<p>我<strong>是</strong>老师 = I <strong>am</strong> a teacher" It is completely correct</p>

<p>当 is a verb that means 'to be/ working as/ take on the role or position of' </p>

<p>你<strong>当</strong>老师= you <strong>being</strong> a teacher</p>

<p>你<strong>来当</strong>老师 = you'll <strong>be</strong> a teacher</p>

<p>你<strong>去当</strong>老师 = you go and <strong>be</strong> a teacher</p>

<p>你<strong>当上了</strong>老师 = you've <strong>became</strong> a teacher</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>The driver's question "你当老师?" (you being a teacher?) was a rhetorical one. That imply "It is hard to believe people as young as you would be a teacher." He could had asked "你是老师?" and the meaning would be the same.</em></p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-22T02:01:51.513Z
2017-11-22T02:01:51.513Z
Tang Ho
<p>Sometimes when I take a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didi_Dache" rel="nofollow noreferrer">滴滴打车</a> taxi to the university campus, the driver asks me if I'm a student, and I reply something along the lines of:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>我是老师<br>
  I'm a teacher<br>
  <sub>Wǒ shì lǎoshī</sub></p>
</blockquote>

<p>As far as I can tell, this is grammatically correct.  However, more than once, the driver replied:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>你当老师<br>
  You're a teacher<br>
  <sub>Nǐ dāng lǎoshī</sub></p>
</blockquote>

<p>It feels almost like they're correcting me, but I don't really understand why.  It's possible 我是老师 sounds more along the lines of what a child might say as it's very simple.  (It's also possible I simply misheard them.)</p>

<p><strong>Question</strong>: What's the difference between 我是老师 or 我当老师?</p>

<p>Among the zillions of meanings of <a href="http://dict.cn/%E5%BD%93" rel="nofollow noreferrer">当</a>, one is "to act as", so maybe 我当老师 has a meaning closer to "I perform the role of a teacher".  But I still see no concrete reason that 我是老师 is wrong or inferior.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-22T01:29:41.283Z
If that driver is questioning, that driver is just to confirm if you are truly a teacher and there is nothing wrong with 我是老师. It could be couple of reasons: 1. he didn't hear you well. 2. You look too young to be a teacher. Or there might be some other reasons which made him suspicious. If he said it as an affirmative sentence, it's like saying "oh, I see it. (you are a teacher)"
dan
<difference><meaning-in-context>
What's the difference between 我是老师 or 我当老师?
# What's the difference between 我是老师 or 我当老师?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-11-22)

Sometimes when I take a [滴滴打车](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didi_Dache) taxi to the university campus, the driver asks me if I'm a student, and I reply something along the lines of:

> 我是老师  
> I'm a teacher  
> Wǒ shì lǎoshī

As far as I can tell, this is grammatically correct. However, more than once, the driver replied:

> 你当老师  
> You're a teacher  
> Nǐ dāng lǎoshī

It feels almost like they're correcting me, but I don't really understand why. It's possible 我是老师 sounds more along the lines of what a child might say as it's very simple. (It's also possible I simply misheard them.)

**Question**: What's the difference between 我是老师 or 我当老师?

Among the zillions of meanings of [当](http://dict.cn/%E5%BD%93), one is "to act as", so maybe 我当老师 has a meaning closer to "I perform the role of a teacher". But I still see no concrete reason that 我是老师 is wrong or inferior.

**Tags:** difference, meaning-in-context

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: If that driver is questioning, that driver is just to confirm if you are truly a teacher and there is nothing wrong with 我是老师. It could be couple of reasons: 1. he didn't hear you well. 2. You look too young to be a teacher. Or there might be some other reasons which made him suspicious. If he said it as an affirmative sentence, it's like saying "oh, I see it. (you are a teacher)"  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-11-22. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

我**是**老师 = I **am** a teacher" It is completely correct

当 is a verb that means 'to be/ working as/ take on the role or position of'

你**当**老师= you **being** a teacher

你**来当**老师 = you'll **be** a teacher

你**去当**老师 = you go and **be** a teacher

你**当上了**老师 = you've **became** a teacher

> *The driver's question "你当老师?" (you being a teacher?) was a rhetorical one. That imply "It is hard to believe people as young as you would be a teacher." He could had asked "你是老师?" and the meaning would be the same.*


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