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I always assumed Mario was older than Luigi. However, I've heard that Japanese schoolchildren often assume Luigi is older because he's taller.

Is there any official source for which one is older Mario brother?

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The Super Mario Wiki, while not an official source by any means, contains several quotes from various Mario games (SSB/M trophies, Mario Kart descriptions). Some choice excerpts from their entry on Luigi;

Mario Kart DS;

Bio: Mario's younger brother. Luigi is ready to race. His superb traction makes him harder to spin out.

Super Smash Bros. profile;

Though often hidden in his older brother Mario's shadow, Luigi is, in reality, very popular. Taller than Mario, Luigi also jumps higher. Although he didn't appear in Super Mario 64, in Mario Kart 64 he performed to the best of his ability. For one who seems to always be in the background, he has many fans who eagerly await his appearance.

Super Smash Bros. Melee Trophies;

Luigi (Classic); Although Mario's younger brother has always played second fiddle, Luigi finally garnered the spotlight with his very own game, Luigi's Mansion. Things are looking up for the eternal understudy; he's even picked up his own rival in Waluigi. The day he's referred to as the "lean, mean, green machine" may not be too far off.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Trophies;

Luigi; Mario's younger twin brother. He's shy and quiet and overshadowed by his sibling, but he's actually quite talented. His jumping ability surpasses Mario's, and his all- around skills let him overcome any problem. He's a bit cowardly and really afraid of ghosts. Even so, in Luigi's Mansion, he was charged with cleaning up a whole house full of spirits.

Bio from The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 Writers Bible;

Mario couldn't have a better teammate than his younger in age, but bigger in size, little brother Luigi, even though they approach their adventures with very different attitudes. Luigi always wishes Mario would take more time to weigh the risks before he leaps, swims, or flies into the unknown. But no matter how much he questions Mario's plans, Luigi always loyally follows him into the wildest dangers any Koopa could conceive. Luigi is your basic soft touch. A defender of downtrodden Mushrooms and Koopa-nabbed maidens. Naïve, trusting and innocent, Luigi is not a bumbling fool. It's just that he's so nice and straightforward, which allows him to be sucked into a Koopa scheme, a Toad prank, or a Mario madcap plan.

Luigi seems to be considered the younger of the two in any official material I can find. At least when there is any distinction, and they are not simply referred to as (twin) brothers.

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  • 7
    Younger twin brother? How does that work? Lol
    – Canadian Luke
    Aug 13, 2013 at 1:04
  • 19
    @CanadianLuke Twins don't usually come out at the exact same time, you know.
    – rikitikitik
    Aug 13, 2013 at 1:21
  • @rikitikitik OK, 3 second gap... JK
    – Canadian Luke
    Aug 13, 2013 at 2:23
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    Besides, they were delivered by stork.
    – Trent Hawkins
    Aug 13, 2013 at 5:34
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    Japanese doesn't actually have a word for "brother". They have a word for "older brother" and a word for "younger brother", and these words are used even for twins.
    – Kef Schecter
    Jan 23, 2022 at 21:10
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Luigi is the younger brother; most recently this is confirmed in Animal Crossing New Leaf where the "Lil Bro Hat" is Luigi's and the "Big Bro Hat" is Mario's. I'm certain it's been referenced multiple times within Mario "canon" material but I can't think of an exact quote at the moment. IIRC Luigi refers to mario as "big bro" several times in his letters in Paper Mario though.

Luigi's description from Paper Mario manual:

Picture of Luigi's description in Paper Mario manual

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    @blem ah, thanks, I was sure it had been mentioned in an instruction manual or two other the years.
    – Ben Brocka
    Aug 12, 2013 at 13:03
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Luigi is the younger twin brother of Mario.

Sources:

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You didn't see the movie? On there, they referenced Mario as the elder.

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  • 39
    There was no Mario Brothers movie. It just didn't happen. Ever. Nope. >:(
    – Trent Hawkins
    Aug 12, 2013 at 16:08
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    All things considered, I don't think the movie is the best example of anything canon... :P
    – user11502
    Aug 12, 2013 at 16:11
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    I don't think of Mario Brothers as being very "canon-ish" in general - not given its history.
    – Panzercrisis
    Aug 12, 2013 at 16:12
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    You filthy mammal!
    – User1000547
    Aug 12, 2013 at 16:58
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    @mikeTheLiar Give your username, that might be taken as a compliment.
    – Batophobia
    Aug 12, 2013 at 17:35
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Mario is older because in the dream team version mario is the older brother!

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I have always considered Luigi to be the elder twin.But I did some research and Mario is in fact the older brother.

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    Welcome to Arqade! Could you cite some of your sources and explain what you found?
    – Elias Benevedes
    Apr 16, 2015 at 0:14
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As you probably guessed already, the older sibling is Mario. They are technically twins but Mario is actually the oldest one. :8) If you have the Mario bros game on ds and wii they sometimes tell you that it's Mario.

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    Which games tell you this specifically though? We prefer answers to be backed up by references and quotes
    – Robotnik ♦
    Feb 22, 2014 at 1:43
-6 
I J K L M

L comes before M in the alphabet, as shown in my example above.
For this reason, I believe Mario is junior.

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  • What does this even mean???
    – Dupree3
    Oct 23, 2015 at 14:45
  • Guess he's talking about the Alphabet.. A, B, C... J, K, L, M... So L before M?
    – Nitro.de
    Oct 23, 2015 at 15:01

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