姐弟 (jiě dì) — older sister and younger brother (as a pair)

Definition

A fixed paired noun meaning an older sister and her younger brother together. Unlike 兄弟姐妹, it names only these two roles, not a wider sibling group.

noun

older sister and younger brother (as a pair)

姐弟。
Wǒ men jiě dì liǎ cóng xiǎo yì qǐ zhǎng dà.
We two, sister and brother, grew up together from a young age.
姐弟，。
Zuò wéi jiě dì, tā men hù xiāng bāng zhù hěn duō.
As sister and brother, they help each other a lot.
，姐弟。
Suī rán bú shì shuāng bāo tāi, dàn jiě dì liǎ cháng dé hěn xiàng.
Although they are not twins, the sister and brother look very similar.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

姐jiěolder sister

弟dìyounger brother

姐, older sister, and 弟, younger brother, form the sibling pair.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

女且姐

Meaning part形符xíngfú

女女nǚwoman

Sound part声符shēngfú

且

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The 女 part points to a woman, and 且 is a sound component.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

弟 pictures a spear handle wrapped in a leather strap. The wrapping showed order, and that meaning was extended to a younger brother.

Appears in