Can someone explain to me how to say the other (younger) sister when talking
about family? I have to younger sister and want to discuss their professions,
like in

> One sister is a... and the other is a ...

Also, how to say "I don't have any brother", it seems that "Kyoudai wa,
imasen" means I don't have any siblings. Is it something like "Burazāzu wa,
imasen".
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-07T13:16:33.127
58426
2018-05-11T12:53:59.047
2018-05-07T14:25:40.027
1628
29790
question
words counters
How to say "The other sister" and "I don't have any brothers"
There are several ways to let people know whom the siblings are when talking
about them. One way is to use the counter 番目 (banme) to indicate where in the
order the siblings are.

> ４人兄弟の３番目の女の子 (yonin kyōdai no sanbanme no onna no ko) = the third girl of
> four siblings
>
> ２番目の妹 (nibanme no imōto) = the second little sister

Another way is to use words that denote the order of birth.

> 長男 (chōnan) = firstborn son
>
> 次男／二男 (jinan) = secondborn son
>
> 三男 (sannan) = thirdborn son
>
> 長女 (chōjo) = firstborn daughter
>
> 次女／二女 (jijo) = secondborn daughter
>
> 三女 (sanjo) = thirdborn daughter

If the speaker has two younger sisters and wants to say "One sister is a...
and the other is a ..." then it is possible to say
１番目の妹は…です。そして２番目の妹は…です。(ichibanme no imōto wa ... desu. soshite nibanme no
imōto ha ... desu) = "the first little sister is ... and the second little
sister is...".

If it is known that the speaker has only two younger sisters, then he can say
長女は…です。そして次女は…です。(chōjo wa ... desu. soshite jijo wa ... desu) = "the
firstborn daughter (of my parents) is... and the secondborn daughter (of my
parents) is..." if the speaker is male or 次女は…です。そして三女は…です。(jijo wa ... desu.
soshite sanjo wa ... desu) = "the secondborn daughter (of my parents) is ...
and the thirdborn daughter (of my parents) is..." if the speaker is female.

兄弟 (kyōdai) can mean both brothers as opposed to 姉妹 (shimai) and siblings in
general. When talking about siblings, it is possible to write 姉妹 / 兄妹 / 姉弟 and
read it as kyōdai. Please note that the person who is speaking counts as one
of the siblings. "I have three siblings" --> "we are four siblings".

A way to explain that the speaker has no brothers is 男兄弟はいません (otoko kyōdai wa
imasen) = (I have) no male siblings. If the speaker is female then using 姉妹
(shimai) = "sisters" might be preferable.

> ３人姉妹です (sannin shimai desu) = (we are) three sisters
>
> ４人姉妹の３番目の女の子 (yonin shimai no sanbanme no onna no ko) = the third girl of
> four sisters

ブラザーズ (burazāzu) or ブラザース (burazāsu) would probably be understood, but these
words are usually used when writing English company names or names of movies
among other things in katakana.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-08T19:04:35.020
58477
2018-05-10T16:15:59.500
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
29776
58426
answer
I'd use 「[上]{うえ}の[妹]{いもうと}」「[下]{した}の妹」.

If I were in your situation I'd say like...

> 「（[私]{わたし}は/私には）妹が[二人]{ふたり}います。 **上の妹** は[美容師]{びようし}で、 **下の妹**
> はまだ[大学生]{だいがくせい}です。」  
>  「妹が二人います。 **上の妹** は[介護士]{かいごし}で、 **下** （ **の妹**
> ）は[幼稚園]{ようちえん}の[先生]{せんせい}をやっています。」

etc...

Or 「すぐ[下]{した}の妹」 and 「[末]{すえ}の妹」/「もう一人(の妹)」, as in...

> 「妹が二人います。 **すぐ下の妹** は[専業主婦]{せんぎょうしゅふ}で、 **末の妹** は[保育士]{ほいくし}です。」  
>  「妹が二人います。 **すぐ下の妹** は[郵便局]{ゆうびんきょく}に[勤]{つと}めていて、 **もう一人**
> は[専門学校]{せんもんがっこう}に[通]{かよ}っています。」

For "I don't have any brothers", you could say...

> 「[男]{おとこ}の[兄弟]{きょうだい}はいません。」

(... but replying 「妹が二人います。」 to a question 「きょうだいは？」 would usually imply that
you don't have other siblings than these two younger sisters.)
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-11T01:21:04.033
58549
2018-05-11T12:53:59.047
2018-05-11T12:53:59.047
9831
9831
58426
answer