Japanese word

お兄さん

Pronunciation

Romajioniisan

Meaning

  • nounolder brother

Example

田中さんのお兄さんは先生です。ta naka sa n no o nii sa n wa sen sei de su

Mr. Tanaka's older brother is a teacher.

Illustration for お兄さん (older brother)

More examples

私は友達のお兄さんと駅で会いました。watashi wa tomo dachi no o nii sa n to eki de a i ma shi ta

I met my friend's older brother at the station.

Core concept

Presents an older male sibling as a person addressed or described with a respectful family term.

Common phrases

  • お兄さんに聞くo nii sa n ni ki ku

    ask an older brother

  • お兄さんと話すo nii sa n to hana su

    talk with an older brother

Similar words

兄ani: A term for one's own older brother when speaking about him to someone else.
お兄ちゃんoanichan: A familiar term for an older brother used by family members or close speakers.

Definition in Japanese

年上の男のきょうだいを、敬意を表して指したり呼んだりする語。toshi ue no otoko no kyō da i o kei i o arawa shi te sa shi ta ri yo n da ri su ru go

Word origin

お兄さん (oniisan) comes from お (o), a polite prefix, plus 兄さん (nīsan, "older brother"), where さん (san) is an honorific suffix.

Usage tips

  • The contrast between 兄 (ani) and お兄さん (oniisan) helps show that Japanese marks respectful reference to another person's family member in ordinary conversation.

Opposites

Word lists with this word