お兄さん

Japanese

Kanji in this term
兄
にい Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Pronunciation

Kun’yomi

(Tokyo) おにいさん [òníꜜìsàǹ] (Nakadaka – [2])
IPA^(key): [o̞ɲ̟iːsã̠ɴ]

Noun

お兄(にい)さん • (onii-san)

(honorific) elder brother
あなたはお兄(にい)さんがいますか。
Anata wa onii-san ga imasuka.
Do you have any elder brothers?
you, he, him (a non-aged male stranger)
お兄(にい)さんはどこからきましたか。
Onii-san wa doko kara kimashitaka.
Where are you from?

Usage notes

お兄さん is a polite word, mostly used in a talking about a person's elder brother.

Japanese people tend to use 兄 (ani) when referring to their own elder brother. Japanese children tend to use お兄ちゃん (onii-chan) or 兄ちゃん (nii-chan) when referring to their elder brother.

Synonyms

Antonyms

弟(おとうと) (otōto)
弟(おとうと)さん (otōto-san)

Related terms

お姉(ねえ)さん (onē-san): elder sister (polite)
姉(あね) (ane): elder sister
妹(いもうと)さん (imōto-san): younger sister (polite)
妹(いもうと) (imōto): younger sister

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