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sempai. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
sempai, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
sempai in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
sempai you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Pronunciation
Noun
sempai (plural sempais or sempai)
- Alternative form of senpai
1993, Merry White, The Material Child: Coming of Age in Japan and America, Free Press, →ISBN, page 96:One boy in a boarding school emphasizing athletics says that his dorm mates tend to work problems out physically: “We often fight, and they often make me cry. . . . Even though I was told I’d only last in the dorm for three months, and others are dropping out, I’m still here—but the sempai are frightening.” In his school, the sempai have a special way of tormenting younger students, making them “do performance.”
2006, Dave Lowry, In the Dojo: A Guide to the Rituals and Etiquette of the Japanese Martial Arts, Weatherhill, →ISBN, page 173:Within the dojo in general, sempai are expected to bring along those under them. They may push and prod and challenge their kohai to succeed and improve.
2015, Koichi Togashi, Amanda Kottler, Kohut’s Twinship Across Cultures: The Psychology of Being Human, Routledge, →ISBN, page 32:Whereas kohai are often expected to obey their sempai at some cost to their personal welfare, sempai assume a corresponding obligation.