Is it pronounced Senpai or Sempai?

Question

Is it pronounced Senpai or Sempai?

Answer 1

sempai

Answer 2

Pronouncing it Sempai is closer to the pronunciation. The Japanese "n" (that is, the "n" followed by a consonant) sound is somewhere between the English "n" and "m" sounds.

This creates some confusion when romanizing words: do you guy by pronunciation or accepted romaji rules. For example, "senban" is typically written with an "n" but also pronounced with more of an "m" sound.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

Sempai I'd say.

Best wishes :)***

Answer 4

stslavik and Sensei are correct.

The "correct" (or better yet, "preferred") pronounciation is sempai. But the direct spelling (romanization) is senpai. There is no seperate "m" character in Japanese. But that is how it sounds to us (I can only really guess for English speakers) when used in certain compounds.  

Answer 5

The prefix by itself is pronounced "sen" - when used in a compound, it changes to "sem".

It's the same principle as in Fukyu and Kata. You don't say Fukyukata - you say Fukyugata. I have even heard some say "fukyu-ngata" - amost as if there was an "n" before gata. Others say "Hookyu-ngata".

Answer 6

Sempai, as in the manga "Love Hina", the character Shinobu Maehara refers to Keitaro Urashima as sempai as a sign of her admiration and respect