brothers or siblings?

Hi,

Liza has one brother and one sister.
Can I say?
Liza has two brothers or the word brothers can only be related to males.

Should I say Liz has two siblings?

Thanks

A brother is a male sibling.

That's mean saying brothers is wrong when I am talking about one sister and one brother.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Arara

That's means saying 'brothers' is wrong when I am talking about one sister and one brother.

---

Clearly! Your sister is not male.

See also the answers to beachboy's question in the Similar Threads below.

You appear to have no single word in Italian for 'brothers and sisters', Arara.:cry:

Rover

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Arara

That's mean saying brothers is wrong when I am talking about one sister and one brother.

---

How would saying Liza has two sisters sound? Neither sentence works- sisters aren't brothers and brothers aren't sisters. :up:

Gilnetter's choices cover the ground: 'Either Liz has two siblings, or, Liz has a brother and a sister.' Bear in mind, though, that if you use the first option you'll run the risk of being mistaken for an anthropology text-book. ;-) Colloquial British English just doesn't have a sexless option.

b

PS Similarly 'uncles and aunts'.

After seeing a few threads that mention siblings, I've come to the conclusion that the word is simply more common in the US. I find it very normal to mention siblings and I know I've others use the word in very casual settings. You'll even hear "sibs" as shorthand.

It's not that common in BrE.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Barb_D

After seeing a few threads that mention siblings, I've come to the conclusion that the word is simply more common in the US. I find it very normal to mention siblings and I know I've others use the word in very casual settings. You'll even hear "sibs" as shorthand.

---

Yes, I started saying 'Colloquial English', but then thought maybe I should add 'British'. Good job I did:-)

b