senpai
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Japanese 先輩 (senpai), from Middle Chinese 先 (sen, “first, former”) + 輩 (bìj, “generation”). Compare Mandarin 先輩／先辈 (xiānbèi, “elders”).
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈsɛmpaɪ/, /ˈsɛnpaɪ/, [ˈsɛmpaɪ̯], [ˈsɛnpaɪ̯]
Noun
senpai (plural senpais)
- The senior member of a group in Japanese arts; a mentor.
- (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
Anagrams
Japanese
Romanization
senpai
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from Japanese
- English terms derived from Japanese
- English terms derived from Middle Chinese
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Japanese fiction
- English fandom slang
- Japanese non-lemma forms
- Japanese romanizations