Team Japanese uses affiliate links. That means that if you purchase something through a link on this site, we may earn a commission (at no extra cost to you).
LIMITED TIME OFFER! Click here for FREE full access to the Japanese Absolute Beginner Course by JapanesePod101. Available for three months only!
For fans of anime and manga, one of the first few Japanese words you can quickly get acquainted with is senpai (先輩 / せんぱい). You may hear this frequently in stories set in schools. A senpai is someone’s senior or superior, an older person who is looked up to in school or the workplace because of their experience.
In Japanese society, a hierarchical structure is introduced to children from a young age, starting from the home, the school, and up until they are of working age. Let’s see how to use the term senpai to refer to your seniors.
Table Of Contents
- What does senpai mean in Japanese?
- How to use senpai
- Sempai or senpai?
- Hierarchy in Japanese society
- Senpai vs. Sensei
- Senpai at school
- Senpai in the workplace
What does senpai mean in Japanese?
Senpai (先輩 / せんぱい) is an JLPT N4-level Japanese word equivalent to ‘senior’ or ‘superior’ in English. It usually refers to someone older or more experienced than you. They can be a higher-level student at school or a colleague at work who entered the company before you.
We can break down the word for senpai into two characters. The first character is read as sen (先 / セン) in onyomi or the Chinese reading. It means ‘before’, ‘ahead’, or ‘previous’. The second character’s onyomi reading is pai (輩 / パイ), and it means ‘comrade’, or ‘companion’.
The opposite of senpai is kouhai (後輩 / こうはい), meaning ‘junior’. They are typically younger, less experienced people who are to be guided by their superiors.
Because of popular media, the ‘Notice me, senpai!’ trend blew up. Some anime fans associate this phrase with unrequited love or some form of romantic expression towards a crush. But getting noticed by your senpai simply means being acknowledged by someone you greatly admire, like a veteran sports player on your team, the smartest student in the year above you or – well, your upperclassman crush!
How to use senpai
Someone is your senpai if:
- They are older than you in your common group or organization
- They have more experience than you (regardless of age)
- They started school, work, or were a part of your common group earlier than you
You can use the word senpai in two main ways.
It can be used as an honorific suffix (-senpai / ～先輩 / ～せんぱい) by attaching the word to the end of someone’s name (ex. Tanaka-senpai).
You can also use senpai alone when addressing someone. Calling someone senpai without using their name is still a sign of respect.
Note that the most common way to address your seniors in the workplace is using the honorific -san (～さん) attached to their name. This is equivalent to ‘Mr.’ or ‘Ms.’ in English.
Keep in mind that seniors command respect, so it’s best to use polite language when interacting with them.
Sempai or senpai?
The correct way to write it in romaji is senpai. The word is spelled with an “n” (ん) in kana (せんぱい), and if you check hiragana and katakana charts, the character ん corresponds to n in latin characters. Meanwhile, the only “m” characters are ma (ま), mi (み), mu (む), me (め), and mo (も).
What about sempai? It isn’t totally wrong, but the “m” romanization has more to do with the pronunciation of the word. Just like how in the English language, words that contain “n” followed by consonants like “p”, “b”, or “m” take more of an “m” sound.
So phonetically, sempai is not incorrect, but when writing down the word せんぱい in romaji, senpai is the way to go.
In case you’re still a little confused, this video by Richard Heiney breaks down the pronunciation for senpai very well!
Hierarchy in Japanese society
The concept of hierarchy in Japanese society is deeply rooted in Confucian beliefs. Obedience is one of the important values. Whoever is at the top of the social pyramid should be obeyed and respected by those beneath them.
During the Tokugawa period, the family structure placed the father as the head of household. Following him was the eldest to the youngest sons, then his wife, then finally, the eldest to youngest daughters. Inheritance also usually follows this line of succession. Daughters can inherit the headship of the family, but once they are married, their husbands will succeed instead.
The values of obedience and filial piety shaped much of family and even political structure. In other words, a parent-child relationship was akin to ruler-subject.
Although this family system is not observed in modern Japan, other forms of social hierarchy are still present. The senpai-kouhai relationship is one of them.
Senpai vs. Sensei
Because anime and manga have become popular around the world, terms like senpai, sensei, and kouhai get randomly thrown around in conversation. It’s easy to get confused, so here’s a little background.
The hierarchy level is as follows:
Sensei is an honorific title used to address someone who is a ‘teacher’ or ‘master’ (ex. Yamada-sensei). Teachers do not call themselves sensei. Instead, they use the noun kyoushi (教師 / きょうし) for ‘teacher’. The sensei is responsible for all his or her students, regardless of their length of stay in the group.
For someone to be addressed this way, they should have some form of mastery or high level of skill or experience in their field. In fact, doctors and professors can also be called sensei.
Meanwhile, senpai are your fellow members of a group, the difference is that they have been part of the group longer than you and are more experienced.
Senpai at school
You might have first encountered the senpai-kouhai relationship in school-related manga or anime. It’s often exaggerated in the media, but in real life, senpai at school usually serve as role models and caring guides to their juniors.
Just like teachers, one can learn a lot from their seniors simply because they have been around longer. Teachers also depend on seniors for help in mentoring the younger students. Sure, some older students may abuse their senpai status and boss others around, but it is expected of them to be responsible in front of their juniors.
Let’s pretend you are a newcomer at an after-school tennis club. Your instructor or coach is your sensei. They typically assign the more difficult tasks, such as carrying heavy equipment or planning gatherings to the senior members or senpai. The senpai are expected to welcome and show the ropes to the younger members or kouhai, who are usually assigned to setting up and putting away nets, rackets, balls, and other equipment.
Senpai in the workplace
Even among working adults, the seniority system is still prevalent. Upon entering a company, younger colleagues can expect their senpai to guide them along, help them settle in, and ‘mentor’ them.
Seniors at work are not necessarily your boss – they can be colleagues in the same department who joined the team before you. But there still are certain expectations, like the seniors must pay for lunches or dinners out, the juniors must pour their seniors drinks at nomikai (drinking parties), and that juniors must not leave the office before their superiors. It is good to use polite language or keigo with them.
That’s not to say senpai and kouhai can’t be friends. They most certainly can! It is not a strict boss-employee relationship, but more like a coworker dynamic.
Rather than a strict senior-junior relationship, senpai can be friends with their kouhai. However there will always be the nuance that the underclassman learns from the upperclassman. In this vein, the senpai is partly responsible for the growth of the kouhai.
Senpai in Japanese
So know you know how to use senpai in Japanese correctly. Beyond the ‘notice me!’ memes, senpai is an essential Japanese word to understand if you want to live, work or study in Japan.
If you want to learn more Japanese online, our top recommended course is JapanesePod101. You’ll learn modern Japanese language and culture with fun, free audio lessons and online resources. Check it out here!
Related posts:
- Kouhai In Japanese: What Does it Mean and How to Use it
- Japanese Honorifics: An Easy Beginner’s Guide
- 17 Japanese Anime Words All Fans Must Know
- Japanese Terms Of Endearment: Cute Nicknames for Lovers and Friends!
Thea Ongchua
Thea is a freelance content writer, currently majoring in Japanese studies. She likes to create art and draws inspiration from film and music. Thea was inspired to study Japanese language and culture by reading the literary works of Haruki Murakami and Edogawa Ranpo.
FAQs
How do you properly use senpai? ›
How to Use the Term “Senpai” in Japanese. By the way, there are two ways to call somebody “senpai.” The first is to attach the person's name before 「先輩」 “senpai,” as with 「吉田先輩」 “Yoshida-sempai.” For working adults, it's also common to attach “san” after someone's name, as with 「吉田さん」 “Yoshida-san.”
How do you use senpai in Japanese? ›🧑💼 Senpai (先輩、せんぱい)
This signifies that a person in a group has more experience such as a senior colleague or a high school senior if you're in a lower grade. Generally it refers to someone older. As with "Sensei" is used interchangeably by sex, and does not necessarily follows the name.
In Japanese the word is used more broadly to mean "teacher" or "master." Like sensei, senpai is used in English in contexts of martial arts as well as religious instruction, in particular Buddhism.
Does senpai mean crush? ›Senpai is often used in the English in the expression “notice me senpai” and its variants. Originally this was used in the context of a person hoping a crush or someone they admire will pay attention to them, but it has more broadly been used online in reference to famous people acknowledging a fan's existence.
Is senpai used for girl? ›If that woman is Senpai , then you can call her Senpai. (^ ^) If not a senpsi, you can call her last name. please remember to add SANさんafter her last name!
Can you use senpai for female? ›No, senpai is for both genders. I went to an all girls school through elementary, middle, and high school and senpai was the most used word in school. Besides celebrities, Japanese students really really admire their senpais, (and everything they do) so it was often something talked about everyday.
What does senpai mean from a girl? ›Senpai, also spelled as sempai, sometimes appears more as punctuation to speech than a proper honorific. It also has a distinctive submissive flavor. Senpai (せんぱい or 先輩) is an honorific used to address someone who is superior to you in status.
What does Ara Ara mean? ›Ara ara (あら あら) is a Japanese expression that is mainly used by older females and means “My my”, “Oh dear”, or “Oh me, oh my”.
Is senpai respectful? ›The senpai is the older, more experienced person than the kohai, and thus deserves more respect and privilege than the kohai. At the same time, the senpai is expected to offer guidance and assistance to the kohai. This holds true from school years through working life, and even beyond.
Who should you call senpai? ›Senpai (せんぱい) – refers to people with more experience than oneself. Also used for higher grade classmates. So a junior in high school would call a senior senpai. Kōhai (こうはい) – refers to a person as a junior.
What's the opposite of senpai? ›
In Japan, senpai (先輩, "senior") and kōhai (後輩, "junior") represent an informal hierarchical interpersonal relationship found in organizations, associations, clubs, businesses, and schools.
Can a senpai be younger than you? ›You show respect to people older than you because they have gathered more experience in life. In the same way, people who have entered your company or school before you regardless of age are "senpai" (senior), and even those older than you but entered after you are "kohai" (junior).
Can you use Chan for a boy? ›Chan is used to add a cute friendly later to a person's name or a noun. There is no big difference from men or women using it. Although, 'chan' is used for girls and boys like Aya-chan, Yoshi-chan. But for boys there's also the use of Kun.
Is senpai older? ›At the most basic level, senpai means “senior” and conversely, kōhai 後輩 means “junior”. Senpai refers to someone who is at a level above you and this can be at school, work, a sports club or social organisation. They are meant to act as mentors for their kōhai and take responsibility for them.
What's another word for senpai? ›| mentor | sempai |
|---|---|
| sensei | master |
| senior |
o-nee-san (お姉さん, 'elder sister' ): A young woman older or more senior than the speaker. It is extremely common for familial names to be used for all categories of people. Boys can be addressed as 'elder brother' and 'younger brother', girls as 'elder sister' and 'younger sister', etc.
Is San for male or female? ›In Japanese, "~ san （～さん）" is a title of respect added to a name. It can be used with both male and female names, and with either surnames or given names. It can also be attached to the name of occupations and titles.
What is a Waifu? ›Noun. waifu (plural waifu or waifus) (fandom slang, Internet slang) A fictional female character from non-live-action visual media (typically an anime, manga, or video game) to whom one is romantically attracted and/or whom one considers their significant other.
What is a ONII Chan? ›This word can be written as onii-chan or "oniichan". In Japanese, it means older brother and is often used to express affection and closeness towards an older brother.
What does UWU mean from a girl? ›Uwu is an emoticon depicting a cute face. It is used to express various warm, happy, or affectionate feelings.
What does senpai mean in real life? ›
Notice Me, Senpai
Senpai (先輩) means “upperclassman” or “someone older,” and typically describes a person just a few years older than you. A senpai is not a teacher or someone significantly older (that's sensei). If you have a senpai, then you're a kōhai (後輩), an “underclassman” or “protégé.”
The Brief: "Yare yare daze" is a Japanese phrase meaning "good grief," popularized by the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
What does Ora Ora mean in Japanese? ›Ora is a way in the Japanese Language that tends to bring attention to something. Shouting "ORA!" in Japanese would be like shouting "HEY!" or "LISTEN!" Japanese mothers tend to shout "Ora" at their children to draw attention from them. Alternatively, Goku from Dragon Ball tends to use it to refer to himself.
What does Nya mean in anime? ›It's the Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound a cat makes. We use meow, they use nya/nyan/nyaa/nyah instead.
Is sensei or senpai better? ›Senpai is only attached to the name of a person who is of higher level than you(upperclassman, a person who has a black belt to your white belt). Sensei is attached to the name of your master or teacher.
How do you call your boyfriend in Japanese? ›The word for 'boyfriend' in Japanese is kareshi (彼氏 / かれし). Intimacy in romantic relationships in Japan is typically reserved between the couple, unlike Western romance where people express their love more outwardly.
What do you call a Japanese woman? ›The word onna is one of the most general and simplified terms used to refer to women and is commonly used in official documents and forms when specifying one's gender.
Can you drink at 18 in Japan? ›In Japan, the legal adult age is 20. Japanese law prohibits individuals under the age of 20 to drink alcohol or smoke. Regardless of age, you must not force anyone to drink or smoke as it may cause serious health and social consequences.
What does a senpai look like? ›Senpai's original gender is male, therefore, the article will refer to him as such. Senpai, in his default look, has short, messy dark hair, charcoal gray eyes, light skin, and the default male school uniform with gold buttons and black coloring.
How do you address a lover in Japanese? ›Japanese Honorifics in Relationships
For boyfriends and girlfriends, you'll often use -ちゃん or -くん, or call them by their name. You can also call them 彼 (kare, “he” or “boyfriend”) and 彼女 (kanojo, “she” or “girlfriend”) when talking to others.
Does senpai go before or after name? ›
In general usage, it is used, with proper form, after a person's name and means "teacher"; the word is also used as a title to refer to or address other professionals or people of authority, such as clergy, accountants, lawyers, physicians and politicians or to show respect to someone who has achieved a certain level ...
Who should you call senpai? ›Senpai (せんぱい) – refers to people with more experience than oneself. Also used for higher grade classmates. So a junior in high school would call a senior senpai. Kōhai (こうはい) – refers to a person as a junior.
Is senpai respectful? ›The senpai is the older, more experienced person than the kohai, and thus deserves more respect and privilege than the kohai. At the same time, the senpai is expected to offer guidance and assistance to the kohai. This holds true from school years through working life, and even beyond.
Is sensei or senpai better? ›Senpai is only attached to the name of a person who is of higher level than you(upperclassman, a person who has a black belt to your white belt). Sensei is attached to the name of your master or teacher.
Can a senpai be younger than you? ›You show respect to people older than you because they have gathered more experience in life. In the same way, people who have entered your company or school before you regardless of age are "senpai" (senior), and even those older than you but entered after you are "kohai" (junior).
What is lower than a senpai? ›Although there is no exact translation into English, senpai (先輩) means an upperclassman, senior employee or other older person with whom you have dealings. Conversely, kohai (後輩) is the junior or lower person.
Can senpai be used for younger? ›In context of some organization, Senpai means came earlier and is not necessarily based on age. One can call younger people 'Senpai' in corporation.
What does Ara Ara mean? ›Ara ara (あら あら) is a Japanese expression that is mainly used by older females and means “My my”, “Oh dear”, or “Oh me, oh my”.
How do you call your boyfriend in Japanese? ›The word for 'boyfriend' in Japanese is kareshi (彼氏 / かれし). Intimacy in romantic relationships in Japan is typically reserved between the couple, unlike Western romance where people express their love more outwardly.
What is senpai English? ›senpai is an upperclassman who mentors an underclassman, or kohai. This term is used most often in English in reference to anime and manga and originates from Japanese 先輩, "earlier colleague". Used more broadly to mean "teacher" or "master."
How old is a senpai? ›
Senpai was confirmed to be approximately 18 years old and a senior in high school by Moawling on Twitter. Senpai being a senior is hinted at by his name, which means "upperclassman" in Japanese. Senpai (先輩) is also an honorific for a senior or superior.
Is senpai for older people? ›In Japan, senpai (先輩, "senior") and kōhai (後輩, "junior") represent an informal hierarchical interpersonal relationship found in organizations, associations, clubs, businesses, and schools.
Is a senpai someone older than you? ›You usually don't call someone of the same age Senpai. Senpai （先輩）refers to someone who is older or more experienced than you in the same organization (school, club activities, company, etc.). The antonym is Kouhai（後輩）。 Basically, it is used among high school or junior high students.
Can you call a teacher senpai? ›Re: Can I call my teacher senpai? Basically, teacher(= sensei) is not senpai, but in same generation, many cases that the other does not feel bad even if called "senpai".
Is senpai a student? ›At the most basic level, senpai means “senior” and conversely, kōhai 後輩 means “junior”. Senpai refers to someone who is at a level above you and this can be at school, work, a sports club or social organisation. They are meant to act as mentors for their kōhai and take responsibility for them.
Can I call myself sensei? ›It's a term given by a student to their teacher. It's not a label you give to yourself. One uses the term to show respect to others. You choose to call somebody else a “sensei.”