Kouhai is the Japanese word for ‘person younger than someone’

What does “kouhai” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “kouhai” to mean ‘person who is younger than someone in a group’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain it in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “kouhai” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “kouhai”
• Kouhai in kanji
  • Example #1: how to use “kouhai”
  • Example #2: another usage of “kouhai”
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “kouhai”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of “kouhai”.

• kouhai – 後輩 (こうはい) : a noun meaning ‘person who is younger than someone in a group’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.

Unfortunately, English doesn’t have a perfect translation for this noun. Japanese native speakers normally use this to refer to a person who is younger than someone in a group. The idea of this noun is strongly related to the Japanese society where younger people are forced to respect older, I think.

The definition and meaning are not that difficult. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

Kouhai in kanji

The kanji expression of “kouhai” consists of the following two kanji characters:

• 後 : a kanji character often used as a prefix or suffix to add the meaning of ‘following’.
• 輩 : a kanji character used to mean ‘mate’, ‘fellow’, ‘crew’, ‘comrade’, or such in Japanese.

These two kanji characters tell us that “kouhai” literally means ‘following mate’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the actual meaning, but still understandable, I think. Native speakers indeed use the noun to refer to a person who follows older ones in a group. I don’t think younger people have to follow older, though…

When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “kouhai” through the detailed kanji check above.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “kouhai” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to use “kouhai”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kanojo” to make the subject in the sentence.
• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make its possessive case, “watashi no“, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
• gakkou – 学校 (がっこう) : a noun meaning ‘school’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
• no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this is used to join “gakkou” and “kouhai”. The formed phrase literally means a ‘younger person in the same school’ in Japanese. The first “no” explained above can be considered as a special version of this “no”.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “watashi no gakkou no kouhai” to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “kouhai”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “watashi no gakkou no kouhai”, which literally means a ‘younger person in my school’ in Japanese. The phrase has been translated as ‘younger than I and goes to the same school’, though.

Example #2: another usage of “kouhai”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
• kinou – 昨日 (きのう) : a noun meaning ‘yesterday’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. In the example, this works as an adverb to say “yesterday” in Japanese.
• kaisha – 会社 (かいしゃ) : a noun meaning ‘company’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
• to – と : a case particle used to say with whom someone does something. In the example, this is used after “kaisha no kouhai” to say with whom the speaker met yesterday.
• at – 会っ (あっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “au”, which means ‘to meet’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, this is used after “at” to make its past tense form, “at ta”.

This is another typical usage of “kouhai”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “kaisha no kouhai”, which means ‘younger people in the company’ in Japanese. When we want to refer to people who are younger than someone in a group in Japanese, anyway, “kouhai” is a good option.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “kouhai” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• kouhai – 後輩 (こうはい) : a noun meaning ‘person who is younger than someone in a group’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Unfortunately, English doesn’t have a perfect translation for this noun. The idea of this noun is strongly related to the Japanese society where younger people are forced to respect older. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘following mate’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the actual meaning, but still understandable, I think. Native speakers indeed use this noun to refer to a person who follows older ones in a group.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.