お母さん

Japanese

Etymology

Kanji in this term
母
かあ Grade: 2
kun'yomi

As a surface analysis, this is a compound of 御 (o-, honorific prefix) +‎ 母 (kā, “mother”) +‎ さん (-san, honorific suffix).

Historically, this represents a sound shift from older term o-kaka-sama, itself a compound of 御 (o-, honorific prefix) +‎ 母 (kaka, “mother”) +‎ 様 (-sama, honorific suffix).

/okakasama/ → /okkasama/ → /okaːsama/

/okakasama/ → /okkasama/ → /okaːsan/

Attested in Osaka and Kyoto, with rare use in Edo (Tokyo), from the late Edo period, especially among upper-middle class households in Osaka.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Usage became widespread in the 20th century after the Ministry of Education adopted お父(とう)さん (otōsan, “father”) and お母(かあ)さん for use in 尋常小学読本 (Jinjō shōgaku dokuhon “Standard elementary school reader”, 1903).^[1]^[2]^[3]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [o̞ka̠ːsã̠ɴ]
(Tokyo) おかあさん [òkáꜜàsàǹ] (Nakadaka – [2])^[4]^[5]

Noun

お母(かあ)さん • (okāsan)

(honorific) mother; one's mother

Alternative forms

(honorific, polite) 御(お)母(かあ)様(さま) (okāsama), 御(お)母(かか)様(さま) (okakasama), 御(お)嬶(かか)様(さま) (okakasama)
(honorific, childish) 御(お)母(たあ)様(さま) (otāsama), 御(お)母(たた)様(さま) (otatasama)
(honorific, archaic) 御(お)母(かか)さん (okakasan), 御(お)嬶(かか)さん (okakasan), 御(お)っ母(か)さん (okkasan)

Descendants

Min Nan: 卡桑 (khà-sàng) (Taiwanese)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 “御母様”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 “御母さん”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[KDJ-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[NKDc-2] 2.0 ^2.1 “御母様”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

[DDJS-3] 3.0 ^3.1 “御母さん”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months

[DJR-4] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-5] NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

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