View source for Sempai-Kohai

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The concepts of ''sempai'' ("senior" or "upperclassman"; pronounced "sempai") and ''kouhai'' ("junior" or "underclassman") permeate Japanese society. They're most usually encountered in [[Anime]] in situations set in school, but the system also applies after graduation in the workplace. Older students (or workers with greater seniority) are known as ''sempai'', and junior students/workers (or ''kouhai'') are required to defer to them, and address them with the [[Japanese Honorifics|honorific]] -''sempai''. In return, the ''sempai'' is obligated to look out for, and protect, the ''kouhai''.

While similar concepts are widespread in Eastern Asia (for example, in Korea the concept is known as ''sunbae'' and ''hoobae''), none of them have it as entrenched within the social structure as the Japanese.

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[[Category:Useful Notes/Japan]]
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