Japanese
| Kanji in this term
|
| 姉
|
ねえ Grade: 2
|
| kun'yomi
|
| Alternative spellings
|
御姉 御姐
|
Etymology
Clipping of お姉さん (onēsan, “older sister”).
Pronunciation
Noun
お姉 • (onē)
- (familiar way of referring) older sister; young lady
- (slang, LGBTQ) effeminate male (man with feminine speech and behavior)
Usage notes
- This term is often spelled in kana, as おねえ.
- This is an example of a word that can be spelled with katakana to convey an informal conversational tone, as オネエ.