sempai – English noun declension

Noun: sempai

Singular	sempai
Plural	sempais; sempai

One boy in a boarding school emphasizing athletics says that his dorm mates tend to work problems out physically: “We often fight, and they often make me cry. . . . Even though I was told I’d only last in the dorm for three months, and others are dropping out, I’m still here—but the sempai are frightening.” In his school, the sempai have a special way of tormenting younger students, making them “do performance.” [1993, Merry White, The Material Child: Coming of Age in Japan and America, Free Press, →ISBN, page 96:]
Within the dojo in general, sempai are expected to bring along those under them. They may push and prod and challenge their kohai to succeed and improve. [2006, Dave Lowry, In the Dojo: A Guide to the Rituals and Etiquette of the Japanese Martial Arts, Weatherhill, →ISBN, page 173:]
Whereas kohai are often expected to obey their sempai at some cost to their personal welfare, sempai assume a corresponding obligation. [2015, Koichi Togashi, Amanda Kottler, Kohut’s Twinship Across Cultures: The Psychology of Being Human, Routledge, →ISBN, page 32:]

English noun forms of sempai