輩 — “Comrade / Fellow / People / Companions” in Japanese

Master (高手)はい, -ばら, やから, やかい, ともがら

Radical ⾞ · radical 159 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Comrade / Fellow / People / Companions” in Japanese is 輩, read hai, bara, yakara (はい, -ばら, やから, やかい, ともがら). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 先輩 (senior).

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What does 輩 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	輩
Meaning	Comrade / Fellow / People / Companions
Readings	はい, -ばら, やから, やかい, ともがら
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	先輩 (senior)

How to read 輩

輩 is read hai (はい) or bara (-ばら) or yakara (やから) or yakai (やかい) or tomogara (ともがら) depending on the word.

Words with 輩

先輩

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Kanji read the same way as 輩

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Updated: 2026-08-28