Where does “兄” come from?

兄 (Japanese) comes from Old Japanese あに, from Japanese の, from Old Japanese の, from Middle Chinese 能 — talent, ability.

兄 (Japanese): elder brother; elder brother-in-law; Short for...

Definitions

  1. elder brother; elder brother-in-law; Short for...

Ancestry of “兄”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Japaneseあに—
2Japaneseのgenitive case marker; nominative case marker in a...
3Old Japaneseのplain, field
4Middle Chinese能talent, ability

Words derived from “兄”

Every word from Middle Chinese 能 →Every word from Old Japanese の →Every word from Japanese の →