おにいさん – Oh Brother, when to say oniisan in Japanese
お兄さん is a Japanese word meaning older brother. At least that is the most simple way to explain the word. Depending on the context おにいさん may be used to refer to someone that is not your brother. Let’s take a look
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What does おにいさん mean?
おにいさん is the Japanese word for an older brother. Or at least one word for it. Depending on the situation you have a few different choices.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/When to use おにいさん
When you are at home, with your family you would say おにいさん or one of its derivatives to refer to your older brother. Depending on who you talk to saying おにいさん may sound too formal when talking about your own brother. It may sound like you are not too close to your brother. But again that is a personal nuisance so it depends on the person.
Instead, though people will often instead say おにいちゃん which is less formal. You can even say にいちゃん and leave off the お altogether.
What about Outside of the Family?
When you are talking with people outside of your family, things get a bit more complex. There is one more word for older brother, 兄. Generally, おにいさん is used for other peoples brothers, and you would say 兄 for your own older brother. At least that would be the standard when in polite company talking with people outside of your family.
But, there are situations where you may refer to your own older brother as おにいさん or even おにいちゃん. It would depend on how close you are to the person you are talking to, how formal the situation was, and the level of formality you were trying to portray about your relationship with your brother.
おにいさん also refers to Young Men
The word おにいさん like other familial words like おじさん show up in situations outside of the family.
When you are not talking about family, おにいさん means a young man. Or more specifically someone that is clearly not a child up to someone that is not an おじさん or middle-aged man. But, there is no clear definition as to what age someone stops being an おにいさん and turns into an おじさん. Generally, people don’t go around telling others their age all the time. So, in the real world, おにいさん would be someone that still looks or acts young.
