sounds a bit arrogant.)

💡 Explanation

Title vs. Objective Profession

1. 先生 (Sensei) = Master / Title of Respect

Focus: Showing respect to others
“Sensei” literally means “born before” (one who has experience). It is used to address teachers, doctors, lawyers, politicians, and artists (like manga creators).
Rule: You use it for OTHERS. Do not use it for your own profession in formal contexts.

田中先生（たなかせんせい）。
(Professor/Mr. Tanaka.)
先生、質問（しつもん）があります。
(Teacher/Doctor, I have a question.)

2. 教師 (Kyōshi) = Profession of Teaching

Focus: Objective Job Category
“Kyōshi” simply means the occupation of educating people in a classroom/school setting. It carries no honorific respect. You use it on resumes, official documents, or when stating your job.

私の職業（しょくぎょう）は教師です。
(My profession is a teacher. *Correct way to introduce yourself*)
日本語（にほんご）の教師。
(Japanese language teacher [as a job title].)

📊 Comparison Table

Word	Function	Can I use it for myself?	Name + Suffix?
先生 (Sensei)	Title of Respect (Doctors, Masters, etc.)	NO ❌ (Sounds arrogant)	YES ⭕️ (Tanaka-sensei)
教師 (Kyōshi)	Objective Job Category	YES ⭕️ (For resumes/intros)	NO ❌ (*Tanaka-kyoshi is weird)

🚧 Joy’s Mistake

(Joy is greeting her Japanese language teacher, Mr. Honda)

❌ Wrong: おはようございます、本田 教師（きょうし）！
(Error: “Kyoshi” is a job category, not a name suffix. It sounds like you are saying “Good morning, Honda the Educator unit.”)

✅ Right: おはようございます、本田 先生（せんせい）！
(Correct: Use “Sensei” as the respectful title attached to names.)