senpai
/ˈsɛnpaɪ/noun
senpai is spelled S-E-N-P-A-I: 6 letters. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, senpai means “The senior member of a group in Japanese arts; a mentor” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of senpai is senpais.
How many letters and syllables are in senpai?
| Letters | 6: S-E-N-P-A-I |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,565th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is senpai?
Senpai appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce senpai?
- US /ˈsɛnpaɪ/
- US /ˈsɛmpaɪ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-senpai.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with senpai?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as senpai (/ɛnpaɪ/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: sapien.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of senpai
- senpais plural
- sempai
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does senpai mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The senior member of a group in Japanese arts; a mentor.
- 2
slangAn upperclassman or elder student, in the context of Japan.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does senpai come from?
Borrowed from Japanese 先(せん)輩(ぱい) (senpai). Doublet of sunbae.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).