Where does “sensei” come from?
sensei (French) comes from Japanese 先生, from Middle Chinese 先生, from Middle Chinese 生 — born.
sensei (French): sensei
Ancestry of “sensei”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 先生 | an elder; a scholar; a teacher or a professor |
| 2 | Middle Chinese | 先生 | master, elder |
| 3 | Middle Chinese | 生 | born |