先輩 in Chinese / Japanese...

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Senpai / The Elder or Master

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xiān bèi

sen pai

선배

先輩 is a Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean word or title that means elders, senior (at work or school), superior, older graduate, progenitor, or old-timer.

In American dojos, this is sometimes romanized as Sempai.

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Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your 先輩 search...

Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese	Pronunciation Romanization	Simple Dictionary Definition
先輩先辈 see styles	xiān bèi xian1 bei4 hsien pei senpai せんぱい	More info & calligraphy: Senpai / The Elder or Master an older generation; ancestors; forefathers (See 後輩・こうはい) senior (at work or school); superior; elder; older graduate; progenitor; old-timer
大先輩 see styles	daisenpai だいせんぱい	大先輩 Custom Scroll someone who is greatly one's senior; veteran
先輩ママ see styles	senpaimama せんぱいママ	先輩ママ Custom Scroll (more) experienced mother
先輩後輩 see styles	senpaikouhai / senpaikohai せんぱいこうはい	先輩後輩 Custom Scroll (expression) (1) one's seniors and juniors; (expression) (2) seniority-based hierarchy
人生の先輩 see styles	jinseinosenpai / jinsenosenpai じんせいのせんぱい	人生の先輩 Custom Scroll (exp,n) person older than oneself (who has more life experience)
人生の大先輩 see styles	jinseinodaisenpai / jinsenodaisenpai じんせいのだいせんぱい	人生の大先輩 Custom Scroll (exp,n) person much older than oneself (who has much more life experience)
先輩面をする see styles	senpaizuraosuru せんぱいづらをする	先輩面をする Custom Scroll (exp,vs-i) (See 先輩風を吹かす) to put on an air of seniority
先輩風を吹かす see styles	senpaikazeofukasu せんぱいかぜをふかす	先輩風を吹かす Custom Scroll (exp,v5s) (See 風を吹かす) to put on a patronizing air
Variations: 先輩面先輩づら(sK) see styles	senpaizura せんぱいづら	(n,vs,vi) air of seniority; patronizing attitude

The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...

Title	Characters	Romaji (Romanized Japanese)	Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Senpai The Elder or Master	先輩先辈	sen pai / senpai	xiān bèi / xian1 bei4 / xian bei / xianbei	hsien pei / hsienpei
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese.