ChiramiN4 kanji · 8 strokes
姉 means older sister
女 woman · 市 market
姉Memory trick
The woman (女) old enough to go to the market (市) alone: your older sister.
Memory trick: a picture to help you remember the kanji, not its history.
Meaning and readings
- Meaning
- elder sister
- JLPT level
- N4
- Strokes
- 8
- School grade
- Grade 2 in Japan
Japanese (kunyomi) あね ane
あね (ane) is the Japanese word for this kanji. You use it when the kanji stands alone or has kana after it. Dictionaries call this the kun reading.
Other Japanese readings: はは haha
From Chinese (onyomi) シ shi
シ (shi) came from Chinese with the character. You mostly hear it in words made of several kanji. Dictionaries call this the on reading.
Tap a reading to see when it's used. Why kanji have two kinds of reading: onyomi vs kunyomi.
Common word
お姉さん おねえさん · oneesan
older sister, elder sister
Built from
Tap a part to see the N5 and N4 kanji that use it.
女 Used in 48 kanji
See all 5 at N5 and N4巾 Used in 36 kanji
See all 3 at N5 and N4Quick check
What does 姉 mean?
Right: 姉 means older sister.Not quite: 姉 means older sister.In お姉さん (おねえさん), what kind of reading does 姉 have?
Right. お姉さん (おねえさん, oneesan) has a special reading: it belongs to this word, not to 姉 on its own, so you learn it with the word.Not quite. お姉さん (おねえさん, oneesan) has a special reading: it belongs to this word, not to 姉 on its own, so you learn it with the word.