弟 (dì) means "younger brother" with HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: younger brother
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
Oracle bone and bronze forms of 弟 depict a cord or leather strap wound in a spiral around a stake or arrow shaft. This binding had to be wrapped in a fixed sequence from one end to the other, and the graph was borrowed early on for the idea of ordered sequence, from which the 'younger brother' sense (one who comes after in birth order) derives.
Form evolution
The oracle bone form clearly shows the spiral winding around a vertical element. Bronze inscriptions regularised the spiral into parallel strokes. Seal script stylised it further into a recognisable ancestor of the modern form, and clerical script flattened the curves into the straight strokes seen in 楷书 today. The modern 弟 retains the vertical central stroke and the angled strokes that once represented the winding cord.
How the meaning evolved
The original meaning was 'sequence' or 'order', still visible in 第 (which adds the bamboo radical 竹 and became the dedicated word for ordinal 'number'). 弟 itself specialised to mean 'younger brother', one who follows in the sibling sequence. It also developed the sense of a junior male, a student, or a disciple (徒弟, 弟子).
Cultural note
The pair 兄弟 (older and younger brother) is one of the most loaded kinship terms in Chinese culture, used as a term of loyalty between non-related men in classical novels like 水浒传 and in modern speech. Confucian 悌 (respect for elder brothers) is built on 弟 with the heart radical, showing how the sibling role was formalised into an ethical virtue.
Basic info
| Pinyin | dì |
| Meanings | younger brother |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1 |
| Frequency | #327 most common |
Example sentences
我弟弟在上学。
Wǒ dìdi zài shàngxué.
My younger brother is in school.
From 弟弟 (HSK 1)
他有一个弟弟和一个哥哥，兄弟感情很好。
Tā yǒu yī gè dìdi hé yī gè gēge, xiōngdì gǎnqíng hěn hǎo.
He has a younger brother and an older brother, and they have a good relationship.
From 兄弟 (HSK 4)
孔子有很多弟子。
Kǒngzǐ yǒu hěn duō dìzǐ.
Confucius had many disciples.
From 弟子 (HSK 7-9)
Words containing 弟
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.