noun
comrade; colleague; fellow member
Refers to a person who shares the same group, workplace, school, or apprenticeship; often implies a sense of camaraderie or shared experience. Slightly formal or old-fashioned in modern casual speech.
彼とは大学時代の朋輩で、今でもよく連絡を取り合っている。
He is a fellow student from my university days, and we still keep in touch often.
同じ道場で修行した朋輩たちと再会した。
I reunited with my fellow apprentices who trained at the same dojo.
同僚 is the standard modern word for 'colleague' in a workplace setting, while 朋輩 has a slightly older or more literary feel and can extend to non-work shared groups.
仲間 is a common, casual word for 'companion' or 'mate' in any group; 朋輩 is more formal and often implies a structured shared background.
The kanji 朋 means 'friend' or 'companion', and 輩 means 'group' or 'fellows'. The reading ほうばい is ateji (phonetic) for 朋, while 傍輩 is a variant spelling. The word is of Chinese origin (cf. Mandarin péngbèi).