sempai

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛmpaɪ/

Noun

sempai (plural sempais or sempai)

1. 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.