Chinese word

哥

Pronunciation

Pinyingē

Meaning

  • nounolder brother

Example

嘿，哥，你能帮我吗？hēi gē nǐ néng bāng wǒ ma

Hey, bro, can you help me?

Illustration for 哥 (older brother)

More examples

我有一个哥哥。wǒ yǒu yí gè gē gē

I have an older brother.

Core concept

A familiar older male sibling, and a friendly way to address an older male.

Common phrases

  • 哥哥gē gē

    older brother

Similar words

哥哥gē gē: The family term for a male sibling older than the speaker.
弟弟dì di: The family term for a male sibling younger than the speaker.
妹妹mèi mèi: The family term for a female sibling younger than the speaker.

Definition in Chinese

称呼同父母或同一家中比自己年长的男性兄弟，也可指这样的亲属。chēng hū tóng fù mǔ huò tóng yì jiā zhōng bǐ zì jǐ nián zhǎng de nán xìng xiōng dì yě kě zhǐ zhè yàng de qīn shǔ

Word origin

Traditional character analysis writes 哥 (gē, "older brother") as 可 (kě, "can") + 可 (kě, "can"), a historical written form whose parts do not explain the modern meaning.

Usage tips

  • English uses one basic word for a male sibling, but Chinese marks whether that sibling is older or younger with different family terms.

Other meanings

  • bronoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word