Dictionary

sensei en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈsɛnseɪ/

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 先生(せんせい) (sensei, “teacher; elder”), from Middle Chinese 先生 (MC sen sraeng, “master, elder”), from 先 (MC sen, “earlier, first”) + 生 (MC sraeng, “born”). Compare modern Mandarin 先生 (xiānshēng, “Mr.”). Doublet of sinseh, from Hokkien 先生 (sin-seⁿ).

Meanings

1. A martial arts instructor; especially one for a Japanese martial art.
2. A Japanese (language) teacher (sometimes used as a suffix attached to the name of a teacher, principally in translations from Japanese).
3. A teacher, guide or mentor, in the context of Japan.

Forms

Relateds

sinseh

Synonyms

sifu · kancho (head of a Japanese martial art studio) · dojocho (head of a Japanese martial art studio) · kaicho (head of a Japanese martial art studio) · shifu

Translations (29)

fa سنسی (martial arts instructor) · ko 선생님 (martial arts instructor) · pt sensei (martial arts instructor) · yue 師傅 /师傅 (martial arts instructor) · ru сенсе́й (martial arts instructor) · ko 선생 (martial arts instructor) · ja 先生 (teacher in the context of Japan) · ko 센세이 (teacher in the context of Japan) · de Sensei (martial arts instructor) · nan-hbl 師傅 /师傅 (martial arts instructor) · pt sensei (Japanese language teacher) · ru сэнсэ́й (Japanese language teacher) · cmn 師傅 /师傅 (martial arts instructor) · ru ма́стер (martial arts instructor) · fr sensei (martial arts instructor) · fr sensei (Japanese language teacher) · el σενσέι (martial arts instructor) · de Sensei (Japanese language teacher) · ja 先生 (Japanese language teacher) · id sensei (Japanese language teacher) · es sensei (martial arts instructor) · fa سنسی (Japanese language teacher) · ru сэнсэ́й (martial arts instructor) · fi mestari (martial arts instructor) · id sensei (martial arts instructor) · ja 先生 (martial arts instructor) · gl sensei (martial arts instructor) · ar مُدَرِّب (martial arts instructor) · es senséi (martial arts instructor)