兄弟 (きょうだい) Japanese meaning

兄弟 (きょうだい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

Kanji

兄elder brother, big brother
弟younger brother, faithful service to elders

Related words· 6

姉し妹まいN3sense 1
姉妹 refers specifically to sisters, while 兄弟 broadly covers any combination of brothers and sisters.
相あい棒ぼう sense 3
相棒 means 'partner/buddy' and can be used more broadly (including work partners), while 兄弟 in this casual sense is specifically a male-to-male address term like 'bro'.
兄けい妹まい
兄弟 is the general, unmarked word for 'siblings' or 'brothers', while 兄妹 specifically means an older brother paired with a younger sister.
弟てい妹まい
兄弟 broadly means siblings or brothers in general, while 弟妹 specifically refers to one's younger brother and younger sister as a pair.

Show 2 more

同どう胞ほう
兄弟 usually means actual siblings, whereas 同胞 extends that brotherhood metaphorically to a whole nation or ethnic group.
ブラザー
兄弟 is the general native term covering siblings collectively, while ブラザー specifically evokes a single 'brother' with a casual, foreign flavor.

Opposites

一人ひとりっ子こN3
一人っ子 describes someone with no brothers or sisters, while 兄弟 refers to having siblings.

Politeness

ご兄きょう弟だいhonorific 尊敬語sense 1
ご兄弟 is the polite form used when referring respectfully to someone else's siblings, while 兄弟 is the plain, neutral term.

Don't confuse with

強きょう大だい
兄弟, pronounced identically to 強大, means siblings and has nothing to do with power or scale.
師し弟ていN1
兄弟 shares the kanji 弟 and means 'siblings', which learners can confuse with 師弟's teacher-student pairing.
父ふ兄けいN1
父兄 literally contains the kanji for 'older brother' but in modern use means parents/guardians, while 兄弟 actually means siblings.

Counted with

人にん
Used when counting siblings as people; in many contexts native speakers may also say 兄弟一組, but that is not a counter for each person.
組くみN3
For sets, pairs, and groups — couples, siblings, matched tableware.

Word family· 14

義ぎ兄きょう弟だい
brother-in-law; stepbrother; sworn brother
兄きょう弟だい分ぶん
sworn brother; close buddy
乳ち兄きょう弟だい
foster sibling; milk sibling

Written forms

兄きょう弟だいUsage94%
Standard kanji spelling; commonly used for siblings regardless of gender, though the kanji literally mean 'older brother' and 'younger brother'.
きょうだいUsage6%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when gender-neutrality is emphasized or in informal contexts.

Etymology

Compound of 兄 (older brother) and 弟 (younger brother). Historically referred only to male siblings, but modern usage has expanded to include all siblings regardless of gender.

兄きょう弟だい

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