sempai

plural sempais

1. alternativeAlternative form of senpai.

   Whereas kohai are often expected to obey their sempai at some cost to their personal welfare, sempai assume a corresponding obligation.

   2015, Koichi Togashi, Amanda Kottler, Kohut’s Twinship Across Cultures: The Psychology of Being Human, Routledge, →ISBN, page 32

   2 more examples

   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.”

   1993, Merry White, The Material Child: Coming of Age in Japan and America, Free Press, →ISBN, page 96

   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.

   2006, Dave Lowry, In the Dojo: A Guide to the Rituals and Etiquette of the Japanese Martial Arts, Weatherhill, →ISBN, page 173