Hi I was wondering if anyone can help me. I came across these words and I'm not sure what they mean.
Does this mean I have 1 brother older than me? Or does it mean he is 1 year older than me?
兄は僕より一つ上
Same with this one here...I'm not too sure if it means 3 younger sisters or a younger sister thats younger than me by 3 years.
妹は僕より三つ下
Talking about siblings.

jwongch
February 11, 2012

2679
February 14, 2012
Not sure if the sentence is quite correct, but if it is, then it definitely states that your brother is 1 year older than you. (counters such as: "一つ, 二つ、三つ..." are only used for objects).
Same goes for the the second sentence. Your sister is 3 years younger than you are.

risa-rocket-japanese-tutor
November 23, 2013
Hello Jackyさん、
As コッドさん explained:
兄は僕より一つ上 means my brother is one year older but we would normally say:
兄は僕より一歳年上です。
歳=さい (Counter for age)
年上=としうえ (Phrase for older in age)
Same for the 2nd example:
妹は僕より三歳年下です。
年下=としした (Phrase for younger in age)