# I'm a doctor



## Whodunit

I've been told that "I'm a doctor" is supposed to mean something like "wo zhe daifu" in Chinese. Could someone confirm that and write it in Chinese symbols, please?

Xie xie.


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## linguist786

You must specify which Chinese you're talking about - saying "translate into Chinese" is like saying "translate into Indian" 
Not completely sure since I'm not a native, but my try in Mandarin:

我是一个医生.
wo shi yi ge yi sheng.


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## Whodunit

linguist786 said:
			
		

> You must specify which Chinese you're talking about - saying "translate into Chinese" is like saying "translate into Indian"


 
Is it like "translate into European"? 

Please forgive me, I'm not very familiar with Chinese, so I'm not even sure what dialect I'm talking about. But as a friend told it to me, I guess it's Mandarin. Is Mandarin the dialect that is most often learned?



> Not completely sure since I'm not a native, but my try in Mandarin:
> 
> 我是一个医生.
> wo shi yi ge yi sheng.


 
The "wo shi" part sounds good. Isn't there a word that sounds like "daifu"?


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## linguist786

Whodunit said:
			
		

> Is it like "translate into European"?
> 
> Please forgive me, I'm not very familiar with Chinese, so I'm not even sure what dialect I'm talking about. But as a friend told it to me, I guess it's Mandarin. Is Mandarin the dialect that is most often learned?


héhé.. no worries. I just thought I'd tell you for next time. I wouldn't go as far as saying it's like "translate into European"!! That's going a bit too far!!
I guess Mandarin is the one that most people learn nowadays - it's the most "learner friendly" I think.





			
				Whodunit said:
			
		

> The "wo shi" part sounds good. Isn't there a word that sounds like "daifu"?


Sorry I should have mentioned that. You're kind of right - "dai fu" (not sure about chinese script.. will edit in a moment) also means doctor, but that's in Taiwan dialect. The standard Mandarin word for doctor is: yi sheng (医生).
I'd wait for natives to clarify though.


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## vince

Whodunit said:
			
		

> Is it like "translate into European"?
> 
> Please forgive me, I'm not very familiar with Chinese, so I'm not even sure what dialect I'm talking about. But as a friend told it to me, I guess it's Mandarin. Is Mandarin the dialect that is most often learned?


Considering that there are Chinese "dialects" that have "subdialects" as different as Standard German and Swiss German, I would advise that you adopt the word "language" when referring to the varieties of Chinese, rather than dialect.

In the Mandarin language, "I am a doctor" is "Wo shi yisheng"
In Cantonese, "I am a doctor" would be "Ngo hai yisang"

where Cantonese yisang is a cognate to Mandarin "yisheng"



			
				linguist786 said:
			
		

> dai fu (大夫) also means doctor, but that's in Taiwan dialect. The standard Mandarin word for doctor is: yi sheng (醫生).
> I'd wait for natives to clarify though.



Hmm I am not a native speaker myself, but we should get a confirmation on whether "daifu" is the Taiwanese dialect of Mandarin or the Taiwanese dialect of Minnan, and whether they also use yi sheng (醫生) as well. I am suspecting the latter, since 大 is pronounced "da" in Mandarin.


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## Whodunit

linguist786 said:
			
		

> "dai fu" (not sure about chinese script.. will edit in a moment) also means doctor, but that's in Taiwan dialect.


 
Do they use "wo shi" in Taiwan dialect, too?

Thanks for your kind responses, by the way.


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## linguist786

Whodunit said:
			
		

> Do they use "wo shi" in Taiwan dialect, too?
> 
> Thanks for your kind responses, by the way.


Not sure. 
"Dai fu" in chinese script, by the way, is: (I can't seem to be able to "type" it)


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## vince

Whodunit said:
			
		

> Do they use "wo shi" in Taiwan dialect, too?
> 
> Thanks for your kind responses, by the way.



Here lies the problem with the use of the word "dialect"

In Taiwan, there are many Chinese languages spoken.
Historically, people spoke the Taiwanese dialect of Min-Nan. After 1949, Mandarin was imposed, from which the Taiwanese dialect of Mandarin evolved.

So referring to "the Taiwanese dialect" is inherently ambiguous.

In Taiwanese Minnan, they do not say "wo shi"

for one thing, the word for "I" is "Gua"

I have no idea what "shi" is translated to in Taiwanese, it is so hard to find information about the language on the web.


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## hownow

daifu is the old term for doctor, still used in some dialects and is understood by all. 

Mandarin (Standard Chinese): 
wo shi yisheng 我是医生
wo shi daifu 我是大夫

FYI,
Taiwanese (Minnan):
gua si daihu


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## Whodunit

hownow said:
			
		

> daifu is the old term for doctor, still used in some dialects and is understood by all.
> 
> Mandarin (Standard Chinese):
> wo shi yisheng 我是医生
> wo shi daifu 我是大夫


 
Ah well, this is exactly what I was searching for. You all really helped me.


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## MingRaymond

vince said:
			
		

> I am suspecting the latter, since 大 is pronounced "da" in Mandarin.


 
Hello Vince,

In most of the time, 大 is da4, but when it is used with 夫 which means doctor, 大 becomes dai4.

Ming


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## vince

Thanks Ming

Are there any other usages when 大 becomes dai4?

And do these usages correspond to a different pronunciation in Cantonese as well?


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## MingRaymond

vince said:
			
		

> Thanks Ming
> 
> Are there any other usages when 大 becomes dai4?
> 
> And do these usages correspond to a different pronunciation in Cantonese as well?


 
Yes. 
1 大城 (Dai4cheng2), a place in Hebei.
2 大黃 (dai4huang2), Rheum undulatum (a kind of plant).
3 大王 (dai1wang), used in old novels and Chinese operas to mean the leader or the king.

Cantonese always says dai6.

Ming


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## luyc

大夫（daifu) 医生(yisheng)
我是一个大夫 wo3 shi4 yi1 ge4 dai4 fu2
我是一个医生 wo3 shi4 yi1 ming2 yi1 sheng1


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## Whodunit

luyc said:
			
		

> 大夫（daifu) 医生(yisheng)
> 我是一个大夫 wo3 shi4 yi1 ge4 dai4 fu2
> 我是一个医生 wo3 shi4 yi1 ming2 yi1 sheng1


 
But what does yi1 ge4 mean in your sentence?


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## xisanibo

Whodunit said:
			
		

> But what does yi1 ge4 mean in your sentence?


yi1 ge4 means a
In Chinese, yi（一） means one, "ge（个）" is an article before a person or something .
e.g. 
yi1(一 one/a) ke1(棵 article) shu4(树 tree) : a tree
yi1(一 one/a) duo3(朵 article) hua1(花 flower) : a flower 
yi1(一 one/a) ge4(个 article ) ren2（人 person) : a person
We use different articles before different things

the whole sentence means "I am a doctor "
you see , we rarely use articles before nouns. So the more native usage is "wo shi dai fu" which means "I am doctor" 

P.P.S.There're countless dialects in China mainland (I think it's also true in TW), but we speak Mandarin at school and in every formal occasion. When people from different places get together, they also speak Mandarin because the dislects are so different in China that people can't communicate with each other if they only speak their own dislects.


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## linguist786

Oh! So I wasn't wrong!   (post 2)


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## vince

xisanibo said:
			
		

> P.P.S.There're countless dialects in China mainland (I think it's also true in TW),



In Taiwan there are three main Chinese languages: Mandarin, Min-Nan, and Hakka, though others may exist from immigration but to a lesser extent. There are also aboriginal Austronesian languages (related to Polynesian languages). I believe most "Chinese" people on Taiwan now speak Mandarin (i.e. the Taiwanese dialect of Mandarin), and the use of the Taiwanese (a dialect of the Minnan language) is in decline.


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## 我是中国人

mingraymoud: in chinese Mandarin 大夫 = dai4 fu1


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## J.F. de TROYES

luyc said:
			
		

> 大夫（daifu) 医生(yisheng)
> 我是一个大夫 wo3 shi4 yi1 ge4 dai4 fu2
> 我是一个医生 wo3 shi4 yi1 ming2 yi1 sheng1


Hello,

Excuse me, i don't understand your transcription in Pin Yin of the second sentence: why "yi *ming *yi sheng ?
 Thank you.


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## J.F. de TROYES

Whodunit said:
			
		

> But what does yi1 ge4 mean in your sentence?


 
The word "ge" is called classaifer or "measure word"; this kind of words must be used in front of names being counted, something like "three *sheets *of paper"; here "three papers" could'nt make sense. There are many classifiers in Mandarin, for ex. :

YI2 *GE* XUE2 SHENG1    one pupil
YI4 *BEN3* SHU1           one book 
YI4 *ZHI1* MAO1           one cat
ZHE4 *ZHANG1* PIAO4      one ticket

The choice depends on how nouns are categorised: "ZHI 1" is used for animals and fruit. But fortunately for non-natives "GE" can be used in most circumstances.


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## paisleyHK

J.F. de TROYES said:
			
		

> Hello,
> 
> Excuse me, i don't understand your transcription in Pin Yin of the second sentence: why "yi *ming *yi sheng ?
> Thank you.



Beucase he's made a mistake.：） The correct one:


我是一个医生 = 我是一名医生。
wo3 shi4 yi1 ge4 yi1 sheng1 =wo3 shi4 yi1 ming2 yi1 sheng1

So "个"and “名” are the same here. They are both the measure word （量词), only that "一名" is more literal.


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## kvajak

But I think that when one says "I am a doctor" in China uses the measure word rarely, no? People just says "我是医生/老师等"(I am a doctor/teacher etc.) when he/she refers to his/her occupation, like many other German(Teutonic) languages bzw. "Ich bin Doktor/Lehrer" in German or "Ik ben doctor/leraar" in Dutch, without the article to use.
That is my thought, and needs to be proved...


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## kvajak

vince, as far as what I've got, “大夫”(dai4 fu) is an old form for “医生”(yi1 sheng1), and now their difference is that, "daifu" is more oral in some area. And its tone should be "dai"-the 4th tone, and "fu"-no tone, a very slight sound, similar to the IPA [daif]. And wehther it comes from Min-nan, I am not sure, while in my hometown no one refers to a doctor that way by "daifu"...
Maybe in classical Chinese it has such sound changed. i.e. “大王”(dai4 wang2) is used in the classical novel etc. to refer to "a king" or "a head of an organization", while today people says "大王 (da4 wang2)" to refer to a man who is professional for sth. or to some No.1 plutocrat. i.e. “石油大王”(shi2 you2 da4 wang2) is a man who has successfully managed the oil product and earned much money etc.


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## midismilex

"我是醫生。/我是個醫生。" = "I am a doctor".
"我是個醫生。" = "I am A doctor".
"醫師" = Dr.

But the following sentences in modern Mandarin, we seldom use. Sometimes they will seem like jokes.
我是"名"醫生。=>almost a joke.
我是個/名"大夫"。=>absolutely a joke.


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## javen

我是一名大夫wo3 shi4 yi1 ming2 dai4 fu
我是一名医生wo3 shi4 yi1 ming2 yi1 sheng1


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## kvajak

楼上的您的注音写反了~~而且~~我在#24已经说了“大夫”的拼音是4声和轻声哦~~您没看见么？


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## kvajak

#26的~~您的拼音还没改~~“大夫”的拼音是（dai4 fu）~~fu非第一声~~而是无声调~~你自己可以去查字典看看~~没想到您看中文和英文都会看漏的啊~~
看来您是没什么文化水平的了~~


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## ilikeenglish

We want to reiliterate something or add something. I haven't completely reviewed all previous replies here letter by letter.

First, "I am a doctor" in Chinese should be "我是医生", because the Chinese language does not consider the article "a/the" as very important, so it can be reduced in either writing or speaking. 
Unless you are talking about yourself, it is better to say "一位。。。样的医生"， for example, “白球恩是一位无私、热忱的医生”，“（Norman） Bethune  was a selfless and warm-hearted doctor."  "一位" shows politenss and respect. Saying "一个" sounds like layman talking, when you refer to some professions that are decent.

When we sometimes speak or write "大夫", it is to emphasize our respect for the individual.  At least in the South, this is true.


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## ilikeenglish

midismilex said:
			
		

> But the following sentences in modern Mandarin, we seldom use. Sometimes they will seem like jokes.
> 我是"名"醫生。=>almost a joke.
> 我是個/名"大夫"。=>absolutely a joke.


 
Sorry, but I don't agree.  Whehter it is a joke or not is not so distinct, often depending on your tone, the context or your manner.

Since here I am from Mainland Chinese, I feel responsible to reinterate in our standard Mandarin, which has simplified characters, the most frequently used sentences funcationing similar to "I'm a doctor."
我是医生。
我是个医生。
我是大夫。
我是个大夫。
我是名大夫。 (if you speak that way, you are asserting yourslef as a 
我是名医生。 qualified and capable doctor, or to achieve some special implications.)

In the north, youth now tend to speak 
我是一医生。
我是一大夫。
The northerners tend to dominate the change of oral language. These two are popular expressions with a little casualness among the northern youth in recent years in Mainland China.


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## l10ner

"个" usually used for someting.
一个鸡蛋。  （An egg.）

When comes to a person, "名" is often used for his/her career.
我是一名医生。 wo3 shi4 yi4 ming2 yi1 sheng1
我是一名大夫。 wo3 shi4 yi4 ming2 dai4 fu1

These are the best sentences.

And, here, "一" should read as *yi4.*
Usually, "夫" should read as *fu1*. But here, it should be *fu0*.


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## paddycarol

dai4fu(大夫) = yi1sheng1(医生)
wo shi (yi) ge daifu / yisheng = 我是(一)个大夫/医生.

P.s Some of the Chinese words are very difficult to master because they have different pronunciations such as "大", "奇","参"etc.


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## midismilex

ilikeenglish said:


> standard Mandarin


 


ilikeenglish said:


> First, "I am a doctor" in Chinese should be "我是医生", because the Chinese language does not consider the article "a/the" as very important, so it can be reduced in either writing or speaking.


 


ilikeenglish said:


> Unless *you are talking about yourself*, it is better to say "一位。。。样的医生"， for example, “*白球恩*是一位无私、热忱的医生”


 


ilikeenglish said:


> Bethune was a selfless and warm-hearted doctor." "一位" shows politenss and respect. Saying "一个" sounds like layman talking, when you refer to some professions that are decent.


 


ilikeenglish said:


> 我是名大夫。 (if you speak that way, you are asserting yourslef as a
> 我是名医生。 qualified and capable doctor, or to achieve some special implications.)


 


ilikeenglish said:


> In the north, youth now tend to speak
> 我是一医生。
> 我是一大夫。


 


l10ner said:


> "个" usually used for someting.
> 一个鸡蛋。 （An egg.）
> When comes to a person, "名" is often used for his/her career.


 
=======

To me, above-mentioned are questioned Chinese *EDUCATION*, will anyone of simplfied Chinese native speakers explain those in detail?

And now something is clear that "大夫" is only used in China, and if there is a STANDARD Mandarin, to us people in Taiwan, it becomes a joke.


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## l10ner

Formally, you can say "我是一名医生。" "我是名医生。"
Unformally, you can just say "我是个医生。" "我是医生。" For example, when talk to your friends.

When you are in a hospital, you see a doctor. You want to speak to him/her, but you don't know his/her name, you can call him/her "大夫，.....". We don't prefer calling him/her "医生".  It seems, "医生" represents the career, "大夫" is a common name for the people of this carrer.


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## l10ner

midismilex said:


> =======
> 
> To me, above-mentioned are questioned Chinese *EDUCATION*, will anyone of simplfied Chinese native speakers explain those in detail?
> 
> And now something is clear that "大夫" is only used in China, and if there is a STANDARD Mandarin, to us people in Taiwan, it becomes a joke.


 

Now something is clear that you don't understand Mandarin. To you, the world full of joke, right? 

For everything you not sure, you should ask for help sincerely, just like others.


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## midismilex

l10ner said:


> Do you always take everything you don't know as a joke? To you, the world full of joke, right?
> 
> For everything you not sure, you should ask for help sincerely, just like others.


Read #25, please.


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## midismilex

l10ner said:


> Now something is clear that you don't understand Mandarin. In this case, why you are exit here?


 OMG, I never know that Mandarin is only spoken in China. Look at this topic, how many posts from simplfied Chinese native speakers with different answers. And is your answer the STANDARD Mandarin one and the only?


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## l10ner

I am sorry if I offend you. But could you please what the meaning of "it becomes a joke"? Thanks!


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## midismilex

Quote from #33 I posted.



midismilex said:


> And now something is clear that "大夫" is only used in China, and if there is a STANDARD Mandarin, to us people in Taiwan, it becomes a joke.


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## l10ner

midismilex said:


> OMG, I never know that Mandarin is only spoken in China. Look at this topic, how many posts from simplfied Chinese native speakers with different answers. And is your answer the STANDARD Mandarin one and the only?


 
Actually, there's may be no ONLY right answer. You know, what we offered are all right. Like you could say Hi, Hello and How are you. So, if you want to know which one for which occasion, I may provider more information.


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## midismilex

l10ner said:


> Actually, there's may be no ONLY right answer. You know, what we offered are all right. Like you could say Hi, Hello and How are you. So, if you want to know which one for which occasion, I may provider more information.


Oh, thank you. You are free to add any information. I'm not the host, not a moderator. I am just a forer in this forum.

And if you still have time, let's get back to my questions on #33. Are those the Chinese-language education what you learned from your teachers?


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## l10ner

midismilex said:


> Oh, thank you. You are free to add any information. I'm not the host, not a moderator. I am just a forer in this forum.
> 
> And if you still have time, let's get back to my questions on #33. Are those the Chinese-language education what you learned from your teachers?


 
Hi, as for these sentences, our teacher didn't teach me which one is right and which is wrong. What we supplied is the way we use in our daily life. 

And, our teacher didn't tell me to take someting I don't know as a joke, instead, we are told to ask for help sinceerly from others. 三人行，必有我师。

I asked a friend from TaiBei, she said if you say "大夫", most people will know what it meaning. Is it right? If you are not sure, could you do me a favor to ask others to confirm this?


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## Kongming

I'm a Cantonese speaker learning Mandarin and my parents speak both Mandarin and Cantonese so I asked them for their opinions on this.  

"wo shi yisheng 我是医生"and "wo shi daifu 我是大夫" are both correct, and I'm pretty sure both would be understood by any Mandarin speaker.

What's interesting is that my Chinese professor said in class on Monday that no body says "我是一个(noun referring to an identity here)".  She claims that it sounds very strange in Mandarin.  I didn't agree because to me, the presence of "一个" just makes the statement sound a little more emphatic, but not incorrect.  Maybe it's the influence of growing up speaking Cantonese.  Does any native-Mandarin speaker have any input on this?


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## midismilex

l10ner said:


> Hi, as for these sentences, our teacher didn't teach me which one is right and which is wrong. What we supplied is the way we use in our daily life.


I got it. There are really big differences between Traditional and Simplfied Chinese native speakers' *EDUCATION*. Forget it to my questions on #33.

=====



l10ner said:


> I asked a friend from TaiBei, she said if you say "大夫", most people will know what it meaning. Is it right? If you are not sure, could you do me a favor to ask others to confirm this?


 
Read my post on #25 again. Did you see the word "SELDOM"? 



midismilex said:


> "我是醫生。/我是個醫生。" = "I am a doctor".
> "我是個醫生。" = "I am A doctor".
> "醫師" = Dr.
> 
> But the following sentences in modern Mandarin, we seldom use. Sometimes they will seem like jokes.
> 我是"名"醫生。=>almost a joke.
> 我是個/名"大夫"。=>absolutely a joke.


 
====



l10ner said:


> 三人行，必有我师。


Don't you think I am doing the same thing as you did on #25 I posted?

====

*If you have other questions or comments, read this thread from #1 until the last, again and again. Thanks.*


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## SoyChino

I'm a doctor.=我是医生。


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## J.F. de TROYES

l10ner said:


> Formally, you can say "我是一名医生。" "我是名医生。"
> 
> 
> When you are in a hospital, you see a doctor. You want to speak to him/her, but you don't know his/her name, you can call him/her "大夫，.....". We don't prefer calling him/her "医生". It seems, " represents the career, is a common name for the people of this carrer.


 
French makes the same difference as between "医生" and "大夫":  "médecin" (= physician) to mention the profession and "docteur" (= doctor) to speak to him.


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## Encolpius

midismilex said:


> "我是醫生。/我是個醫生。" = "I am a doctor".
> "我是個醫生。" = "I am A doctor".
> "醫師" = Dr. ...



So, how to say: 

I am Dr. Smith.

1/ 我是醫師Smith. 
2/ 我是Smith 醫師. 

謝謝.


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## Jerry Chan

Encolpius said:


> So, how to say:
> 
> I am Dr. Smith.
> 
> 1/ 我是醫師Smith.
> 2/ 我是Smith 醫師.
> 
> 謝謝.



我是Smith醫生
Or, 我是史醫生 if you like


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## YangMuye

Kongming said:


> What's interesting is that my Chinese professor said in class on Monday that no body says "我是一个(noun referring to an identity here)".  She claims that it sounds very strange in Mandarin.  I didn't agree because to me, the presence of "一个" just makes the statement sound a little more emphatic, but not incorrect.  Maybe it's the influence of growing up speaking Cantonese.  Does any native-Mandarin speaker have any input on this?


I agree with you. 我是一個醫生 sounds strange, it sounds like you are emphasizing what you are. 我是個醫生 is much better.



> 我是"名"醫生。=>almost a joke.
> 我是個/名"大夫"。=>absolutely a joke.


Since 大夫 shows your respect, I will not say “我是大夫” to a stranger. And I will also not use “名” for myself. But “他是名醫生。”“他是名大夫。” sound perfect.



> So, how to say:
> I am Dr. Smith.
> 1/ 我是醫師Smith.
> 2/ 我是Smith 醫師.
> 謝謝.


我是Smith博士？
我是Smith醫生？
I don't how to translate the "Dr.".


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## Encolpius

And can I use the verb 当/當 instead of the verb 是? Thanks.


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## YangMuye

No. 當 does not means "be", it means "regard something as another thing", or "something acts as another thing".
If you say "我當大夫", that sounds like "I will become a/the doctor" "Let me act the doctor"(maybe they are playing games).
In Chinese, a bare verb “do” usually means "will do/to do".


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