noun
sunbae
noun
1
In Korean culture, someone senior to you — an older classmate, colleague, or more experienced person in your field.
"She always bows respectfully to her sunbae at university."
"As his sunbae in the company, he offered some career advice."
How to Use Sunbae
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA respectful term for someone more senior or experienced than you, from Korean culture.
Easily confused with
Word Forms
sunbaes plural
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She always bows respectfully to her _____ at university.
Etymology
Borrowed from Korean seonbae ("senior"), and closely related to the Japanese word senpai.