How to say “teacher” in Japanese | 先生 (せんせい、sensei)

The Japanese vocabulary「先生 (せんせい、sensei)」means “teacher.” Please learn the pronunciation and the example sentences.

Japanese Vocabulary and the Meaning

Key Word	先生
Hiragana	せんせい
Romaji Reading	sensei
English Meaning	teacher

「先生」is added after the teacher’s name.

Ichiyo is a Japanese teacher, so his students call him「一陽先生いちようせんせい」.

The Correct Japanese Pronunciations

Please learn the pronunciation by watching the attached video. You can also learn example sentences.

Our main YouTube channel: Ichiyo’s Japanese YouTube Channel
Our sub-YouTube channel (Japanese vocabulary videos): Ichiyo’s Subchannel

The Example Japanese Sentences

It is important to have skills in both non-honorific and honorific languages in order to use Japanese correctly.

I learn guitar from Angelo-sensei.

Plain Form:

Japanese Sentence	アンジェロ先生せんせいにギターを習ならっている。
Romaji Reading	Anjero-sensei ni gitā o naratte iru.

※ The literal translation of「アンジェロ先生」is “teacher Angelo.”

Polite Form:

Japanese Sentence	アンジェロ先生にギターを習っています。
Romaji Reading	Anjero-sensei ni gitā o naratte imasu.

Takahashi-sensei (teacher) always looks angry.

Plain Form:

Japanese Sentence	高橋たかはし先生せんせいはいつも怒おこった顔かおをしている。
Romaji Reading	Takahashi-sensei wa itsumo okotta kao o shite iru.

Polite Form:

Japanese Sentence	高橋先生はいつも怒った顔をしています。
Romaji Reading	Takahashi-sensei wa itsumo okotta kao o shite imasu.

It seems that our homeroom teacher has caught a cold and is absent.

Plain Form:

Japanese Sentence	担任たんにんの先生せんせいが風邪かぜを引ひいて休やすみらしい。
Romaji Reading	Tan’nin no sensei ga kaze o hiite yasumi rashī.

Polite Form:

Japanese Sentence	担任の先生が風邪を引いて休みらしいです。
Romaji Reading	Tan’nin no sensei ga kaze o hiite yasumi rashī desu.

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