# Equivalent word to "sis"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 18, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-word-to-sis/650706 "2013-02-18T16:03:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-word-to-sis/650706/1 "2013-02-18T16:03:38Z")
I was writing a sentence much like this: “Gee, Sis, we need to put Dad in a home.” And for various reasons wanted to change the gender. Other than “bro,” which doesn’t really correspond to “sis” and has been co-opted by urbanspeak, I can’t come up with a single word that is a combination of name, gender and family-member identifier for a male sibling. What am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-word-to-sis/650706/2 "2013-02-18T16:10:27Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > …“bro,” which doesn’t really correspond to “sis”… Why not? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-word-to-sis/650706/3 "2013-02-18T16:12:13Z")
Bruv? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-word-to-sis/650706/4 "2013-02-18T16:18:32Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Why not? It just doesn’t strike me as being quite as… name-ish. It’s directly substitutable in “Hey, Sis, whatcha doing?” or “Hi, Sis!” but sounds awkward in other cases: “Sis says she’s going to be home late.” “How’s Sis doing these days?” or my original example. Other than maybe “Buddy” or “Bud,” I can’t think of a generic family name for a male that works exactly like “Sis” in third-person reference, or even all second-person cases. (I actually have an aunt who has been called Sissy her whole life because neither she nor anyone else liked her real name.) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-word-to-sis/650706/5 "2013-02-18T16:26:15Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > but sounds awkward in other cases That’s because you’re used to using _sis_ in those cases. The examples you give sound horribly awkward to me, because I have never called my sister “Sis.” However, for US Southerners anyway, the name you’re looking for is _Bubba_, an infantile corruption of the word _brother_. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-word-to-sis/650706/6 "2013-02-18T16:46:34Z")
Personally, I’d just use “Brother.” Or maybe the Hawaiian “Brudda,” (but that might be a little obscure). I agree that “Bro” doesn’t convey the same sort of meaning as “Sis,” and (just to me). I wouldn’t call anyone “Bubba” that isn’t used to being called that. That’s usually a moniker that starts at a very young age. “Bud” and “Buddy” (again, just to me), indicate a less close relationship that brother. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-word-to-sis/650706/7 "2013-02-18T17:22:43Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Why not? Yeah, “Bro” is exactly what me and my brother use for each other in the same manner as “Sis” is being used. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-word-to-sis/650706/8 "2013-02-18T17:38:33Z")
You can use br’er as in [Br’er Rabbit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%27er_Rabbit). (Of course, you don’t pronounce it ‘brair’, but with a guttural stop in place of the ‘th’ in brother so it sounds more like bru’er.) Also, ‘bro’ was used for a long time for an actual brother before it became the ‘brah’ of frat boys and the ‘broh’ of homies. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-word-to-sis/650706/9 "2013-02-18T17:41:39Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > You can use br’er as in [Br’er Rabbit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%27er_Rabbit). > > (Of course, you don’t pronounce it ‘brair’, but with a guttural stop in place of the ‘th’ in brother so it sounds more like bru’er.) > > Also, ‘bro’ was used for a long time for an actual brother before it became the ‘brah’ of frat boys and the ‘broh’ of homies. Yeah, my brother and I will sometimes use “bro” in these other contexts, but our primary use is as “Bro” to refer to each other as brothers. And it seems to be used with his friends and my friends (we’re 6 years apart; I’m 37, he’s 31) similarly. His friends will ask me how “my bro” is doing, and will speak to their own siblings using “Bro” as a vocative. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-word-to-sis/650706/10 "2013-02-18T18:18:54Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Bruv? Yep, it’s bruv in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-word-to-sis/650706/11 "2013-02-18T18:36:47Z")
Okay, thanks, all. I may be approaching the question from a narrow viewpoint, but I’m not overlooking any word I would use in this case. It’s not all that important, just bugged me that I couldn’t bring a good equivalent to mind. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-word-to-sis/650706/12 "2013-02-18T18:49:29Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Yep, it’s bruv in the UK. Not too common hereabouts but I refer to my brothers as bruvnor. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-word-to-sis/650706/13 "2013-02-18T18:58:21Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Yep, it’s bruv in the UK. Not everywhere in the UK, my bro is Bro, Superbro and Springtime’s Bro to my old schoolfriends. ---
**Author:** ![Pinmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@Pinmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pinmin)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-word-to-sis/650706/14 "2013-02-19T03:49:22Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > That’s because you’re used to using _sis_ in those cases. The examples you give sound horribly awkward to me, because I have never called my sister “Sis.” > > However, for US Southerners anyway, the name you’re looking for is _Bubba_, an infantile corruption of the word _brother_. The mini-pins are Bub and Sis, or Bubba and Sissy. I don’t know how widespread these terms are, but seem common in the Texas/Oklahoma/Arkansas areas I’m familiar with. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equivalent-word-to-sis/650706/15 "2013-02-19T22:56:05Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, “Bro” is exactly what me and my brother use for each other in the same manner as “Sis” is being used. Ditto.