senpai

English

Alternative forms

• sempai

Etymology

Japanese 先輩 (senpai), from Middle Chinese 先 (sen, “first, former”) + 輩 (bìj, “generation”). Compare Mandarin 先輩 (xiānbèi, “elders”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛmpaɪ/, /ˈsɛnpaɪ/, [ˈsɛmpaɪ̯], [ˈsɛnpaɪ̯]

Noun

senpai (plural senpais)

1. Senior member of a group in Japanese arts; mentor.
2. (anime and manga, fandom slang) An upperclassman or elder student.

Usage notes

Use in English may carry humorous or affectionate connotations. This is possibly due to (assumed) reference to modern Japanese media, or possibly a lexical gap.

Antonyms

• kohai

Anagrams

• Espina, Pesina, Sapien, sapien

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Japanese

Romanization

senpai

1. Rōmaji transcription of せんぱい