• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Japanese Particles Master

particles for perfection

  • Home
  • grammar
  • particles
  • nouns
  • verbs
  • adjectives
  • adverbs
  • translation
  • Author
Home » nouns » Senshi is the Japanese word for ‘warrior’, explained

May 12, 2022 By Masaki Mori

Senshi is the Japanese word for ‘warrior’, explained

What does “senshi” mean in Japanese?

There are some homophones, but native speakers say “senshi” normally to mean ‘warrior’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, video games, songs, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word 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 understand “senshi” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

  • Definition and meanings of “senshi”
  • What does “senshi” literally mean in Japanese?
    • Example #1: how to say “warrior” in Japanese
    • Example #2: another usage of “senshi”
  • Summary

Definition and meanings of “senshi”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “senshi”.

  • senshi – 戦士 (せんし) : a noun meaning ‘warrior’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural. Depending on the context and situation, this can also mean ‘soldier’ in Japanese.

Japanese native speakers use this noun to refer to a person or people fighting for something. So, the usage is similar to those of the English nouns written above, I think.

The definition and meanings are simple and clear. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

What does “senshi” literally mean in Japanese?

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

  • 戦 : a kanji character used to refer to the act of fighting. This can also be found in other words like “tatakau” and “sensou“.
  • 士 : a kanji character used to mean ‘person’ or ‘member’ in Japanese.

These two kanji characters tell us that the formed noun literally means a ‘fighting person’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is very close to the actual meanings.

senshi in japanese

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 “senshi” through the detailed kanji check above.

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

Example #1: how to say “warrior” in Japanese

kanojo wa hikari no senshi desu – 彼女は光の戦士です (かのじょはひかりのせんしです)

She is a warrior of light.

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.
  • hikari – 光 (ひかり) : a noun meaning ‘light’ in Japanese.
  • no – の : a case particle joining two nouns. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this works to join “hikari” and “senshi”. The formed phrase literally means ‘a warrior of light’ in Japanese. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this case particle is very similar to that of the English preposition, “of”.
  • 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 the noun phrase, “hikari no senshi”, to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “senshi”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “hikari no senshi”, to mean ‘a warrior of light’ in Japanese.

Example #2: another usage of “senshi”

soshite boku tachi ga yami no senshi desu – そして僕達が闇の戦士です (そしてぼくたちがやみのせんしです)

And we are warriors of darkness.

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

  • soshite – そして : a conjunction meaning ‘and’ in Japanese.
  • boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
  • tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “boku” to make its plural form, “boku tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese.
  • ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “boku tachi” to make the subject in the sentence.
  • yami – 闇 (やみ) : a noun meaning ‘darkness’ in Japanese.

This is another typical usage of “senshi”. In this example, it works as plural to mean ‘warriors’ in Japanese. When we want to refer to people fighting for something in Japanese, anyway, this noun is a good option.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “senshi” 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.

  • senshi – 戦士 (せんし) : a noun meaning ‘warrior’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Depending on the context and situation, this can also mean ‘soldier’ in Japanese. Native speakers use this noun to refer to a person or people fighting for something. So, the usage is similar to those of the English nouns written above. These two kanji characters literally mean a ‘fighting person’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is very close to the actual meanings.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.

  • Share on Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit Share on Reddit
  • Share via Email Share via Email

Filed Under: nouns

Recent Posts

  • Komorebi is the Japanese word for ‘sunlight through leaves’
  • Nikkouyoku is the Japanese word for ‘sunbathing’, explained
  • Shinrinyoku is the Japanese word for ‘forest bathing’, explained
  • Hatsutaiken is the Japanese word for ‘first experience’
  • Hatsuyuki is the Japanese word for ‘first snow of the season’

Primary Sidebar

Written by Masaki Mori

Engineer and industrial translator for more than ten years. I teach Japanese to spread the Japanese culture. I always try to explain every single new word so that Japanese learners can understand the correct meanings of example sentences. Read More…

Follow Me on Social Media

  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Learn more words by kanji groups

Kanji for bad Kanji for beauty Kanji for big Kanji for cat Kanji for child Kanji for day Kanji for devil Kanji for eye Kanji for fire Kanji for god Kanji for ground Kanji for hand Kanji for he Kanji for heart Kanji for heaven Kanji for mood Kanji for moon Kanji for mouth Kanji for night Kanji for now Kanji for one of a pair Kanji for person Kanji for rain Kanji for time Kanji for tree Kanji for week Kanji for what Kanji for woman Kanji for year

Check recent posts

  • Komorebi is the Japanese word for ‘sunlight through leaves’
  • Nikkouyoku is the Japanese word for ‘sunbathing’, explained
  • Shinrinyoku is the Japanese word for ‘forest bathing’, explained
  • Hatsutaiken is the Japanese word for ‘first experience’
  • Hatsuyuki is the Japanese word for ‘first snow of the season’

Are you still looking for something?

Footer

Pages

  • Author

Categories

  • adjectives
  • adverbs
  • grammar
  • nouns
  • particles
  • translation
  • verbs
  • vocabulary

Written by Masaki Mori

Engineer and industrial translator for more than ten years. I teach Japanese to spread the Japanese culture. Read More…

Follow Me on Social Media

  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Feed

  • RSS

Copyright © 2017–2025 Japanese Particles Master All Rights Reserved.