1.
older sister
A familiar term for addressing or referring to one's older sister. Less formal than お姉さん.
2.
young lady; miss; young woman
An informal way to address or refer to a young woman, typically a waitress, shop attendant, or unfamiliar woman who appears to be in her twenties to thirties.
A less formal variant of お姉さん, dropping the honorific お. The kanji 姉 is used for the family relationship meaning, though the word is often written in hiragana.
Usage
As a family term (sense 1), 姉さん is casual and familiar — used within the family or among close acquaintances. As an address term (sense 2), it sounds somewhat old-fashioned or working-class, commonly heard in markets, traditional shops, and informal settings. In modern usage, sense 2 can sound overly familiar and is less common among younger speakers.
Common collocations
- うちの姉さん — my older sister (casual)
- 隣の姉さん — the older girl/woman next door
- お姉さん — older sister; young lady (politer form)
Similar words
- お姉さん — older sister; young lady (politer, more standard)
- 姉 — older sister (humble/neutral, used when speaking about one's own sister to others)
- 姐さん — older woman (gang/yakuza connotation or traditional arts)