Meaning
elder brother
Chinese: 哥哥、兄长。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “xiong” becomes a different word in each tone. 兄 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
- 兄弟xiōng dìbrothers; younger brother; I, me (humble term used by men in public speech); brotherly
- 年兄nián xiōnglit. older brother; fig. fellow students who are successful in the imperial examinations
- 家兄jiā xiōng(polite) my elder brother
- 从兄cóng xiōngolder male second cousin
- 兄长xiōng zhǎngelder brother; term of respect for a man of about the same age
Example Sentence
他们兄弟两个感情很好。Tā men xiōng dì liǎng ge gǎn qíng hěn hǎo.The two brothers have a good relationship.
他们Tā menthey兄弟xiōng dìbrothers两liǎngtwo个ge(measure word)感情gǎn qíngemotion很hěnvery好hǎogood。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A mouth (口) over a person (儿): the family member who speaks up and leads the younger ones — the ‘elder brother’.
A way to remember it
A person with a big mouth, telling the little ones what to do — big brother.
Easy to confuse with
- 只‘Only / measure word’: also a 口 on top, but with two short strokes below instead of legs.