Kanji
imouto imouto 妹. It's just a single kanji with a rather longThe word written with kanji is妹. It's just a singlewith a rather long reading
Imouto vs. Oneesan
The difference between imouto and oneesan is that imouto always refers to one's younger sister, while oneesan, oneechan, oneesama usually refers to one's "older sister."So, in a sense, the opposite of oneesan is imouto, age-wise. These words only apply to female siblings, the opposite gender-wise, the words for "older brother" and "younger brother," would be oniisan and otouto.
Note that you can have multiple imouto's, multiple "younger sisters." Because the word imouto doesn't mean "youngest," just "younger."
The "youngest sister" of all your siblings is your matsumai 末妹, written with the kanji for "final," matsu 末, probably because she was the last one to be born. You can also simply describe her as ichiban shita no imouto 一番下の妹, literally "the imouto most below (in the age ranking.)"
Imoutosan
The difference betweenandis thatalways refers to one's younger sister, whileusually refers to one's "older sister."So, in a sense, the opposite ofis, age-wise. These words only apply to female siblings, the opposite gender-wise, the words for "older brother" and "younger brother," would beandNote that you can have multiple's, multiple "younger sisters." Because the worddoesn't mean "youngest," just "younger."The "youngest sister" of all your siblings is your末妹, written with thefor "final,"末, probably because she was the last one to be born. You can also simply describe her as一番下の妹, literally "themost below (in the age ranking.)"
This happens because this san stuff are called honorifics, and honorifics are used when you want to make a reverence.
Since your older sister is your elder, and you should treat your elders with respect, the term oneesan gets the reverencing honorifics. But your younger sister is not your elder, she's your junior, so you don't really make a reverence toward her.
One exception is when you're talking about other people's younger sisters. Since it's other people, you might want to speak with respect, so you say imoutosan 妹さん, with a san.
Since you normally don't use honorifics when talking about your own family to other people, imoutosan normally refers to someone else's younger sister, not yours.
Beyond imoutosan, there's also the word goreimaisama ご令妹様, which is an even more polite way to refer to other people's younger sisters, and would be used more in writing.
Imouto vs. Imōto
imouto and imōto, with a macron, is merely that it's aThis happens because long vowels, found in syllables like oo おお, ou おう, and oo おー, may be romanized with a macron instead of two vowel letters.
The difference betweenand, with a macron, is merely that it's a different romaji for the same word This happens because long vowels, found in syllables likeおお,おう, andおー, may be romanized with a macron instead of two vowel letters.
The wordmeans "younger sister" in Japanese . Sometimes it's translated as "little sister" instead, but it's "younger sister." Even if your younger sister is bigger than you she's still your
Post a Comment Blogger Disqus
Post a Comment