History UsefulNotes / JapaneseSiblingTerminology

** Touma and Relena are an odd case -- they're half-siblings, Touma is half-Japanese and Relena is fully Austrian. Whether Relena ''actually'' calls Touma "oniisama" as a sign of respect or if it's just the TranslationConvention in effect is never addressed. In the dub, Touma is usually called "Thomas," while Relena calls him "Tommy."

** In [[TheAnimeOfTheGame the manga]] for ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Fire Emblem 4]]'', Azel and Ethlyn refer to [[AntiVillain Arvis]] and [[TheHero Sigurd]] (respectively) as "niisan" and "niisama". Which is odd considering Ethlyn is comfortable teasing Sigurd while Azel fears Arvis, yet she's the one using "sama"...
** In [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia FE1 and 3]], Rikard calls Julian 'aniki'. In the localization, this became "chief". Also, Tiki, despite being unrelated to him, refers to [[TheHero Marth]] as "Oniichan", something she keeps up even when she's older, [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening thousands of years later.]] In the English localization of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragon'', she calls him "Mar-Mar", which was carried on in future localizations.

It is also not uncommon for sibling terminology to be used for non-relatives. "Oniisan" and "oneesan" and their variants are often used by children for older non-relatives that are not too far apart in age from the speaker (expect the kid VictimOfTheWeek to address the hero this way throughout the episode, for example.) If the addressee is a generation older, "ojisan" or "obasan" (meaning "uncle" and "aunt", respectively) may be used instead and if they are two or more generations older, "ojiisan" or "obaasan" (meaning "grandfather" and "grandmother", respecitvely) may be used as well. This one's hard for translators -- you want to stay true to the original, but can't exactly have the kid call the hero "Big brother" despite the fact that they've clearly never met before.

Additionally, ''ani'' and ''ane'' can take the honorific prefix ''o-'' in place of the initial ''a'' (and simultaneously double the ''i'' / ''e'' sound), which indicates further respect. These are normally found in conjunction with an honorific -- ''-san'' and ''-chan'' being among the most common for all four, although ''-sama'' is sometimes used for respected older siblings, while "baby-talk" equivalents such as ''-tan, -tama'' and ''-chama'' are limited for very young children. These are used when the speaker is describing someone else's older sibling (see above) as well as when he is addressing his own older sibling. So the speaker may call his older brother (say, Kenta) "oniisan", "oniichan", "Kenta-niisan", etc. depending on how he regards Kenta, with the most common way being a simple "oniisan". This is SeriousBusiness, by the way; while calling older siblings by "brother" or "sister" is considered old-timey in English, it's part of modern etiquette in Japanese. Conversely, whereas calling your older siblings by their name is normal in English, it's a serious breach of manners in Japanese when not attached with a familial term, on par with CallingParentsByTheirName, and definitely marks a distance between the two siblings if used at all. On the other hand, younger siblings are pretty much universally addressed by their given name.

* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'', Ludger refers to Julius as "nii-san", which is omitted in English in favor of simply using Julius' first name, with one notable exception. The very first dialogue choice of the game depends on whether or not Ludger addresses him as "nii-san" or as "Julius" in a professional setting, where choosing the former will prompt Julius to correct him that their family ties aren't relevant in that moment. Thus, the English has to specify "brother" at the end of Ludger's sentence, but aside from that one scene, Ludger tends to just call him by name.

** In [[TheAnimeOfTheGame the manga]] for ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Fire Emblem 4]]'', Azel and Ethlyn refer to [[AntiVillain Arvis]] and [[TheHero Sigurd]] (respectively) as "niisan" and "niisama". Which is odd considering Ethlin is comfortable teasing Sigurd while Azel fears Alvis, yet she's the one using "sama"...

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'', during the Happy New Year paralogue, Camilla suggests that Azura, the daughter of Arete(Camilla's father Garon's second wife), call Camilla(the daughter of one of Garon's concubines), "oneesan" or "oneechan." Azura ends up once calling Camilla the former.

* Ryuuki in ''LightNovel/SaiunkokuMonogatari'' persists in calling Seiran "aniue" when they are alone together, in spite of Seiran's protests, [[spoiler:once he finds out that Seiran is actually his exiled older brother Seien]].

* In ''Anime/DigimonSavers'', Agumon calls Marcus ''aniki'', dubbed to "boss." His actual younger sister calls him ''Masaru-niichan.'' Touma's younger sister, Relena, calls him ''oniisama.''

* ''Manga/MobPsycho100'':
** [[PersonOfMassDestruction Shigeo]] "Mob" [[PsychicPowers Kageyama's]] [[BigBrotherInstinct beloved]] [[AloofBigBrother younger]] [[BigLittleBrother brother]] Ritsu only ever refers to or addresses him as "nii-san".
*** It is implied that this is because of Ritsu's [[BigBrotherWorship extremely]] [[BigBrotherMentor complicated]] [[TheResenter feelings]] for Mob and the [[StepfordSmiler resulting distance]] between them, which Mob is unfortunately oblivious to until [[spoiler:Ritsu awakens to his own psychic powers.]] (The English dub, finding this awkward, usually has Ritsu address and refer to his brother with the same name their mother uses, Shige.)
*** The younger Kageyama called his brother "onii-chan" when they were very young children, presumably before the accident that maimed him and led to Mob's [[EmotionSuppression emotional shutdown]]. Bears out the above.

* In ''Webcomic/RedString'' [[ButNotTooForeign half Japanese, half American]] Maaya Chiaki references the differences in terminology [[http://www.redstring.strawberrycomics.com/?p=528 when she recalls]] being chastised by Teachers for refering to her elder brother by name after a visit to her grandparents' home in the States.

* [[Anime/DigimonSavers Agumon]] calls Marcus ''aniki'', dubbed to "boss." His actual younger sister calls him ''Masaru-niichan.'' Touma's younger sister, Relena, calls him ''oniisama.''

** [[PersonOfMassDestruction Shigeo]] "Mob" [[PsychicPowers Kageyama's]] [[BigBrotherInstinct beloved]] [[AloofBigBrother younger]] [[BigLittleBrother brother]] Ritsu only ever refers to or addresses him as "nii-san". It is implied that this is because of Ritsu's [[BigBrotherWorship extremely]] [[BigBrotherMentor complicated]] [[TheResenter feelings]] for Mob and the [[StepfordSmiler resulting distance]] between them, which Mob is unfortunately oblivious to until [[spoiler:Ritsu awakens to his own psychic powers.]] (The English dub, finding this awkward, usually has Ritsu address and refer to his brother with the same name their mother uses, Shige.)

* In ''Manga/CellsAtWork'', the Platelet leader refers to both AE3803 (Red Blood Cell) and U-1146 (White Blood Cell) as "Oneechan" and "Oniisan", respectively. While in Japan these words are often used to refer to slightly older people who you know but aren't related to you, a doctor who watched and reviewed the series explains that this is ''entirely correct'', as platelets, white blood cells and red blood cells are all created in the bone marrow, and they all stem from the same base cells that can grow into anything, making this a case of AccidentallyCorrectWriting.

** [[PersonOfMassDestruction Shigeo]] "Mob" [[PsychicPowers Kageyama's]] [[BigBrotherInstinct beloved]] [[AloofBigBrother younger]] [[BigLittleBrother brother]] Ritsu only ever refers to or addresses him as "nii-san". It is implied that this is because of Ritsu's [[BigBrotherWorship extremely]] [[BigBrotherMentor complicated]] [[TheResenter feelings]] for Mob and the [[StepfordSmiler resulting distance]] between them, which Mob is unfortunately oblivious to until [[spoiler:Ritsu awakens to his own psychic powers.]]

** [[PersonOfMassDestruction Shigeo]] "Mob" [[PsychicPowers Kageyama's]] [[BigBrotherInstinct beloved]] [[AloofBigBrother younger]] [[BigLittleBrother brother]] Ritsu only ever refers to or addresses him as "nii-san". It is implied that this is because of Ritsu's [[BigBrotherWorship extremely]] [[BigBrotherMentor complicated]] [[TheResenter feelings]] for Mob and the resulting distance between them, which Mob is unfortunately oblivious to until [[spoiler:Ritsu awakens to his own psychic powers.]]

** In the sequel series, Manga/Boruto refers to Konohamaru as Konohamaru-niichan, which is fitting for a family friend who is older but still young himself.

** In [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia FE1 and 3]], Rikard calls Julian 'aniki'. In the localization, this became "chief". Also, [[InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons Tiki]], despite being unrelated to him, refers to [[TheHero Marth]] as "Oniichan", something she keeps up even when she's older, [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening thousands of years later.]] In the English localization of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragon'', she calls him "Mar-Mar", which was carried on in future localizations.

* In the TV series ''Literature/{{Arashi No Yoru Ni}}: Himitsu no Tomodachi'', Boro always refers to Gabu as "Gabu-nii".

These four terms are normally used when the speaker is describing siblings. If the speaker is talking about his older and younger brothers, for example, he will say "[watashi no] ani"[[note]]The reason why "watashi no" is bracketed is because "ani"/"ane" is rarely used for anything other than referring to the speaker's own older brother/sister, so adding "My" is redundant.[[/note]] and "watashi no otōto", respectively. If he is describing someone else (say, Hanako)'s younger brother, he will say "Hanako no otōtosan", using the common [[UsefulNotes/JapaneseHonorifics honorific]] ''-san'' indicating respect. Logically, describing Hanako's older brother would be "Hanako no anisan", but this is gramatically incorrect. Rather, he will use "Hanako no oniisan".

Additionally, ''ani'' and ''ane'' can take the honorific prefix ''o-'' in place of the initial ''a'' (and simultaneously double the ''i'' / ''e'' sound), which indicates further respect. These are normally found in conjunction with an honorific -- ''-san'' and ''-chan'' being among the most common for all four, although ''-sama'' is sometimes used for respected older siblings, while "baby-talk" equivalents such as ''-tan, -tama'' and ''-chama'' are limited for very young children. These are used when the speaker is describing someone else's older sibling (see above) as well as when he is addressing his own older sibling. So the speaker may call his older brother (say, Kenta) "oniisan", "oniichan", "Kenta-niisan", etc. depending on how he regards Kenta, with the most common way being a simple "oniisan". On the other hand, younger siblings are pretty much universally addressed by their given names.

These four terms are normally used when the speaker is describing siblings. If the speaker is talking about his older and younger brothers, for example, he will say "[watashi no] ani"[[note]]The reason why "watashi no" is bracketed is because "ani"/"ane" is rarely used for anything other than referring to the speaker's own older brother/sister, so adding "My" is redundant.[[/note]] and "watashi no otōto", respectively. If he is describing someone else (say, Hanako)'s younger brother, he will say "Hanako no otōto". Logically, describing Hanako's older brother would be "Hanako no ani", but this is considered impolite. Rather, he uses "Hanako no oniisan".

Additionally, ''ani'' and ''ane'' can take the honorific prefix ''o-'' in place of the initial ''a'' (and simultaneously double the ''i'' / ''e'' sound), which indicates further respect. These are normally found in conjunction with an [[UsefulNotes/JapaneseHonorifics honorific]] -- ''-san'' and ''-chan'' being among the most common for all four, although ''-sama'' is sometimes used for respected older siblings, while "baby-talk" equivalents such as ''-tan, -tama'' and ''-chama'' are limited for very young children. These are used when the speaker is describing someone else's older sibling (see above) as well as when he is addressing his own older sibling. So the speaker may call his older brother (say, Kenta) "oniisan", "oniichan", "Kenta-niisan", etc. depending on how he regards Kenta, with the most common way being a simple "oniisan". On the other hand, younger siblings are pretty much universally addressed by their given names.

* ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'': Rin shows her lack of respect for (and, in turn, her closeness to) her older brother by always referring to him simply with his first name, just as for all of the other childhood friends, though she does sometimes call him 'idiot aniki'. At one point Kyousuke tries to persuade her to call him by a title, and while she rejects his suggestions of 'onii-sama' or 'onii-chan', she's fine with 'anija' though it doesn't stick.
** Also, the term 'Anego' - a more informal version of 'oneesan' with CoolBigSis overtones - is strongly associated with Kurugaya, who often refers to herself by the term and insists that Haruka calls her that way.

* ''LightNovel/{{Haganai}}'' uses this a lot, even though there are only two cases of actual sibling relations. [[ElegantGothicLolita Kobato]] refers to her older brother, [[MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold Kodaka]], as "an-chan" [[AccentRelapse whenever she lapses into her native Kyushu accent]]. Kodaka is also addressed as "aniki" by [[DudeLooksLikeALady Yukimura]] (deliberately as a gang leader reference, because Yukimura believes Kodaka to be a [[RatedMForManly paragon of masculinity]]) and "onii-chan" By [[CheerfulChild Maria]] and [[NunTooHoly Kate]]. [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with Kate and Maria, though -- Kate ''wants'' Maria to do this, but Maria won't have anything of it unless forced to.

* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'': Kyon's little sister is [[NoNameGiven always]] referred to exclusively as "imōtochan", including in the credits and the title of her ImageSong album. Kyon's friends have even called her "Imōto-san" on-screen; apparently, NoNameGiven is some kind of tradition in that family...
** Kyon wishes his little sister would call him ''onii-san'' instead of using his nickname...