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家兄 (かけい, kakei) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

家か兄けい

か

け

い

Meanings

1

my older brother (humble, dated)

dated termhumble (kenjougo)›

A humble, dated way to refer to one's own older brother when speaking to someone outside the family. In modern Japanese, 兄 (あに) is the normal humble term.

家か兄けいは現げん在ざい、海かい外がいに住すんでおります。
My older brother currently lives abroad. (humble, dated)

Kanji

家house, home, family
兄elder brother, big brother

Related words

兄あに
Standard humble term for one's own older brother. 家兄 is a dated, more formal variant rarely used today.
お兄にいさん
Polite term for someone else's older brother, or a friendly way to address one's own brother. Not humble.

Etymology

A Sino-Japanese term formed with 家 as a respectful prefix for members of one’s own family and 兄 “elder brother.” It is a dated, humble expression for the speaker’s elder brother.