Compare English and Japanese about brothers and sisters.
Is it surprising to hear that there is not a word for ‘brother’ nor ‘sister’ in Japanese?
No, not by one word.
If you mean ‘brother,’ you need to say ‘兄弟(きょうだい)’―a compound of two characters.
In this case, 兄弟(きょうだい) means one of the elder and younger brothers. 兄(あに) is an elder brother. 弟(おとうと) is a younger brother.
Japanese does care about ‘elder’ or ‘younger,’ whereas English doesn’t. 姉(あね) is an elder sister; 妹(いもうと) younger.
When we read ‘brother’ or ‘sister,’ we can’t help but ask if it’s elder or younger. We can’t sit still nor sleep until we know it.
This is maybe because we only have a concept of 兄(あに), 弟(おとうと), 姉(あね), or 妹(いもうと). This distinction is so important that we are in trouble when we translate a language into Japanese.
Do you know what a family member is called in a Japanese family?
Imagine a family of six—a grandmother, parents, and three children. The children are a boy and two girls. The youngest is a girl.
The gramma is お祖母(おばあ)ちゃん; the father お父さん(おとうさん); the mother お母さん(おかあさん); the brother お兄(おにい)ちゃん; the elder sister お姉(おねえ)ちゃん, the younger sister HER (NICK)NAME.
Do you understand what I mean? They are actually called so all the time by any of the family member.
The gramma calls the father お父さん(おとうさん), although he is her son. Of course, the father calls his mother お祖母(おばあ)ちゃん.
The gramma calls her grandson お兄(おにい)ちゃん, and anyone calls him so.
The mother calls her elder daughter お姉(おねえ)ちゃん, and anyone calls her so.
Now you get to the point.
The youngest child sits in the center of the family—the latest-born child.
What to call is decided on which position a member stands from the youngest’s viewpoint.
The father calls his wife お母さん(おかあさん). Do you realize, however, that there is not a word 弟(おとうと)ちゃん or 妹(いもうと)ちゃん? Because all the members see from the youngest’s viewpoint, there’re no one who can be called 弟(おとうと) or 妹(いもうと).
In ancient Japan, however, the difference of age didn’t seem to be so important. The first emperor Jimmu, 神武(じんむ)天皇(てんのう)(660 B.C. – 584 B.C.) was not the first-born child but he became the emperor.
Until the 15th emperor, the age order had not been of importance. When the 16th emperor Nintoku 仁徳天皇(にんとくてんのう) was chosen, his younger brother was a candidate. But, affected by the thoughts of China and the Analects of Confucius, he refused to be one.
It was the 5th century. Seemingly it was around this time that age had much importance to the Japanese people.
The thoughts affected the name. Many first-born child was named 太郎(たろう), 一郎(いちろう), 一夫(かずお), or 一雄(かずお), which all means the first boy. The second one was 次郎(じろう), 二郎(じろう), or 次男(つぎお). The third was 三郎(さぶろう).
A Paul Simon’s song, ‘He Was My Brother’ is often translated to Japanese as ‘私(わたし)の兄弟(きょうだい).’ If you listen to the song, you’ll know that’s the elder brother 兄(あに). I don’t know why they used the word 兄弟(きょうだい).
兄弟(きょうだい) is sometimes used to mean ‘a good friend.’
In particular, if you say 兄弟分(きょうだいぶん), that always means a good or intimate friend. I first thought the song meant a friend. But it meant a real brother.
Interestingly, 姉妹(しまい) is not used for this purpose; 姉妹(しまい) is not used to mean a friend. Even a female, 兄弟(きょうだい) is used to mean a friend.
Furthermore, 兄弟(きょうだい) is applied to sisters as well.
お姉さん(おねえさん) has a special usage to refer to a girl or lady.
Comments