kouhai

Kouhai is Japanese for a junior: someone younger or newer than you at school, work or in a club. It’s the opposite of senpai.

What kouhai means

Wiktionary defines kohai (also spelled kōhai or kouhai) as a junior member of a group and, in anime and manga fandom, a younger student or underclassman. In Japanese schools, clubs and workplaces, seniors (senpai) guide and look out for juniors (kouhai), and juniors show them respect. The relationship is a big part of school-set anime.

In fandom it’s often played for comedy or romance: an eager kouhai trying to impress their senpai is a classic setup. English-speaking fans also use it jokingly for anyone newer than them at something.

Examples

• “My kouhai at the club is better at the guitar than I am now.”
• “The whole episode is the kouhai trying to get her senpai to notice her.”
• “I’m training the new hire. He’s my kouhai now.”

Where it came from

It’s a borrowing of Japanese 後輩, which Wiktionary glosses literally as “later cohort,” the people who came after you. Its Korean equivalent, hoobae, comes from the same characters. English speakers mostly know it through anime alongside senpai.

Related terms

• Senpai: a senior, the opposite of kouhai.
• Dongsaeng: a younger sibling or friend, in Korean.
• Maknae: the youngest in a group.
• Otaku: an obsessive fan.

See more terms like this in our anime slang guide.