50 Quotes About Brothers

As you grew up, your brother was one of the only people that you could count on. Although he may have picked on you, you knew that he would always have your back. On the following list, you will find quotes about brothers from leading thinkers and celebrities. These brotherly quotes range from inspirational to funny. In addition to basic brother messages, these quotes also discuss the brotherly bonds that tie humanity together.

1. “When I look at each of my brothers, I see two things. First, I see the next place I want to leave a rosy welt. Second, I see a good man who will always be there, no matter how hard life gets for me or him. Then, I get out of the way because I realize he’s coming at me with a wet dish towel.” -Dan Pearce

This is an extremely accurate way of characterizing a relationship with a sibling. Watch out for the dish towel!

2. “There is a little boy inside the man who is my brother… Oh, how I hated that little boy. And how I love him too.” -Anna Quindlen

It seems like our childhoods pass by way too quickly. Do you still remember what it was like to play and ride bikes with your brother.

3. “My father wants me to be like my brother, but I can’t be.” -Robert Mapplethorpe

Although parents are not supposed to play favorites, they always have a child that they like the most. This can be a hard thing to deal with if that child is not you.

4. “To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other’s hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time.” -Clara Ortega

Our family members are some of the only people who will be in our lives for the entirety of our lifetime.

5. “I, who have no sisters or brothers, look with some degree of innocent envy on those who may be said to be born to friends.” -James Boswell

Being a single child can be a lonely existence. Brothers and sisters are some of our earliest friends—and occasionally, our earliest enemies.

6. “One can be a brother only in something. Where there is no tie that binds men, men are not united but merely lined up.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupery

This brotherly quote is intended to described the brotherhood that exists between men who have a common cause and a shared purpose.

7. “ It was nice growing up with someone like you – someone to lean on, someone to count on… someone to tell on!” -Unknown

If you want quotes about brothers to send to your brother, this one is perfect for the job. You can send it as a text message or in a basic e-mail.

8. “Mum used to say we were the same soul split in two and walking around on four legs. It seems unnatural being born together and then dying apart.” -Melodie Ramone

The ancient Greeks actually believed that man and women were once fused together. Seeing these four-legged creatures, the gods became jealous. They separated humans from their soul mate and doomed them to spend their time on earth separate from their other half.

9. “If you want to know how your girl will treat you after marriage, just listen to her talking to her little brother.” -Sami Levenson

I am not sure that this is always true, but it could be.

10. “Help your brother’s boat across, and your own will reach the shore.” -Hindu Proverb

Working together always gets things done faster. The trouble with siblings is working together comfortably. If you can manage to do that, you can do anything in life.

11. “The younger brother must help to pay for the pleasures of the elder.” -Jane Austen

This seems like an entirely unfair experience for the younger brother.

12. “Brothers don’t necessarily have to say anything to each other – they can sit in a room and be together and just be completely comfortable with each other.” -Leonardo DiCaprio

The best part about being with family members is that you can just be yourself.

13. “The highlight of my childhood was making my brother laugh so hard that food came out his nose.” -Garrison Keillor

This may have been Garrison’s favorite childhood experience, but I doubt his brother enjoyed it as much.

14. “Oh, brothers! I don’t care for brothers. My elder brother won’t die, and my younger brothers seem never to do anything else.” -Oscar Wilde

You should be thankful that you were not born into Oscar Wilde’s family. Yikes!

15. “Our brothers and sisters are there with us from the dawn of our personal stories to the inevitable dusk.” -Susan Scarf Merrell

If you are looking for a poetic quote about brothers, this is the one to choose. It utilizes very beautiful imagery and sounds like something from a poem.

16. “It takes two men to make one brother.” -Israel Zangwill

Technically, this is true. There must be two people for one to be a brother.

17. “The best way to get a puppy is to beg for a baby brother – and they’ll settle for a puppy every time.” -Winston Pendelton

After reading this quote, you will wish that you had found it years ago. I would have so many puppies by now if I had seen this as a child.

18. “We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

If we could treat the rest of mankind like our brothers, the world would be a much better place than it is today.

19. “When brothers agree, no fortress is so strong as their common life.” -Antisthenes

With your brother on your side, you can take on the world and not look back.

20. “Blessed is the servant who loves his brother as much when he is sick and useless as when he is well and an be of service to him. And blessed is he who loves his brother as well when he is afar off as when he is by his side, and who would say nothing behind his back he might not, in love, say before his face.” -St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi has written out a good guide for everyday life. Love your brother, support him and never speak ill of him when he is gone.

21. “A friend is a brother who was once a bother.” -Unknown

If you were the older sibling, you know that this quote is true. During childhood, brothers are a major headache and a constant source of annoyance. As an adult, you have learned to appreciate and love your brother for who he is.

22. “There is a destiny which makes us brothers; none goes his way alone. All that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own.” -Edwin Markham

What a poetic way to say that you create your own karma! Love others and send out good vibes—you will be rewarded.

23. “If you have a brother or sister, tell them you love them every day – that’s the most beautiful thing. I told my sister how much I loved her every day. That’s the only reason I’m OK right now.” -Amaury Nolasco

Really, can you remember the last time that you told your parents or siblings that you loved them?

24. “Being his real brother I could feel I live in his shadows, but I never have and I do not now. I live in his glow.” -Michael Morpurgo

If you were the youngest child, your childhood was spent growing up in the shadow of your siblings. Once you are an adult, you can finally break free from their shadow.

25. “I don’t believe an accident of birth makes people sisters or brothers. It makes them siblings, gives them mutuality of parentage. Sisterhood and brotherhood is a condition people have to work at.” -Maya Angelou

Brotherhood and sisterhood is nurtured, not born.

26. “My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, “You’re tearing up the grass.” “We’re not raising grass,” Dad would reply. “We’re raising boys.”” -Harmon Kellebrew

This is an excellent perspective for parents to take. Let children be children!

27. “All men were made by the Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers.” -Chief Joseph

If you are looking for brotherly quotes for all of humanity, this message is one of the best. Everyone in the world is a part of the same brotherhood.

28. “Nothing can stop me from loving my brother.” -Brandy Norwood

Bravo! Hopefully, you feel the same way.

29. “ Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero.” -Marc Brown

Being a brother may be better, but that will not stop you from wanting to be a superhero. Why not have your cake and eat it, too?

30. “She had always wanted a brother. And she had one now. Sebastian. It was like always wanting a puppy and being a hellhound instead.” -Cassandra Clare

Obviously, Cassandra Clare had mixed feelings about getting her own brother.

31. “After a girl is grown, her little brothers — now her protectors — seem like big brothers.” -Terri Guillemets

Whenever you are in trouble, it is always nice to have your brother on speed dial. Siblings are our source of support when we are down, and our favorite people to celebrate with after a great day.

32. “None of you believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.” -Anonymous

If you are religious, you should practice love and respect in your own life. Before you can follow a god, you must be able to put your religious principles into practice in your own life.

33. “A brother shares childhood memories and grown-up dreams.” -Unknown

Remember when your brother wanted to play in the NFL? Look back on these memories with fondness, they were a part of your childhood.

34. “I grew up with six brothers. That’s how I learned to dance – waiting for the bathroom.” -Bob Hope

One bathroom in a large family is never a good idea!

35. “I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see. I sought my God, but my God eluded me. I sought my brother and I found all three.” -Unknown

This is one of the better quotes about brothers on the list. It is an ideal message because it has a nice rhyming pattern to it.

36. “There’s no other love like the love for a brother. There’s no other love like the love from a brother.” -Astrid Alauda

Your relationship and love for your siblings is a completely different type of love.

37. “I grew up with a younger brother, so I can get pretty rowdy.” -Sarah Wynter

If you had a lot of brothers growing up, you probably agree with this quote.

38. “My big brother still thinks he’s a better singer than me.” -Rod Stewart

And, of course, you still think that he is wrong!

39. “A sibling may be the keeper of one’s identity, the only person with the keys to one’s unfettered, more fundamental self.” -Marian Sandmaier

You can change your appearance, career and spouse. In the end, your sibling will still know exactly who you really are.

40. “I was a tomboy and I didn’t have a bunch of brothers but I always wanted them and so I sort of adopted a few of my great friends to be my brother..” -Olivia Wilde

Adopting brothers is a great way to make new friends and get the siblings that you always wanted.

41. “Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first associations and habits, have some means of enjoyment in their power, which no subsequent connections can supply.” -Jane Austen

Basically, Jane Austen is saying that you can never have the same type of relationship with a friend as you do with a sibling. Your relationship with your siblings was forged through years of blood, sweat and tears. Ultimately, you share a common bond that you can never break.

42. “I can’t work with my brother without laughing.” -Dick van Dyke

Hopefully, this quote is true for you as well. A little laughter is always good for your health!

43. “Never make a companion equal to a brother.” -Hesiod

You can try to make your companion equal to your brother, but they will never be able to live up to your expectations.

44. “It snowed last year too: I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea.” -Dylan Thomas

I love how easy it is to get over a fight with a sibling. With your friends, a feud can lead to weeks of not talking. When you argue with your brother, the entire disagreement can be settled by lunchtime.

45. “I hated Chris, my brother. I would pull his hair and kick him, until one day my father gave him permission to fight back. I’ll be apologizing to him for the rest of my life.” -Stevie Nicks

The rule about not hitting girls has one exception: siblings.

46. “Being pretty on the inside means you don’t hit your brother and you eat all your peas – that’s what my grandma taught me.” -Lord Chesterfield

This seems like a fairly easy rule to live by. For a lord, Lord Chesterfield is not particularly poignant.

47. “A friend is a brother who was once a bother.” -Unknown

Always a good point. Even if you love him now, your brother most likely bothered you in the past.

48. “Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet.” -Vietnamese Proverb

The hands and feet are pretty far apart, but we get the point.

49.“My sister was drowning in the ocean once, and my brother and I dove in and saved her. True story. She owes us her life. It’s great leverage; we abuse it all the time!” -Matt Barr

Holding a grudge or a favor to a sibling is worse than owing the mob a favor. Even after you return the favor, you will be paying back interest for the rest of your life. If you are lucky, you get a chance to save their life and finally clean the slate.

50. “What strange creatures brothers are!” -Jane Austen

What strange creatures, indeed! Brothers may be strange, but your life would be much less exciting without them!

Pick your favorite quotes about brothers or add some of your favorites in the comment section. Hopefully, you have left these quotes with a better understanding of your relationship and a new prospective on having siblings.