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弟

Younger Brother
Stroke count: 7

Readings

On readingテイ、ダイ
Kun readingおとうと

Meanings

  1. younger brotherRtK
    彼は私と弟を取り違えた。He mistook me for my younger brother.tatoeba
  2. faithful service to elders
  1. little brother
  2. kid brother
  3. brother-in-law (spouse's younger brother or younger sister's husband)

Synonyms

兄義弟

Popular Usage

兄弟従兄弟

Radicals and components

Radical弓bow
Components
How it's built
弟
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Mnemonic (RtK)

ⓘ

horns · dollar · bow (弓) · stick (丨)

From "Remembering the Kanji" by James Heisig · Frame 1328

Compound words

東京の郊外に住む両親や弟は大震災で死んだ。おとうと
My parents and little brother, who lived in the suburbs of Tokyo, died in the big earthquake.tatoeba
彼は彼女が弟とデートしていることに腹を立てた。
He resented that she was dating his brother.tatoeba
彼は弟が自慢だった。
He was proud of his brother.tatoeba
彼は弟をさんざんいじめた。
He knocked his brother about.tatoeba
彼は弟の肩をポンとたたいた。
He patted his brother on the shoulder.tatoeba

Real voices: how native speakers say it

These sentences were read aloud by real people — native Japanese speakers — for the open Mozilla Common Voice project. Listen to how a phrase sounds in real speech: the intonation, the pace, the way words run together. Two speakers mean two different people read it — compare them.

弟子はとっておらんのじゃ
でしはとっておらんのじゃI don't take apprentices.
今まで兄弟だとは知らなかった
いままできょうだいだとはしらなかったI didn't know they were brothers.
ずっと兄弟みたいな関係でした
ずっときょうだいみたいなかんけいでしたWe were like brothers the whole time.

Recordings and sentences: Mozilla Common Voice, CC0

Stroke Order

7 strokes

Younger brother. A cord wound around a stick in order — the one who comes next in line.

Practice Writing

Practice Writing 弟

Draw with a guide, then from memory — checked at every step