おとうと
otōtostandard, own brother
Younger brother in hiragana is おとうと (otōto). The kanji spelling is 弟. The long う after と makes the sound "ō". It is also called おとうとさん (otōtosan).
Meaning: a male younger sibling (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| おとうと | otōto | standard, own brother |
| おとうとさん | otōtosan | polite, someone else's brother |
Use おとうと (otōto) for your own younger brother. For someone else's younger brother, add さん to get おとうとさん (otōtosan).
How does it change in a sentence?
Japanese has no single everyday word for "brother". The word shows age, so おとうと (otōto) is younger and あに (ani) is older.
How do you pronounce it?
Say o-tō-to with a long middle vowel, close to "oh-toh-toh".
Did you know?
- Children often call their own younger brother by name, not by おとうと (otōto), which is used mainly when talking about him to others.
Examples in context
- おとうとはがくせいです。Otōto wa gakusei desu.My younger brother is a student.
- おとうとさんはいくつですか。Otōtosan wa ikutsu desu ka.How old is your younger brother?
- おとうとと あそびました。Otōto to asobimashita.I played with my younger brother.
Example conversation
Yui talks to her coworker Sato during a lunch break in Osaka.
- Sato兄弟はいますか。Kyōdai wa imasu ka.Do you have siblings?
- 結衣 Yuiはい、おとうとがいます。Hai, otōto ga imasu.Yes, I have a younger brother.
- Satoおとうとさんは何歳ですか。Otōtosan wa nansai desu ka.How old is your younger brother?
