兄 — how to write the kanji for “elder brother”
兄 (“elder brother” and “big brother”) is a JLPT N4 kanji taught in second grade in Japan. Its parts sit stacked: 口 (“mouth”), strokes 1–3; 儿 (“legs”, its radical), strokes 4–5, each finished before the next. On its own it is the word ani, “older brother; elder brother”. Read kei, it forms 実兄 (“biological older brother”), 義兄 (“brother-in-law…”) and 父兄 (“guardians”); the native reading ani gives 兄貴 (“elder brother”). Chinese reads it xiōng, “elder brother”, at HSK 4.
- Strokes
- 5
- JLPT
- N4
- Radical
- 儿 (“legs”)
- On
- ケイ, キョウ
- Kun
- あに
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕top leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Left-falling stroke ㇒centerdown and left
- Vertical-curve-hook ㇟centerdownwards → rightwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 5 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- ケイ kei, キョウ kyou
- Kun (native)
- あに ani
- Meanings
- elder brother; big brother
- Read kei
- 実兄 義兄 父兄
- Read kyou
- 兄弟
- Read ani
- 兄貴
- School year
- second grade
- Newspaper rank
- 1219th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 형 hyeong
- Common words
- 9 in JMdict
Words with 兄
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 兄弟 | きょうだい kyoudai | brothers and sisters; siblings |
| 実兄 | じっけい jikkei | biological older brother |
| 兄貴 | あにき aniki | elder brother; big brother |
| 兄ちゃん | にいちゃん niichan | (one's) older brother; young man |
| 義兄 | ぎけい gikei | brother-in-law… |
| 兄さん | にいさん niisan | older brother; elder brother |
| 父兄 | ふけい fukei | guardians; parents |
| 従兄弟 | いとこ itoko | cousin (male) |
| お兄さん | おにいさん oniisan | older brother; elder brother |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N4, in list order: