King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “instructor”

Romaji: sensei
teacher; instructor; master

In Japanese, instructor is , read (sensei).

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

  1. n teacher; instructor; master
  2. n, n-suf sensei; title or form of address for a teacher, master, doctor, lawyer, etc.
  3. n intimate or teasing form of address
  4. n one's elder

Kanji and stroke order

before, ahead, previous
on: セン
kun: さき、ま.ず
6 strokes · JLPT 4
life, genuine, birth
on: セイ、ショウ
kun: い.きる、い.かす、い.ける、う.まれる
5 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “instructor”

WordReadingMeaning
きょうし kyoushiteacher; instructor
きょういん kyouinteacher; instructor; teaching staff
しはん shihaninstructor (esp. of martial or traditional arts); teacher; master
きょうかん kyoukanteacher; instructor; professor
こうし koushilecturer (at a university or college); instructor

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
ゆうせん yuusenpreference; priority; precedence
せんぱい senpaisenior (at school, work, etc.); superior; elder
せんじつ senjitsuthe other day; a few days ago
せんしゅう senshuulast week; the week before
せんげつ sengetsulast month
せいかつ seikatsulife; living
じんせい jinsei(one's) life
がくせい gakuseistudent (esp. a university student)

See also: Chinese symbol for “instructor”.

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.

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