Meaning of 弟
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- younger brother
- junior male
- I (modest word in letter)
- variant of 悌[ti4]
How to use 弟
On its own 弟 is rare in speech. People say 弟弟 (dìdi) for a younger brother, and 弟 appears in words like 兄弟 (xiōngdì) and 徒弟 (túdì). Example: 我有一个弟弟。 (Wǒ yǒu yí ge dìdi.) I have a younger brother.
Think of 弟 (dì) as a small figure with a bow 弓 shape wrapped around a stick, like a little brother tagging along behind you. The top two dots look like the tufts of hair on a younger kid's head.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 弟 (dì) with 第 (dì), the ordinal prefix in 第一 (dì yī, first). They sound the same, but 第 has the bamboo top ⺮ instead of two dots. Also remember the second syllable of 弟弟 is neutral tone: dìdi, not dìdì.
弟 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.
弟 dì · younger brother · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 弟.
| 弟弟 | dìdi | younger brother |
| 兄弟 | xiōngdì | brothers; younger brother |
| 徒弟 | túdì | apprentice; disciple |
| 弟子 | dìzǐ | disciple; follower |
| 子弟 | zǐdì | child; the younger generation |
| 老弟 | lǎodì | (affectionate form of address for a male who is not very much younger than oneself) my boy |
| 小弟 | xiǎodì | little brother; I, your little brother (humble) |
| 小弟弟 | xiǎodìdi | little brother; little boy |
| 表弟 | biǎodì | younger male cousin through a female relative |
| 弟兄 | dìxiong | brothers; comrade |
| 兄弟姐妹 | xiōngdìjiěmèi | brothers and sisters; siblings |
| 兄弟会 | xiōngdìhuì | fraternity |
Questions about 弟
What does 弟 mean?
弟 (dì) means "younger brother; junior male" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 弟?
弟 is made of 1 character: 弟 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 弟 an HSK word?
Yes. 弟 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 兄弟 and 弟弟?
弟弟 (dìdi) only means a younger brother. 兄弟 (xiōngdì) means brothers as a group, and it is also used between close male friends, like saying bro.
How do you say older brother, older sister, and younger sister?
Older brother is 哥哥 (gēge), older sister is 姐姐 (jiějie), and younger sister is 妹妹 (mèimei). Chinese always marks whether a sibling is older or younger.