Brothers — literal siblings, and also the yakuza sense of sworn brothers.

What a Japanese person actually thinks
Warm and a bit rough around the edges. Depending on the reader, either 'my actual brothers' or 'we're in this together' in a distinctly street register.

Meaning

Literally: older brother + younger brother
Actually: Brothers or siblings generally. In gang and biker contexts it also means sworn brotherhood, and is used as a form of address.

Scores

Naturalness●●●●●

Common word.

Coolness●●●●●

Balanced pair. The sworn-brotherhood reading is a plus or a minus depending entirely on what you want.

Watch out

lowUsed as an address term in yakuza and bōsōzoku contexts. Not incriminating, but it colours the tone.

On skin

兄弟

Orientation: vertical

Brush.