Meaning
elder brother
Chinese: 年长者、兄弟。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “ge” becomes a different word in each tone. 哥 is the 1st tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 哥哥gē geolder brother
- 大哥dà gēeldest brother; big brother (polite address for a man of about the same age as oneself); gang leader; boss
- 帅哥shuài gēhandsome guy; lady-killer; handsome (form of address)
- 的哥dī gēmale taxi driver; cabbie (slang)
- 一哥yī gē(coll.) top-ranked male; leading male; top male personality (in a particular field, esp. in entertainment or sports)
Example Sentence
我哥哥比我大三岁。Wǒ gē ge bǐ wǒ dà sān suì.My older brother is three years older than me.
我WǒI哥哥gē geolder brother比bǐcompared to我wǒI大三dà sānthird year of university岁suìyears old。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
Two 可 stacked up. It means ‘elder brother’.
A way to remember it
Two 可 piled up — big brother.
Easy to confuse with
- 歌‘Song’: 哥 (the sound) plus 欠 (an open mouth) — singing.