Oniichan, or onii-chan: This is the term for older brother that signifies closeness. This is used as a term of endearment. Oniisama, or onii-sama: This is the term for older brother that is the most formal. This is considered an honorific and is very respectful.
Onii chan is the Japanese word for older brother, used frequently by women to address men who are their superior in age. Onii chan may be used with or without actual blood ties between two parties. Online, the otakus and weebs are using it for attractive and dear male characters from anime and manga series. #1 Can I Get a Hoya?
Onii [お兄] literally means big brother and Onee [お姉] means big sister. The chan she is an honorary of child treatment, informed and intimate, as if she were a diminutive (little sister). The most formal and common is to use the suffix san, so we also listen a lot to the words onii-san for older brother and onee-san for older sister.
This is used as a term of endearment. Oniisama, or onii-sama: This is the term for older brother that is the most formal. This is considered an honorific and is very respectful.
Onii-chan is therefore an endearing way to say big brother, with a more feminine sort of sound. I don't think this is a typical way to call your older brother due to the feminine connotation.
You were actually right, Onii-chan means pretty much the same as Onii-san as in older brother. The difference is the former is informal or "cuter", while the latter is more formal, as "-chan" is an informal honorific, while "-san" is a formal one. According to this short Japanese honorifics lesson:
What's the origin of Onii chan? The term has been in used in the Japanese language for a long while, appearing in the English language in the 80’s and 90’s , when the popularity of anime and manga series rose in popularity. Onii may have several endings in Japanese, depending on the user of the phrase. The –san ending is the general honorific said ...
Onii may have several endings in Japanese, depending on the user of the phrase. The –san ending is the general honorific said to a big brother. -Chan has a more emotional load, used when one is especially connected with her big brother. -Sama is another possible formal finish for the expression.
Onii-chan and Onee-chan it is nothing more than an informal way of speaking older brother and older sister. Onii [お兄] literally means big brother and Onee [お姉] means big sister. The chan she is an honorary of child treatment, informed and intimate, as if she were a diminutive (little sister).
Younger brothers have word-like treatments otouto [弟] which means little brother and imouto [妹] which means little sister . These words don't usually use a suffix.
Speaking in Japanese kyoudai [兄弟] and sisters in Japanese are spelled shimai [姉妹]. Kyoudai can encompass all siblings even female, although you can rarely find Kyoudai written in other ways using 2 of the 4 characters used for siblings [兄 - 弟 - 姉 - 妹].
The Japanese word for twins is futago [双子] which literally means children in pairs or together. In reality, everyone is already aware that even twins, even when born at the same time, are taken in an order, so those who first came out of the mother's belly are considered older. So it can be said:
The relationship between younger and older siblings is highly valued in Japan, not to mention that the Japanese have a knack for placing younger sisters who call their brother onii-chan in anime.
Origin. The earliest Urban Dictionary [1] submission for the term "onii-chan" was submitted by user MishaMassacre on August 15th, 2007, defining it as "the Japanese word for 'older brother'.".
"Onii-Chan" is a Japanese word for “older brother" commonly used by women to address men who are slightly older, often regardless of their blood relations. Online, the honorific label has garnered traction among non-Japanese Otakus as a term of endearment for attractive male characters in anime and manga series.