A barrister is a lawyer in Britain (and in some places that follow British law) who stands up and argues cases in the higher courts. They wear the old court dress you see in films — the gown, and in some courts the wig. They are not the same as a solicitor. Though actually, students often want one English word for 律師, and British law refuses to be that tidy: a solicitor is the lawyer you usually meet first, who prepares papers and advises you; a barrister is the specialist who speaks in the higher court. You “call someone to the bar” when they become this kind of lawyer; the bar here means the legal profession, not a place that sells drinks. The word is British and formal. In the United States the usual word is just lawyer or attorney; they do not split the job this way. In Hong Kong dramas you will hear 大律師 for this role. In Taiwan we almost always say 律師 for everyone, so when you see barrister, you need the extra idea: courtroom speaker in the British system, not “any lawyer.”