阿哥

āgē

noun #34,545

Meanings

1 (familiar) elder brother; bro
2 (historical Manchu/Qing) prince — title for sons of Qing emperors

Characters

prefix for familiar address

Examples

阿哥，借个火好吗？

Āgē, jiè ge huǒ hǎo ma?

Hey bro, mind if I get a light?

康熙皇帝有很多阿哥。

Kāngxī huángdì yǒu hěn duō āgē.

Emperor Kangxi had many princes.

四阿哥就是后来的雍正皇帝。

Sì āgē jiùshì hòulái de Yōngzhèng huángdì.

The Fourth Prince was the future Yongzheng Emperor.

Tips

history

阿哥 (āgē) is a Manchu loanword (Manchu: age) used during the Qing dynasty as an official title for the emperor's sons before they received princely titles — e.g. 四阿哥 (the Fourth Prince) for the future Yongzheng Emperor. Hugely popular in Qing-court TV dramas (《甄嬛传》, 《步步惊心》). Modernly, 阿哥 also doubles as a casual term of address among ethnic minorities in southwest China.

Stroke Order

阿 ā

哥 gē