Senpai and kōhai: 先輩 (senpai) and 後輩 (kōhai)
先輩 (せんぱい, senpai, “senior (at school, work, etc.)”) is someone who joined your school, club or company before you, and 後輩 (こうはい, kōhai, “junior (at work, school, etc.)”) is someone who joined after you (also written kouhai or kohai). The order you joined decides it, not your age, and one person can be a senpai in one group and a kōhai in another.
Both words are also used as titles: you call an older student or colleague 田中先輩 (Tanaka-senpai), the way you'd say Mr Tanaka. In English, senpai has picked up a second life as a romantic crush, thanks to anime and memes. In Japanese it doesn't mean that. It's a plain, respectful word for a senior.
A helpful way to see it is through the kanji. 先 means "before" and 後 means "after", and 輩 means "comrade" or "fellow". So a senpai is a comrade who came before, and a kōhai is a comrade who came after.
Who counts as a senpai?
Japanese dictionaries give a wider meaning and a narrower one. The wider one is anyone above you in age, status, experience, learning or skill. The narrower one, and the one people mean day to day, is a person who entered the same school or workplace before you.
Japanese Wikipedia says the order of entry is the standard and age doesn't matter at all, so a "younger senior" and an "older junior" can both exist.
Some other things to know:
- It sticks. One English-language guide to the idea says the relationship, once set, hardly moves. A kōhai who later gets a higher rank may still think of the person who joined first as their senpai.
- It depends on the group. Someone can be your senpai at work and your kōhai in the climbing club.
- It isn't the same as a boss. A senior colleague who trains you is a senpai. The person who manages you is your 上司 (じょうし, jōshi, “(one's) superior”), and the people they manage are their 部下 (ぶか, buka, “subordinate person”).
Senpai and kōhai at school and in clubs
School is where most people meet the idea first. Grades are clear, so the hierarchy is clear: students in higher years are the senpai of students in lower years. Japanese has a word for each side: 上級生 (じょうきゅうせい, jōkyūsei, “student in a higher grade”) and 下級生 (かきゅうせい, kakyūsei, “student in a lower grade”).
It's strongest in school clubs, called 部活 (ぶかつ, bukatsu, “club activities”). English Wikipedia describes the oldest club members holding real influence, with new members doing the small jobs: fetching balls, tidying the field, looking after equipment. It also says that senpai may sometimes treat kōhai harshly.
That harsher side is real. Japanese Wikipedia records many cases of bullying and abuse by seniors in sports clubs, which is a reminder that the system can be misused when nobody checks it.
The idea also spread through Japanese martial arts, which is where many people outside Japan first meet the words.
Senpai and kōhai at work
At work, the senpai is the colleague who joined before you. A 新入社員 (しんにゅうしゃいん, shinnyūshain, “new employee”) is a kōhai to everyone who joined earlier.
People who join in the same year are 同期 (どうき, dōki, “same year (of graduation, entering a company, etc.)”). Neither is senior to the other.
English Wikipedia says seniority in business has traditionally shaped status, salary and position, and that its influence has weakened since the 1990s. The habits are still there. The word 年功序列 (ねんこうじょれつ, nenkōjoretsu, “seniority by length of service”) names the older system, where pay and promotion follow years of service.
There's even a word for a senior who overdoes it: 先輩風 (せんぱいかぜ, senpaikaze, “air of seniority”), the patronising manner of a senior toward a junior.
How to use senpai and kōhai as titles
Here's what people do in practice.
Calling a senpai
Coto Academy describes two ways: the surname plus 先輩, as in 田中先輩, or 先輩 on its own. You can also use it when talking about someone, as in "my senpai". It's used for a man or a woman, with no change.
At school and in clubs, 田中先輩 is the usual form. At work, many people use 田中さん instead, and 先輩 is kept for someone who has really looked after you.
Calling a kōhai
You don't call someone 後輩 to their face. Coto Academy and Team Japanese say it's a word for talking about someone, not to them, and that it can sound condescending. To a kōhai, you use their name: among students often with the suffix 君 (くん, kun, “Mr”), among working adults with さん. English Wikipedia says seniors add 君 to a junior's name, and juniors answer with 先輩 or さん. How this works varies by school, club and workplace, so copy what the people around you do.
Speech
Japanese Wikipedia notes an unwritten rule: a senior may use casual speech to a junior, while a junior is expected to answer in respectful language. Respectful language is called 敬語 (けいご, keigo, “honorific”). The junior's politeness starts with the greeting: see our guide to saying hello in Japanese.
Casual speech between peers is called タメ口 (タメぐち, tameguchi, “casual speech”). A kōhai wouldn't normally use it with a senpai.
Words around the pair
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 先輩 | せんぱい | senpai | senior (at school, work, etc.); superior; elder | Joined before you; also used as a title after a name |
| 後輩 | こうはい | kōhai | junior (at work, school, etc.); younger people; younger student | Joined after you; said about someone, not to them |
| 同期 | どうき | dōki | same year (of graduation, entering a company, etc.); contemporary; classmate | Joined in the same year as you |
| 同級生 | どうきゅうせい | dōkyūsei | classmate | Someone in your own year at school |
| 年上 | としうえ | toshiue | older; senior | Older in age, which is not the same as being a senpai |
| 年下 | としした | toshishita | younger; junior | Younger in age, which is not the same as being a kōhai |
What a senpai and a kōhai do for each other
English Wikipedia calls the relationship interdependent: each side needs the other. A senpai gives help, friendship and advice. A kōhai gives gratitude, respect and sometimes loyalty.
That's the ideal. A senpai teaches the kōhai how things work, answers questions and gives honest feedback. This is passing on experience, the know-how of the place. A kōhai listens, learns and shows effort. NIPRO, a company in Japan, describes it as a bond that goes beyond work, with respect in both directions, so that the organisation stays healthy.
Looking after someone has its own words in Japanese: 面倒を見る (めんどうをみる, mendōwomiru, “to care for someone”) is what a good senpai does for a new colleague. The pair also makes a set phrase: 先輩後輩 (せんぱいこうはい, senpaikōhai, “one's seniors and juniors”).
Senpai in anime and English: notice me, senpai
"Notice me, senpai" is an English-language internet phrase about wishing a senior would notice you. Coto Academy says it wasn't taken from any one anime or manga: fans picked it up to play on the romance tropes between a senpai and a kōhai. Online, the word has come to mean a crush.
That is an English use. SoraNews24 reports Japanese readers reacting to this shift, some amused and some uneasy, and notes that the word carries no romantic meaning in Japanese. It adds that dating between a senior and a junior does happen in Japan, and the word still means just "senior". Any junior can call any senior 先輩, whatever their genders.
For more anime character types, see our guide to tsundere and the other dere types.
Practise the honorifics
Practise the honorifics
Names, titles and honorific words in a short quiz, with the sound for each.
The suffixes that follow a name are worth knowing: さん, 君, ちゃん and 様. For the names themselves, our guide to Japanese last names lists the most common surnames, with their kanji.
Questions about senpai and kōhai
Does senpai mean daddy?
No, senpai doesn't mean daddy. It means a senior at school or work. JMdict and the Japanese dictionaries on Kotobank don't list "father" or "dad" as a meaning of 先輩. The Japanese word for dad is お父さん (おとうさん, otōsan, “father”).
Can senpai mean daddy?
Senpai doesn't mean daddy in Japanese. A "daddy" sense you've seen online is English fan slang, and a Japanese speaker will only hear "senior".
Can I call a girl senpai?
Yes, you can call a girl senpai if she joined your school, club or company before you. The word is used for women and men in the same way.
Why do girls say senpai?
Girls say senpai for the same reason boys do: they're talking to someone senior.
What is female senpai?
A female senpai is just a senpai. Japanese has no separate word.
Does senpai mean crush?
No, senpai doesn't mean crush in Japanese. It means a senior. English-speaking fans began using it for a crush after anime and the "notice me, senpai" meme, and SoraNews24 notes that the word carries no romantic meaning in Japanese.
What do Japanese call their crush?
Japanese speakers usually say 好きな人 ("person I like") or 気になる人 ("person I'm curious about") for a crush. There is no one standard word: 気になる人 comes before 好きな人. The word 好き (すき, suki, “liking (romantically)”) covers the romantic kind of liking, 片思い (かたおもい, kataomoi, “unrequited love”) is a one-sided love, and 憧れ (あこがれ, akogare, “yearning”) is the admiration you might feel for a senior.
Is using senpai flirting?
No, calling someone senpai isn't flirting. In Japan it's a respectful, ordinary title. The word itself isn't flirtatious, though how warmly someone says it can vary.
What is the meaning of kohai?
Kōhai (後輩) means a junior: someone who joined your school, club or company after you. Dictionary.com defines it as a junior or less experienced person who is mentored by a more experienced one.
What is a kohai senpai relationship?
It's a bond between a senior and a junior in the same group. The senpai guides and looks after, and the kōhai respects, learns and helps. It's based on who joined first, not on age.
When to use kohai?
Use kōhai when you talk about a junior to someone else, as in "she's my kōhai". Don't use it to address someone: use their name instead.
Sources
- Readings and meanings: JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Dictionary senses of 先輩: Kotobank, 先輩 (Digital Daijisen, Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, Jitsū).
- Senpai and kōhai at school, in clubs, at work and in martial arts; titles; the 1990s change: English Wikipedia, Senpai and kōhai.
- Entry order not age, casual and respectful speech, bullying in clubs: Japanese Wikipedia, 先輩.
- How the relationship is set and stays: Bunburyoudou, The senpai (先輩)/kouhai (後輩) relationship.
- What each side does at work: NIPRO, A mutually beneficial work relationship that helps one blossom.
- Surname plus 先輩, さん at work, not calling someone kōhai directly, senpai for women, the crush meme and its origin, the kanji meanings: Coto Academy, What is Senpai (先輩) in Japanese?; Team Japanese, Kouhai in Japanese.
- English use and Japanese reactions: SoraNews24, Japanese netizens give their thoughts on how English has changed the meaning of senpai.
- Kōhai in English: Dictionary.com, kohai.
- Reviewed independently; the points about address forms, casual speech, 先輩 versus さん at work, how the relationship persists after promotion, and the words for a crush are waiting for a native speaker's check.