also: あに
brother-in-law (spouse's older brother or older sister's husband)
Refers to a brother-in-law who is older than the speaker or the speaker's spouse. Used in formal and family contexts.
My brother-in-law works at a bank.
My older sister's husband, that is, my brother-in-law, is good at cooking.
older stepbrother
Used when referring to an older stepbrother, typically in formal or written contexts. In casual speech, 義理の兄 or simply 兄 may be used.
I got an older stepbrother through my father's remarriage.
He is my brother-in-law.
Since I got married, I gained one older brother-in-law.
義兄 is an older brother-in-law or stepbrother, while 義弟 refers to a younger one.
兄 is one's biological older brother, whereas 義兄 refers to a brother-in-law or older stepbrother, so the two are easily mixed up despite sharing the same reading あに.
義姉 is the female counterpart (older sister-in-law or stepsister), while 義兄 is specifically male, so learners must watch the kanji carefully.
実兄 is a biological older brother, whereas 義兄 is an older brother-in-law (spouse's older brother or older sister's husband), so the two are easily confused in formal family talk.
counter for people (honorific) · first name; given name · famous; great; noted · name; title · noun (grammar)
Standard kanji spelling for both brother-in-law and older stepbrother.
Gikun reading; rarely used in practice. The kanji 義兄 is normally read ぎけい.
Compound of 義 (ぎ, 'non-blood relation; in-law') and 兄 (けい, 'older brother'). The reading あに is a gikun (meaning-based reading) for the same kanji.