So, nii-chan is a sweet way to refer to your older brother. Hmm, so not totally straightforward. The first definition is the familiar expression we already covered. The second definition adds something to our understanding. Also, used to refer to young men who have been misbehaving. So, here we see that the word is not completely localized to the family. In Japanese, there are few real curse words. Typically, a neutral level of respect would involve referring to your older brother as o-nii-san.
In its most elaborate form, it would be written like this:. In olden days it could be pronounced konokami. Yeah, kanji are crazy. Anyway, where was I? Right, the last two characters. Where chan expresses familiarity and closeness, san is sort of the middle standard of respect. Ani, oni both means elder brother.
Aniki is also a very respectful word for older brother. Oniisama is still also used as a polite form. Aniki is vulgar but endearing and often used between brothers. We all call them by their first names. Onii-san means big brother in Japanese. It does not equate noble status. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. Ben Davis February 25, Who will decide to be the younger brother or older brother? In reality, everyone is already aware that even twins, even when born at the same time, are taken in an order, so those who first came out of the mother's belly are considered older.
So it can be said:. Remember if! Never learn Japanese by studying isolated words. If you are confused about the correct order or way to study the Japanese language. We recommend reading our Study Guide for Learning Japanese. In Japanese there is a hierarchy of treatment, a formal, common and informal language. This is one of the main reasons why there are so many variations and ways to say big brother in Japanese.
To make it easier, let's put a list of words below, exemplifying the idea a little:. Remembering that all the words in the list below refer to older sisters or brothers:. The relationship between younger and older siblings is highly valued in Japan. The Japanese have a knack for placing younger sisters who call their brother onii-chan in anime.
If you search for younger sister at the jisho you will see that there are infinite ways to convey the idea of a younger sister, however unusual.
If we want to speak in the plural brothers and sisters we can use the combination of the ideograms of an older brother with a younger brother. Have you noticed how anime overdo this little sister scheme?
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