兄 (xiōng): elder brother
兄 (xiōng) is a Chinese character meaning “elder brother.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 口 (structural) and 儿 (structural). It ranks #1088 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 兄 older brother 儿 speaking 口 to younger ones. Its radical form 儿 (legs) appears in many related characters such as 儿 (ér, child), 元 (yuán, Yuan dynasty (1279–1368)), 先 (xiān, beforehand).
Definitions
- elder brother
Etymology & Origin
ideographicOlder brother 儿 speaking 口 to younger ones
Decomposition: ⿱口儿 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 兄 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 兄
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 老兄 | lǎo xiōng | elder brother (often used self-referentially) |
| 弟兄 | dì xiong | brothers |
| 兄妹 | xiōng mèi | brother(s) and sister(s) |
| 堂兄 | táng xiōng | older male patrilineal cousin |
| 兄长 | xiōng zhǎng | elder brother |
| 表兄弟 | biǎo xiōng dì | male cousin through a female relative |
| 堂兄弟 | táng xiōng dì | father's brother's sons |
| 仁兄 | rén xiōng | (honorific written address) My dear friend |
| 师兄 | shī xiōng | senior male fellow student or apprentice |
| 长兄 | zhǎng xiōng | eldest brother |
| 难兄难弟 | nán xiōng nán dì | lit. hard to differentiate between elder and younger brother (idiom) |
| 父兄 | fù xiōng | father and elder brother(s) |
| 家兄 | jiā xiōng | (polite) my elder brother |
| 年兄 | nián xiōng | lit. older brother |
| 从兄 | cóng xiōng | older male second cousin |
兄 appears in 44 compound words: 20 as the first character, 43 as the last, and 36 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 兄 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (4)
hard to tell who is better; to be as good; equally-matched two; of the same ilk; to be both bad
elder brother, younger brother, elder sister and younger sister; brothers and sisters; siblings
Example Sentences
这个兄字的意思与它的部首有关。
zhè gě xiōng zì de yì sī yú tā de bù shǒu yǒu guān .
The meaning of the character "兄" is related to its radical.
踢帕娱乐全新短剧《危城兄弟》3月开镜!陈峻廷为戏蓄发揣摩大哥
tī pà yú lè quán xīn duǎn jù wēi chéng xiōng dì 3 yuè kāi jìng ! chén jùn tíng wéi xì xù fā chuāi mó dà gē
Kick Pa Entertainment's new short drama "Dangerous City Brothers" will start filming in March! Chen Junting is trying to figure out Big Brother for the play
Netflix不玩了!放弃收购华纳兄弟 盘后股价大涨近10%
N e t f l i x bù wán le ! fàng qì shōu gòu huá nà xiōng dì pán hòu gǔ jià dà zhǎng jìn 1 0
Netflix is not playing! Abandoned the acquisition of Warner Bros., and the stock price rose nearly 10% after hours
拒绝加价:Netflix 放弃收购华纳兄弟
jù jué jiā jià : N e t f l i x fàng qì shōu gòu huá nà xiōng dì
Refusal of price increases: Netflix abandons acquisition of Warner Bros
一家4兄妹都“满分” 牛淳赋学测获75级分
yī jiā 4 xiōng mèi dōu mǎn fēn niú chún fù xué cè huò 7 5 jí fēn
A family of 4 siblings all scored "full marks" Niu Chunfu scored 75 points
华纳兄弟探索据悉考虑重启与Paramount的...
huá nà xiōng dì tàn suǒ jù xī kǎo lǜ chóng qǐ yǔ P a r a m o u n t de . . .
Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly considering restarting with Paramount's...
把钥匙带给你的兄弟。
Bǎ yàoshi dàigěi nǐ de xiōngdì.
Take the key to your brother.
提姆是汤姆的双胞胎兄弟。
Tímǔ shì Tāngmǔ de shuāngbāotāi xiōngdì.
Tim is Tom's twin brother.
我为我的兄弟感到自豪。
Wǒ wèi wǒ de xiōngdì gǎndào zìháo.
I'm proud of my brother.
玛丽，这是乔的兄弟大卫。
Mǎlì, zhè shì Qiáo de xiōngdì Dàwèi.
Mary, this is Joe's brother David.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 兄 (xiōng) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 兄 have?
What is the radical of 兄?
What are the components of 兄?
What are common words containing 兄?
What characters sound the same as 兄 (xiōng)?
Is 兄 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 兄 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.