Source: https://jugti.com/kosh/words/bhen/ ਭ [Kosh](https://jugti.com/kosh/)/[Words](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/)/Noun Word # ਭੈਣ bhen, also spelled bhain Say it**BHEN, one syllable, the ending nasalised, like pen hummed through the nose**Type**Noun** In short Bhen (ਭੈਣ) means sister in Punjabi: a girl or woman who shares one or both parents with you. An elder sister is a vaddi bhen and a younger sister a chhoti bhen, and bhen ji is a respectful address for an elder sister or an older woman. ## How it's used 1. 1ਉਹ ਮੇਰੀ ਵੱਡੀ ਭੈਣ ਹੈ੤She is my elder sister. _vaddi bhen_ 2. 2ਮੇਰੀ ਭੈਣ ਕਨੇਡਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਰਹਿੰਦੀ ਹੈ੤My sister lives in Canada. _the diaspora sister_ 3. 3ਭੈਣ ਜੀ, ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਹੋ?Bhen ji, how are you? _respectful address_ Show 2 more examples 1. 4ਮੇਰੀ ਛੋਟੀ ਭੈਣ ਸਕੂਲ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹੈ੤My younger sister goes to school. _chhoti bhen_ 2. 5ਮੈਂ ਆਪਣੀ ਭੈਣ ਨੂੰ ਬਹੁਤ ਪਿਆਰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ੤I love my sister very much. _said by a brother_ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਅਰਥ ਭੈਣ ਦਾ ਅਰਥ ਹੈ ਭੈਣ, ਭਾਵ ਮਾਪਿਆਂ ਦੀ ਧੀ ਅਤੇ ਤੁਹਾਡੀ ਆਪਣੀ ਹਮਉਮਰ ਰਿਸ਼ਤੇਦਾਰ੤ ਵੱਡੀ ਭੈਣ ਨੂੰ ਵੱਡੀ ਭੈਣ ਅਤੇ ਛੋਟੀ ਨੂੰ ਛੋਟੀ ਭੈਣ ਕਿਹਾ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ੤ ਸਤਿਕਾਰ ਲਈ ਭੈਣ ਜੀ ਵੀ ਕਿਹਾ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ੤ ਚਚੇਰੀ, ਮਾਮੇਰੀ, ਫੁੱਫੇਰੀ ਅਤੇ ਮੋਸੇਰੀ ਭੈਣਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਵੀ ਭੈਣ ਹੀ ਕਿਹਾ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ੤ Bhen (ਭੈਣ), also spelled bhain, is the Punjabi word for a sister: a girl or woman who shares one or both parents with you. An elder sister is a vaddi bhen and a younger sister is a chhoti bhen, and with ji added the word becomes a respectful way to address older women too. ## What does bhen mean in Punjabi? Bhen is the general, everyday word for a sister, the female counterpart of bhra, the general word for a brother. It is a single syllable with a nasal ending, the sound trailing up into the nose the way pen would if it were hummed. Spelling varies in Roman letters: bhain follows the sound most closely, while bhen is the spelling many Punjabi families and learners use, and both point to the same word, ਭੈਣ. Like most Punjabi family words, bhen does more than name a relation. Cousins are bhen too, with the link spelled out in front: a father's brother's daughter is a chacheri bhen, a mother's brother's daughter a mameri bhen, a father's sister's daughter a phupheri bhen and a mother's sister's daughter a moseri bhen. In a Punjabi home all of them are addressed simply as bhen, because in the speaker's own generation every girl and woman of the family is a sister first and a cousin second. ## How do you address an elder sister in Punjabi? An elder sister is addressed as bhen ji, the relation word with ji added for respect, and in many families simply as bhainji, one blended word that younger siblings grow up using. The respect is earned and real: an elder sister often acts as a second mother in the house, feeding, scolding, defending and advising the younger children. A younger sister is called bhen too, or by her name, and the warmth runs the other way: she is the one the whole house teases and protects at once. ## Why do sisters hold a special place in a Punjabi family? Because a bhen is often the family's emotional anchor. Sisters are the ones who keep siblings talking to each other, who remember every birthday and every slight, and who hold family gatherings together. A married sister's return to her parents' home, her peke, is an event the whole street notices, and her children, your bhanja and bhanji, hold a place in the house that no other relation quite matches. Brothers, for their part, grow up understanding that looking out for a bhen is not a favour but a duty. ## Related words [ਵੀਰveera brother, especially an elder brother, addressed with affection and respect; also brave, a hero](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/veer/)[ਭਾਬੀbhabhiElder brother's wife; sister-in-law](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/bhabhi/)[ਧੀdheeDaughter](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/dhee/)[ਪੁੱਤਰputtarSon](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/puttar/)[ਪਰਿਵਾਰparivarFamily](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/parivar/)[ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਰਿਸ਼ਤੇPunjabi RishtePunjabi family terms: every relation on the father's side, the mother's side and by marriage](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/punjabi-family-terms/) Sources (2) 1. [How do you say brother and sister in Punjabi?, Talkpal](https://talkpal.ai/culture/how-do-you-say-brother-and-sister-in-punjabi/) 2. [Punjabi Relationships Names, Raowal](https://raowal.com/punjabi-relationships-names/) [Report a correction](https://jugti.com/corrections/) **Jugti is free and independent.** Reader support keeps the Kosh growing. [Support](https://jugti.com/support/) ## More words [ਮੁਟਿਆਰmutiyara young woman who has grown up, the heroine of Punjabi songs](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/mutiyar/)[ਗੱਭਰੂgabrua young man in his prime, a dashing lad](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/gabru/)[ਪਟੋਲਾpatolaslang for a beautiful, stylishly dressed woman; a compliment in Punjabi songs and speech](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/patola/)[ਝੂਮਰjhumarslow, graceful Punjabi folk dance of the harvest, traditionally danced by men](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/jhumar/)[ਗਿੱਧਾgiddhaPunjabi women's folk dance](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/giddha/)[ਚਿਮਟਾchimtamusical tongs with jingles, a folk percussion instrument](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/chimta/) [ੳ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A9%B3)[ਅ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%85)[ੲ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A9%B2)[ਸ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%B8)[ਹ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%B9)[ਕ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%95)[ਖ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%96)[ਗ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%97)[ਘ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%98)[ਙ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%99)[ਚ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%9A)[ਛ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%9B)[ਜ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%9C)[ਝ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%9D)[ਞ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%9E)[ਟ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%9F)[ਠ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A0)[ਡ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A1)[ਢ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A2)[ਣ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A3)[ਤ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A4)[ਥ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A5)[ਦ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A6)[ਧ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A7)[ਨ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A8)[ਪ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%AA)[ਫ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%AB)[ਬ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%AC)[ਭ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%AD)[ਮ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%AE)[ਯ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%AF)[ਰ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%B0)[ਲ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%B2)[ਵ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%B5)[ੜ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A9%9C) On this page[In short](#in-short)[How it's used](#how-used)[ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਅਰਥ](#pa-meaning)[What does bhen mean in Punjabi?](#s-b001)[How do you address an elder sister in Punjabi?](#s-b006)[Why do sisters hold a special place in a Punjabi family?](#s-b008) Related words[ਵੀਰ veera brother, especially an elder brother, addressed with affection and respect; also brave, a hero](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/veer/)[ਭਾਬੀ bhabhiElder brother's wife; sister-in-law](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/bhabhi/)[ਧੀ dheeDaughter](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/dhee/)[ਪੁੱਤਰ puttarSon](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/puttar/)[ਪਰਿਵਾਰ parivarFamily](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/parivar/)[ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਰਿਸ਼ਤੇ Punjabi RishtePunjabi family terms: every relation on the father's side, the mother's side and by marriage](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/punjabi-family-terms/) [A Punjabi wordਨਾਨੀnaniMother's mother; maternal grandmother](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/nani/) Browse words by letter [ੳ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A9%B3)[ਅ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%85)[ੲ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A9%B2)[ਸ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%B8)[ਹ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%B9)[ਕ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%95)[ਖ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%96)[ਗ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%97)[ਘ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%98)[ਙ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%99)[ਚ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%9A)[ਛ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%9B)[ਜ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%9C)[ਝ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%9D)[ਞ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%9E)[ਟ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%9F)[ਠ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A0)[ਡ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A1)[ਢ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A2)[ਣ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A3)[ਤ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A4)[ਥ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A5)[ਦ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A6)[ਧ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A7)[ਨ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%A8)[ਪ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%AA)[ਫ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%AB)[ਬ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%AC)[ਭ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%AD)[ਮ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%AE)[ਯ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%AF)[ਰ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%B0)[ਲ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%B2)[ਵ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A8%B5)[ੜ](https://jugti.com/kosh/words/?letter=%E0%A9%9C) ## Keep exploring Everything in the Kosh, with sources. [People167 entries](https://jugti.com/kosh/people/)[Places12,408 places](https://jugti.com/kosh/places/)[Books55 books](https://jugti.com/kosh/books/)[Religion302 entries](https://jugti.com/kosh/religions/)[ੳA to ZEvery entry by letter](https://jugti.com/kosh/a-z/)