Word.ws English Dictionary

sempai

UK/ˈsɛmpaɪ/

sempai is the alternative form of senpai.

Meaning of senpai

Noun

senpai (plural senpais or senpai)

  1. The senior member of a group in Japanese arts; a mentor.
    • Senpai are also known to intercede on behalf of their kohai to explain their mistakes.1974, Thomas P. Rohlen, For Harmony and Strength: Japanese White-Collar Organization in Anthropological Perspective, University of California Press, →ISBN, page 131
  2. (slang) An upperclassman or elder student, in the context of Japan.

Forms of sempai

pluralsempais
pluralsempai

Questions about sempai

What is sempai the alternative form of?
Sempai is the alternative form of senpai.
How do you pronounce sempai?
Sempai is pronounced /ˈsɛmpaɪ/ (UK).

Words near sempai in the dictionary

  1. semotactically
  2. semotactics
  3. semoted
  4. semotiadil
  5. SEMP
  6. sempai
  7. sempais
  8. semper fi
  9. Semper Gumbi
  10. Semper Gumby
  11. semper idem

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: sempai (page history and authors); senpai (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “sempai.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sempai. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.