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How to say 'Older sister' in Japanese | お姉さん

Wondering how to say 'Older sister' in Japanese? You're in the right place!

The Japanese word for Older sister is 'Oneesan', written as お姉さん in Japanese.'Older sister' in hiragana is おねえさん.

    word

    お姉さん

    Meaning

    Older sister

    Reading

    おねえさん

    oneesan

    Kanji

    姉Older sister

    Explanation

    The Japanese noun 'お姉さん (おねえさん)' refers to an 'older sister'. It is a polite and respectful term used to address or refer to one's own older sister or someone else's older sister. It is commonly used in both family and social contexts. For example: My older sister is kind「私のお姉さんは優しい」(わたしのおねえさんはやさしい). Is that your older sister?「あの人はあなたのお姉さんですか？」(あのひとはあなたのおねえさんですか？). The term can also be used more broadly to address young women politely, similar to 'miss' in English, especially in customer service settings. For example: Excuse me, miss「すみません、お姉さん」(すみません、おねえさん).

    Part Of Speech

    noun

    Kanji JLPT

    N4

    Kanji Grade

    2

    Frequency

    288

    Composition

    kanji-hiragana

    Handwriting

Kanji in the Word お姉さん

This word contains 1 kanji character:

  • kanji

    姉

    Meaning

    Older sister

Hiragana in the Word お姉さん

This word contains 3 Hiragana characters :

  • hiragana

    お

    Reading

    O

  • hiragana

    さ

    Reading

    Sa

  • hiragana

    ん

    Reading

    N

Words Related to お姉さん Through the Kanji 姉

These 3 Words contain the Kanji 姉 as well.

  • word

    姉

    Meaning

    Older sister

  • word

    姉さん

    Meaning

    Sister

  • word

    姉妹

    Meaning

    Sisters

Learn the Word お姉さん

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What does 'Oneesan' (お姉さん) mean?

'Oneesan' means 'Older sister' .

To help you master this word, here's an interactive lesson where you'll practice its readings and meanings.