Japanese symbol for “teachers”

先生方

せんせいがた

Romaji: senseigata

doctors; teachers; lawyers

In Japanese, teachers is 先生方, read せんせいがた (senseigata).

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 doctors; teachers; lawyers

Kanji and stroke order

先

before, ahead, previous

on: セン
kun: さき、ま.ず

6 strokes · JLPT 4

生

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

方

direction, person, alternative

on: ホウ
kun: かた、-かた、-がた

4 strokes · JLPT 3

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
先輩	せんぱい senpai	senior (at school, work, etc.); superior; elder
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
生活	せいかつ seikatsu	life; living
人生	じんせい jinsei	(one's) life
方法	ほうほう houhou	method; way; manner

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.