Meaning of 哥
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- elder brother
How to use 哥
On its own 哥 is used mostly in compounds or as a casual address, while 哥哥 (gēge) is the standard word for older brother. It also appears in friendly slang like 帅哥 (shuàigē) and 哥们 (gēmen). Example: 我哥哥在北京工作。(Wǒ gēge zài Běijīng gōngzuò.) My older brother works in Beijing.
哥 (gē) is made of two 可 (kě) stacked on top of each other. Picture an older brother who always says 可, 可, "okay, okay," when you ask him for help.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes confuse 哥 (gē, older brother) with 歌 (gē, song), which has the same sound but adds 欠 on the right. Also, the second syllable of 哥哥 is neutral tone (gēge), so do not stress it as gē gē.
哥 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
哥 gē · elder brother · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 哥.
| 哥哥 | gēge | older brother |
| 大哥 | dàgē | eldest brother; big brother (polite address for a man of about the same age as oneself) |
| 帅哥 | shuàigē | handsome guy; lady-killer |
| 哥们 | gēmen | (coll.) dude; buddy; bro |
| 表哥 | biǎogē | older male cousin through a female relative |
| 哥们儿 | gēmenr | erhua form of 哥們|哥们[ge1 men5] |
| 老哥 | lǎogē | form of address for a (slightly) older man (esp. among males) |
| 哥特 | gētè | (loanword) Gothic subculture or aesthetic |
| 二哥 | èrgē | second brother |
| 小哥 | xiǎogē | (coll.) young man; polite or friendly form of address or reference for a young male |
| 老大哥 | lǎodàgē | big brother |
| 阿哥 | āgē | (familiar) elder brother |
Questions about 哥
What does 哥 mean?
哥 (gē) means "elder brother" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 哥?
哥 is made of 1 character: 哥 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 哥 an HSK word?
Yes. 哥 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can I call a man who is not my brother 哥?
Yes. In casual speech people often call a slightly older man 哥 or 大哥 (dàgē) to sound friendly and respectful. Adding his surname, like 王哥 (Wáng gē), is also common among coworkers.
What is the word for younger brother?
Younger brother is 弟弟 (dìdi). Together, 哥哥 and 弟弟 can be shortened to 兄弟 (xiōngdì), meaning brothers.