兄 xiōng — elder brother · English

兄

xiōng

elder brother

At a glance · 兄

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

「兄」甲骨文从口从人，象人张口祝祷，本为长。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「兄」本义为长、兄长，引申哥哥、尊称。

Structure

从口、从儿（人），会意字，象祝祷之长者，本为兄长。

At a glance

Pinyinxiōng

Radical儿

Strokes5

UnicodeU+5144

Character type会意

Theme人伦

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English elder brother elder brother

Français frère aîné Frère aîné. «孔怀兄弟» : le frère aîné.

Español hermano mayor Hermano mayor. «孔怀兄弟»: el hermano mayor.

العربية أخ أكبر أخ أكبر. «孔怀兄弟»: الأخ الأكبر.

Русский старший брат Старший брат. «孔怀兄弟»: старший брат.

Common words

兄弟xiōng dìbrothers
兄长xiōng zhǎngelder brother

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