お兄さん

Japanese

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

お兄(にい)さん • (onii-san) 

1. (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?

2. 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

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

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