Word.ws English Dictionary

sifu

sifu noun: a master or teacher in the context of martial arts, especially kung fu and tai chi.

Noun

sifu (plural sifu or sifus)

  1. A master or teacher in the context of martial arts, especially kung fu and tai chi.
    • Who is -- don't get cute with me, you dumb bastard, I'm your sifu.1998, Dana Stabenow, Fire and Ice, page 134
    • [Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen):] Good morning, sifu Toph.
    • [Katara (Mae Whitman):] Hey, you never call me sifu Katara.2006 June 2, Aaron Ehasz, “Bitter Work” (1:55 from the start), in Ethan Spaulding, director, Avatar: The Last Airbender, season 2 (Book Two: Earth), episode 9, spoken by Aang and Katara (Zach Tyler...
  2. A spiritual father in esoteric contexts.
    Synonyms:
    guru

sifu meaning in Sanskrit and Persian

sifu in Sanskrit

martial arts instructor
गुरु guru

sifu in Persian

martial arts instructor
سیفو si-fu

Synonyms of sifu

Forms of sifu

pluralsifu
pluralsifus
alternative formshifu

Origin of sifu

From Cantonese 師傅／师傅 (si1 fu6-2, “master”) and 師父／师父 (si1 fu6-2, “my master”), both also conveying the sense of teacher.

Questions about sifu

What does sifu mean?
Sifu means a master or teacher in the context of martial arts, especially kung fu and tai chi.
What is sifu in Sanskrit?
Sifu in Sanskrit is गुरु (guru). See Sifu meaning in Sanskrit.
What part of speech is sifu?
Sifu is a noun.
What is the plural of sifu?
The plural of sifu is sifu.

Words near sifu in the dictionary

  1. Sifton
  2. siftproof
  3. sifts
  4. sifts out
  5. sifts through
  6. sifu
  7. Sifuentez
  8. Sifuentezes
  9. sifus
  10. sifuvirtide
  11. sig

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: sifu (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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