"bhai" meaning in English

See bhai in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /bʰaːj/ [India, North], /baːj/ [India, South] (note: without aspiration) Forms: bhais [plural], bhau [alternative], vai [alternative]
Etymology: PIE word *bʰréh₂tēr Transliteration of Hindustani بھائی (bhāī) / भाई (bhāī) and other South Asian languages, ultimately from Sanskrit भ्रातृ (bhrātṛ). Doublet of brother, bru, frater, friar, pal, and vai. Etymology templates: {{dercat|en|sa}}, {{PIE word|en|bʰréh₂tēr}} PIE word *bʰréh₂tēr, {{translit|en|inc-hnd}} Transliteration of Hindustani, {{der|en|sa|भ्रातृ}} Sanskrit भ्रातृ (bhrātṛ), {{doublet|en|brother|bru|frater|friar|pal|vai}} Doublet of brother, bru, frater, friar, pal, and vai Head templates: {{en-noun}} bhai (plural bhais), {{tlb|en|North India|Pakistan|Bangladesh|Hinglish|Benglish}} (North India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Hinglish, Benglish)
  1. friend, dude, man
    Sense id: en-bhai-en-noun-k0CFKmtH Categories (other): Bangladeshi English, Benglish, Pages with entries Disambiguation of Bangladeshi English: 50 50 Disambiguation of Benglish: 47 53 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 35 12 19 31 2 2 0
  2. brother
    Sense id: en-bhai-en-noun-C0vXfOxw Categories (other): Bangladeshi English, Benglish, English entries with incorrect language header, North Indian English, Pages with 4 entries, Pages with entries, Pakistani English, Southeastern Tepehuan entries with incorrect language header, Male family members Disambiguation of Bangladeshi English: 50 50 Disambiguation of Benglish: 47 53 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 42 58 Disambiguation of North Indian English: 44 56 Disambiguation of Pages with 4 entries: 38 8 15 34 3 3 0 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 35 12 19 31 2 2 0 Disambiguation of Pakistani English: 37 63 Disambiguation of Southeastern Tepehuan entries with incorrect language header: 8 20 31 21 8 10 2 Disambiguation of Male family members: 30 70
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Categories (other): People Disambiguation of People: 0 0

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "categories": [
    {
      "_dis": "0 0",
      "kind": "other",
      "langcode": "en",
      "name": "People",
      "orig": "en:People",
      "parents": [],
      "source": "w+disamb"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sa"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "dercat"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "bʰréh₂tēr"
      },
      "expansion": "PIE word\n *bʰréh₂tēr",
      "name": "PIE word"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "inc-hnd"
      },
      "expansion": "Transliteration of Hindustani",
      "name": "translit"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sa",
        "3": "भ्रातृ"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit भ्रातृ (bhrātṛ)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "brother",
        "3": "bru",
        "4": "frater",
        "5": "friar",
        "6": "pal",
        "7": "vai"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of brother, bru, frater, friar, pal, and vai",
      "name": "doublet"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "PIE word\n *bʰréh₂tēr\nTransliteration of Hindustani بھائی (bhāī) / भाई (bhāī) and other South Asian languages, ultimately from Sanskrit भ्रातृ (bhrātṛ). Doublet of brother, bru, frater, friar, pal, and vai.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "bhais",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bhau",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "vai",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "bhai (plural bhais)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "North India",
        "3": "Pakistan",
        "4": "Bangladesh",
        "5": "Hinglish",
        "6": "Benglish"
      },
      "expansion": "(North India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Hinglish, Benglish)",
      "name": "tlb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Bangladeshi English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "47 53",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Benglish",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "35 12 19 31 2 2 0",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "friend, dude, man"
      ],
      "id": "en-bhai-en-noun-k0CFKmtH",
      "links": [
        [
          "friend",
          "friend"
        ],
        [
          "dude",
          "dude"
        ],
        [
          "man",
          "man"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Bangladeshi English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "47 53",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Benglish",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 58",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "44 56",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "North Indian English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "38 8 15 34 3 3 0",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 4 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "35 12 19 31 2 2 0",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "37 63",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pakistani English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "8 20 31 21 8 10 2",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Southeastern Tepehuan entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "30 70",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Male family members",
          "orig": "en:Male family members",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "brother"
      ],
      "id": "en-bhai-en-noun-C0vXfOxw",
      "links": [
        [
          "brother",
          "brother"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/bʰaːj/",
      "tags": [
        "India",
        "North"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/baːj/",
      "note": "without aspiration",
      "tags": [
        "India",
        "South"
      ]
    },
    {
      "homophone": "bye"
    }
  ],
  "word": "bhai"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "Bangladeshi English",
    "Benglish",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English doublets",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms borrowed from Hindustani languages",
    "English terms derived from Hindustani languages",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms derived from Sanskrit",
    "English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *bʰréh₂tēr",
    "English terms with homophones",
    "English transliterations of Hindustani terms",
    "North Indian English",
    "Pages with 4 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Pakistani English",
    "Southeastern Tepehuan adjectives",
    "Southeastern Tepehuan entries with incorrect language header",
    "Southeastern Tepehuan lemmas",
    "en:Male family members",
    "en:People"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sa"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "dercat"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "bʰréh₂tēr"
      },
      "expansion": "PIE word\n *bʰréh₂tēr",
      "name": "PIE word"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "inc-hnd"
      },
      "expansion": "Transliteration of Hindustani",
      "name": "translit"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sa",
        "3": "भ्रातृ"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit भ्रातृ (bhrātṛ)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "brother",
        "3": "bru",
        "4": "frater",
        "5": "friar",
        "6": "pal",
        "7": "vai"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of brother, bru, frater, friar, pal, and vai",
      "name": "doublet"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "PIE word\n *bʰréh₂tēr\nTransliteration of Hindustani بھائی (bhāī) / भाई (bhāī) and other South Asian languages, ultimately from Sanskrit भ्रातृ (bhrātṛ). Doublet of brother, bru, frater, friar, pal, and vai.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "bhais",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bhau",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "vai",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "bhai (plural bhais)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "North India",
        "3": "Pakistan",
        "4": "Bangladesh",
        "5": "Hinglish",
        "6": "Benglish"
      },
      "expansion": "(North India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Hinglish, Benglish)",
      "name": "tlb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "friend, dude, man"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "friend",
          "friend"
        ],
        [
          "dude",
          "dude"
        ],
        [
          "man",
          "man"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "brother"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "brother",
          "brother"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/bʰaːj/",
      "tags": [
        "India",
        "North"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/baːj/",
      "note": "without aspiration",
      "tags": [
        "India",
        "South"
      ]
    },
    {
      "homophone": "bye"
    }
  ],
  "word": "bhai"
}

Download raw JSONL data for bhai meaning in English (2.5kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-12-23 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-12-02 using wiktextract (6fdc867 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.