 So, "bhāi-sāhab" and "bhāi-ji" carry the meaning of "respected brother", whereas "bhāi-jān" or "bhaiyya-jānī" mean "dear brother".The term "meri jān", roughly meaning "my dear", can be used with friends of the same gender, or in intimate relationships with the opposite gender.In subcontinental etiquette, while "bhaijan" can be used by males to denote a brotherly relation with any other male of a roughly similar age including total strangers (the female equivalent between women is "apajan" or "didijan"), "meri jān" is used only with friends with whom informality has been established.