The kanji 弟 primarily represents "younger brother." It signifies a male sibling who is younger than oneself. The character embodies the concept of familial order and relative age within a family unit.

・On-yomi (音読み): テイ (tei) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): おとうと (otouto)

⚫︎ 弟 Translation: Younger brother ⚫︎ 兄弟 (kyoudai) Translation: Brothers ⚫︎ 弟分 (otoutobun) Translation: Protege; underling (can also refer to a younger male follower or someone you look after)

The kanji 弟 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). The left side is a part of the character 弓 (kyuu - bow, or something related). The right side is 丨 (kon - vertical stroke). Originally, the left side of the character was not a part of 弓, but a part of the character 異 (i - different). The sound of 弟 is derived from the character 異. In ancient times, the meaning was "to follow, to be younger." Then it developed to mean "younger brother".