弟
弟 — Younger brother
younger brother, faithful service to elders
On’yomiテイ (tei)
On’yomiダイ (dai)
On’yomiデ (de)
Kun’yomiおとうと (otouto)
Stroke order (7 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 弟
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 弟 | おとうと otouto | younger brother; little brother; kid brother |
| 兄弟 | きょうだい kyoudai | brothers and sisters; siblings; half-siblings |
| 弟子 | でし deshi | pupil; disciple; adherent |
| 実弟 | じってい jittei | biological younger brother |
| 子弟 | してい shitei | children; sons; children and younger brothers |
| 従兄弟 | いとこ itoko | cousin (male) |
Study notes
弟 is a JLPT N4 kanji written with 7 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1161 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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