弟 dì — young brother · English

弟

dì

young brother

At a glance · 弟

Listen

Audio is synthesized in your browser: Mandarin for the character and Shuowen text, native voices for every translation. No downloads.

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

「弟」甲骨文象绳次第缠绕，金文小篆形变，本为次第。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「弟」本义为次第、顺序，引申弟弟、门弟。

Structure

从弓（绳）从丨，会意字，象韦束次第，本为次序、幼弟。

At a glance

Pinyindì

Radical弓

Strokes7

UnicodeU+5F1F

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 young brother young brother; junior; I, me

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

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

العربية أخ أصغر أخ أصغر. «孔怀兄弟»: الأخ الأصغر.

Русский младший брат Младший брат. «孔怀兄弟»: младший брат.

Common words

弟弟dì diyounger brother
兄弟xiōng dìbrothers

◉ Listen