姐姐
jiě jie
China sister brother
姐姐 (jiějie) is the common way to say "older sister" in Mandarin Chinese. Chinese culture places importance on age and hierarchy within families, so different terms are used for older and younger siblings.
When to use it
Neutral and widely used. For a younger sister, use 妹妹 (mèimei). When referring to sisters in general or a group of sisters, you can use 姐妹 (jiěmèi).
How to pronounce it
Sounds roughly like "jee-EH-jyeh." The first 姐 is a rising tone, and the second is usually said lightly (neutral tone).
Other ways to say it
- 妹妹mèi meiyounger sister
- 姐妹jiě mèisisters (general)
- 表姐biǎo jiěolder female cousin (mother's side)
Examples
我有一个姐姐。
wǒ yǒu yí gè jiě jie 。
I have an older sister.
姐姐，你好！
jiě jie ， nǐ hǎo ！
Hello, older sister!
这是我的妹妹。
zhè shì wǒ de mèi mei 。
This is my younger sister.
Pro tip: Always specify if a sister is older (姐姐) or younger (妹妹) than you. Unlike English, there's no single general word for "sister" without this distinction.
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