弟 (dì) is a Chinese character meaning “younger brother”. It is written from 丷 (two spreading strokes) and 弔 (old form of 吊 — to hang; to mourn) and 丿 (left-falling stroke), and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “younger brother”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
丷 + 弔 + 丿
Overlapping structure
- 丷 two spreading strokes unknown
- 弔 old form of 吊 — to hang; to mourn · diào unknown
- 丿 left-falling stroke unknown
Structure from: Kangxi radical assignment 弓部 (U+5F1F) plus hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 seven-stroke modern glyph inspection: strokes 1-2 match 丷, strokes 3-6 match the four strokes of 弔, stroke 7 is the 丿 sweeping across the lower left
Memory aid
Two small strokes (丷) perch on the shoulders of 弔, and a single 丿 slips down across the lower left — the little one who always stands just off to the side of his big brother: the younger brother.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 兄弟xiōng dìbrothers; siblings (brothers)弟 = dì
Go deeper
All readings
younger brother
younger brother; junior male of the same generation
同辈中年纪比自己小的男子；弟弟。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 兄弟xiōng dìbrothers; siblings (brothers)弟 = dì
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 弟 mean?
弟 (dì) means younger brother; junior male of the same generation.
How do you pronounce 弟?
It is pronounced dì.
What parts is 弟 made of?
丷 (two spreading strokes) and 弔 (old form of 吊 — to hang; to mourn) and 丿 (left-falling stroke). The recorded source is: Kangxi radical assignment 弓部 (U+5F1F) plus hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 seven-stroke modern glyph inspection: strokes 1-2 match 丷, strokes 3-6 match the four strokes of 弔, stroke 7 is the 丿 sweeping across the lower left. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 弟 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 弟?
弓. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 弟?
Common ones are 兄弟. The reading of 弟 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.