お父さん

お父さん

Japanese

Kanji in this term
父
とう Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Alternative forms

• 御父さん

Etymology

Originally a compound of 御 (o-, “honorific prefix”) +‎ 父 (toto, “father”) +‎ 様 (-sama, “honorific suffix”).[1][2]

/ototosama/ → /otottsan/ → /otossan/

The /otossan/ → /otoosan/ progression was artificial; regular Japanese sound changes generally would not allow this shift. The /otoosan/ form first appears in the early Meiji period in educational materials mandated by the 文部省 (Monbushō, “Ministry of Education”).[1][2]

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) おと​ーさん [òtóꜜòsàǹ] (Nakadaka – [2])[2]
  • IPA^(key): [o̞to̞ːsã̠ɴ]

Noun

お父さん (hiragana おとうさん, rōmaji otōsan)

1. (honorific) father

Usage notes

This term is used to describe someone's father. For father in the more general sense of male parent, use the term 父親 (chichioya) instead.

Synonyms

• 父 (ちち) (chichi): only used to talk about one's own father
• 父親 (ちちおや) (chichioya): more general and impersonal
• 父上 (ちちうえ) (chichiue): more formal
• 親父 (おやじ) (oyaji): more informal, similar to old man

Descendants

• Min Nan: 多桑 (tò-sàng) (Taiwanese)

References

1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN