Usage of 師傅 in Mandarin In Cantonese 師傅 will often be used to refer to some sort of specialized worker (e.g. a plumber, or a renovator) or some sort of "master" or "teacher" (not in the sense used in a school setting), similar to some senses of 先生 in Japanese as far as I know. Is this sort of usage also common in Mandarin, and is it used for the same things?

EDIT: Are there also regional differences to how commonly the phrase is used?
Is this sort of usage also common in 普通話, and is it used for the same things?


Yes.

"师傅" means teacher or the guider who guides you to do something at the very beginning. There's a very famous saying: 师傅领进门，修行靠个人。 (Teachers can only guide you, Deeply learning depends on yourself).

Sometimes, 师傅 is a formal statement. E.G: 功夫熊猫(KongFu Panda)'s ShiFu:D,  Here it means "大师" (master). We usually use "老师" when speaking.