お兄ちゃん

Japanese

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

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) おに​いちゃん [òníꜜìchàǹ] (Nakadaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [o̞ɲ̟iːt͡ɕã̠ɴ]

Noun

お兄(にい)ちゃん • (onii-chan) 

1. (familiar or childish) elder brother

Usage notes

• A form of お兄さん used by children to refer to their own elder brother.

Synonyms

• 兄(あに) (ani)
• お兄(にい)さん (onii-san)
• 兄(にい)ちゃん (nii-chan)

Antonyms

• 弟(おとうと) (otōto)
• 弟(おとうと)さん (otōtosan)

Related terms

• お姉(ねえ)さん (onēsan): elder sister (polite)
• 姉(あね) (ane): elder sister
• 妹(いもうと)さん (imōtosan): younger sister (polite)
• 妹(いもうと) (imōto): younger sister

Descendants

• Chinese: 歐尼醬／欧尼酱 (ōuníjiàng)