哥

Stroke order

哥 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+7, 10 strokes, cangjie input 一口弓口 (MRNR), four-corner 1062₁, composition ⿱⿹丅口可(GHTV) or ⿱可可(JK))

• 彁 滒 謌(𬤐) 鎶 (鿔) 㢦 戨 歌 䔅
• 𠹭 𡟵 𤠙 𧎺 𤭻 𨝆 𪃿(𬸠) 𡃭 𥰯 𫛌 𪢦
• 𭤃 𭊣 𫰄

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 190, character 8
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3641
• Dae Jaweon: page 409, character 25
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 624, character 19
• Unihan data for U+54E5

Stacked form of 可 (OC *kʰaːlʔ), perhaps an open mouth with breath going out while talking or singing. In fact, the original meaning of 哥 and perhaps 可 was "to sing; song".

“elder brother”

This sense is attested in Medieval Chinese, and became popular during the Tang dynasty, gradually displacing 兄 (MC xjwaeng).

It is a clipping of 阿哥 (MC 'a ka), a borrowing from Xianbei *aqa (“elder brother”) (Mei, 2015). Compare Proto-Mongolic *aka, whence also Mongolian ᠠᠬ᠎ᠠ (ak-a, “elder brother”). Related to 阿干 (MC 'a kan), which is the definite form of the same Xianbei word (Mei, 2015).

哥

1. older brother; elder brother
2. older male relative of the same generation
3. (honorific) term of address for a male person of the same age or older
4. Short for 哥斯達黎加／哥斯达黎加 (Gēsīdálíjiā, “Costa Rica”).
5. ^† Original form of 歌 (gē, “to sing; song”).

• → Thai: โก (goo, “older brother”) (typically said by ethnic Chinese)

(Hyōgai kanji)

1. kanji used to transliterate borrowings from foreign languages
2. Alternative form of 歌 (“sing, singing”)
3. elder brother

• Go-on: か (ka)
• Kan-on: か (ka)
• Tō-on: こ (ko)
• Kun: あに (ani, 哥)、にい (nii, 哥)、うた (uta, 哥)、うたう (utau, 哥う)^{←うたふ (utafu, 哥ふ, historical)}

哥 (eumhun 성씨 가 (seongssi ga))

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哥: Hán Nôm readings: ca, kha

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