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I was wondering if the kanji for both sister-in-law and step sister is 義妹
(younger sister) or 義姉 (older sister) and there's no way of differentiating
them other than context?
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2021-03-05T00:55:03.847
84454
2021-03-05T08:08:51.177
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question
kinship-terms
Is the kanji for sister-in-law and step sister the same?
If your question is how to tell meaning of 義姉, you need to guess from contexts
in the present-day colloquial language.

Strictly speaking, [義]{ぎ}[姉]{し} or [義]{ぎ}[妹]{まい} only means (or meant) sister-
in-law or sworn sister. Here are definitions in デジタル大辞泉.

> ぎ‐し【義姉】
>
> １ 義理の姉。妻または夫の姉、兄の妻など。
>
> ２ 血縁関係はないが、姉妹の約束を交わして姉としている人。

> ぎ‐まい【義妹】
>
> １ 義理の妹。夫または妻の妹、弟の妻など。
>
> ２ 血縁関係はないが、姉妹の約束を交わして妹としている人。妹分。

In colloquial language, [義]{ぎ}[姉]{し} and [義]{ぎ}[妹]{まい} have taken in the place
of [継]{まま}[姉]{あね} and [継]{まま}[妹]{いも} which mean elder/younger stepsister.

If your question is how to distinguish step sister from sister-in-law, you can
use [異]{い}[母]{ぼ}[姉]{し} (elder sister from a different mother),
[異]{い}[父]{ふ}[姉]{し} (elder sister from a different father) and so on, which
sound very formal.
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2021-03-05T08:08:51.177
84458
2021-03-05T08:08:51.177
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answer