<p>When a teacher or any outsider says 同学们, 同学 is referred to as a &quot;student&quot;</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<p>张同学，李同学 = classmate Zhang, classmate Li (from a classmate's standpoint, but it is too formal, typically classmates just address each other with their full names)</p>
<p>张同学，李同学 = student Zhang, student Li (from a teacher or any outsider's standpoint)</p>
<p>同学们好 = &quot;hello students&quot; or &quot;hello class&quot;</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-07T22:50:49.547Z
2022-05-09T18:25:50.107Z
2022-05-09T18:25:50.107Z
Tang Ho
<p>In China School, before teaching, always say:
Teacher: 同学们好！
Students: 老师好！</p>
<p>teacher is not part of the student group</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-14T11:52:39.637Z
2022-05-14T11:52:39.637Z
Elrond Liu
<p>同学 has two meanings:
1 classmate
2 student</p>
<p>So a teacher can definitely say 同学们, which means students. A teacher can also say **同学, which means student **.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-14T14:39:05.543Z
2022-05-14T14:39:05.543Z
Henryfrombeijing
<p>&quot;同学&quot; shows a special relationship between you and the student. If you are a student, it means you are classmates, schoolmates,etc. If you are a teacher, it shows you teach them.</p>
<p>However, you can always use it to shorten the distance between you and the person you refer.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-17T07:02:07.113Z
2022-05-17T07:02:07.113Z
wznmickey
<p>If &quot;同学们好！&quot; means &quot;Hello classmates!&quot;, can also a teacher say that to its students, despite the fact that the teacher is essentially not a classmate / not part of the student group?</p>
<p>I ask this because my Chinese textbook suggests that a teacher could say this. So I am a bit confused now.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-08T02:35:40.027Z
I get your point of course, and @Tang Ho has cleared it up. Just for comparison, how about a teacher in a school in ,say, the US greeting her class of 5 year olds with "Good morning children" ?
Wayne Cheah
<usage>
Can also a teacher say "同学们好！" ？
# Can also a teacher say "同学们好！" ？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-05-07)

If "同学们好！" means "Hello classmates!", can also a teacher say that to its students, despite the fact that the teacher is essentially not a classmate / not part of the student group?

I ask this because my Chinese textbook suggests that a teacher could say this. So I am a bit confused now.

**Tags:** usage

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I get your point of course, and @username_2 has cleared it up. Just for comparison, how about a teacher in a school in ,say, the US greeting her class of 5 year olds with "Good morning children" ?  

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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2022-05-07. Score: 7

When a teacher or any outsider says 同学们, 同学 is referred to as a "student"

Example:

张同学，李同学 = classmate Zhang, classmate Li (from a classmate's standpoint, but it is too formal, typically classmates just address each other with their full names)

张同学，李同学 = student Zhang, student Li (from a teacher or any outsider's standpoint)

同学们好 = "hello students" or "hello class"


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### Answer by username_3 on 2022-05-14. Score: 2

In China School, before teaching, always say:
Teacher: 同学们好！
Students: 老师好！

teacher is not part of the student group


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### Answer by username_4 on 2022-05-14. Score: 1

同学 has two meanings:
1 classmate
2 student

So a teacher can definitely say 同学们, which means students. A teacher can also say \*\*同学, which means student \*\*.


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### Answer by username_5 on 2022-05-17. Score: 0

"同学" shows a special relationship between you and the student. If you are a student, it means you are classmates, schoolmates,etc. If you are a teacher, it shows you teach them.

However, you can always use it to shorten the distance between you and the person you refer.


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