Sifu is the Cantonese spelling of shīfu (Mandarin Chinese) that has different meaning depending on the context. It is used as a title for and role of a skillful person or a master. It is written with the Chinese characters 師傅 (traditional)/师傅 (simplified) or 師父/师父. The character 師/师 means "skilled person", while the meaning of 傅 is "tutor" and the meaning of 父 is "father". Both characters 傅 and 父 are pronounced fu with the same tones in Cantonese and Mandarin, creating some ambiguity. A similar term often used in Chinese is 老師/老师 (Cantonese Chinese pronunciation: lou5 si1; Mandarin Chinese pronunciation: lǎoshī), meaning "teacher" or literally "old person of skill".