Japanese symbol for “elder”
先輩
せんぱい
Romaji: senpai
senior (at school, work, etc.); superior; elder; older person
In Japanese, elder is 先輩, read せんぱい (senpai).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n, suf senior (at school, work, etc.); superior; elder; older person; predecessor
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “elder”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 長 | ちょう chou | head; chief; leader |
| 長老 | ちょうろう chourou | elder; senior |
| 上 | うえ ue | elder; older; senior |
| 老 | ろう rou | old age; age; old people |
| 先進 | せんしん senshin | seniority; senior; superior |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 先生 | せんせい sensei | teacher; instructor; master |
| 優先 | ゆうせん yuusen | preference; priority; precedence |
| 先日 | せんじつ senjitsu | the other day; a few days ago |
| 先週 | せんしゅう senshuu | last week; the week before |
| 先月 | せんげつ sengetsu | last month |
| 後輩 | こうはい kouhai | junior (at work, school, etc.); younger people; younger student |
| 輩出 | はいしゅつ haishutsu | producing (people) in great numbers; appearing one after the other |
| 我輩 | わがはい wagahai | I; me; myself |
See also: Chinese symbol for “elder”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.