お父さん

Japanese

Kanji in this term

父

Alternative forms

• 御父さん

Etymology

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

/ototosama/ > /otoosan/

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• Standard Accent: おと​うさん (Nakadaka)
• IPA: [o̞to̞ːsã̠ɴ]

Noun

お父さん (hiragana おとうさん, romaji otōsan)

1. 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)