漢字Kanji · in Human Body & People
姉: elder sister
JLPT N48 strokesGrade 2Your ink: 白 Not met
女 carries the meaning · 市 gives the sound
8 strokes
Bronze · Zhou Small seal · Qin Today
Bronze and small seal: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Two readings, and the words that use each
シshi · on'yomi · in compounds
- 姉妹しまいsisters
- 義姉ぎしsister-in-law (spouse's older sister or…
あねane · kun'yomi · on its own
- 姉あねone's own older sister
Special readingsThese words are read as a whole, not from the readings above.
- お姉さんおねえさんolder sister [hon.]
- 姉さんねえさんolder sister; elder sister
- 従姉妹いとこcousin (female)
Also read はは, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0 · JMdict, EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0.
成り立ち
Where it comes from
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Grace and strength! This is the radical of the feminine, representing mothers, daughters, and the many roles women have played throughout history.”
繋がり
Connections
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
Easy to confuse
The difference, side by side姉 elder sister · 女
vs柿 persimmon · 木In ChineseSimplified 姊 · traditional, as in Japanese · zǐ
Japan keeps the traditional form 姉; mainland China simplifies it to 姊.
- Simplified
- 姊 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 姉 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin zǐ most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.
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