Chinese phrases

How to say brother in Chinese

Brother in Chinese is 哥哥 (gē ge) for an older brother and 弟弟 (dì di) for a younger one. In everyday Chinese you say which one he is.

哥哥

gē ge

older brother

Ways to say brother

哥哥
gē ge
Everyday
older brother
Your older brother. You call him 哥哥 or just 哥.
弟弟
dì di
Everyday
younger brother
Your younger brother. In casual talk, 我弟 is “my little brother.”
兄弟
xiōng dì
Everyday
brothers; buddy
Brothers as a group: 他们是兄弟, “they’re brothers.” Between men it also means a close friend.
哥
gē
With friends
bro; older brother
To your own older brother, and to a man a little older than you: a colleague, a friend’s friend. Friendly and very common.
哥们
gē men
With friends
buddy
Men say it about their male friends, and to them: 我哥们, “my buddy.”
大哥
dà gē
Everyday
big brother
Friendly, to a man clearly older than you, for example a driver or a man at a stall. Very common in the north. In a family, the oldest brother.

兄弟姐妹
xiōng dì jiě mèi
brothers and sisters
The word for siblings, older and younger together.
你有兄弟姐妹吗
nǐ yǒu xiōng dì jiě mèi ma
do you have any brothers or sisters?
A common question when people first meet.

Saying 我兄弟 for “my brother”
我兄弟 often means “my buddy.” For your own brother, say 我哥 or 我弟.
Saying 哥哥 to a man you are not related to
As an adult, say 哥 or 大哥 to a man who is not family. A full 哥哥 from a woman to a man she is not related to can sound cute or flirty. Children call older boys 哥哥, and that is normal.

你有兄弟姐妹吗？
nǐ yǒu xiōng dì jiě mèi ma
Colleague: Do you have any brothers or sisters?
有，一个哥哥，一个弟弟。
yǒu, yí gè gē ge, yí gè dì di
Leon: Yes, an older brother and a younger brother.
你是老二啊！
nǐ shì lǎo èr a
Colleague: So you’re the middle one!
对，夹在中间。
duì, jiā zài zhōng jiān
Leon: Yep, stuck in the middle.