How To Say Father In Japanese

Otou-san is only the tip of the paternal iceberg.

Simply like the U.S., Japan celebrates Begetter'southward Solar day on the tertiary Sunday in June. The way Japan celebrates it is pretty similar too: presents, dinner out, and a greater willingness to merely allow dad relax and sip his beer in peace while relaxing on the couch and watching golf game on TV.

Some things are still uniquely Japanese, though. With Male parent's Twenty-four hours coming at the start of the summer, a nice jinbei (a traditional Japanese roomwear garment) is a popular present, and some of the tiptop restaurant picks are yakiniku or kaitenzushi (revolving sushi) joints. And of grade, they don't telephone call it "Begetter'southward Solar day" in Japan, since there's a Japanese word for "male parent."

Well, actually, at that place are a ton of different ways to say "father" in Japanese, and what ameliorate day to take a look at them than today?

one. otou-san / お父さん

Technically we're going to look at v unlike but related terms here in entry #1.

If you've always taken an introductory Japanese class, or watched many J-dramas or anime, this is probably the first i yous learned. Otou-san is the most mutual, broadly usable phrase for father/dad in Japanese.

At the same time, it's actually just i of many arrangements in a surprisingly flexible system. -san is the standard suffix to testify politeness when talking about a person in Japan, merely if you want to kick the politeness/formality upward a notch, you tin can change it to otou-sama. On the other hand, if you desire to go the other way and make it sound more than sweetly affectionate, y'all can say otou-chan (though that one'southward most normally used by piffling kids). As a quick-and-elementary rough equivalency list you can generally think of otou-san as "dad," otou-sama every bit "begetter," and otou-chan equally "daddy."

Speaking of politeness, the o at the outset of otou-san is itself a politeness-boosting prefix, so you lot can remove it and just say tou-san or tou-chan. Tou-sama, however, is a combination you'll never hear, since -sama itself is also formal to fit with the dropped o.

One important thing to continue in mind: since politeness towards others and humility regarding yourself/your own family are considered good manners in Japanese culture, when y'all're talking about someone else's father, it's all-time to stick with otou-san or otou-sama, the most polite options. Out of the two, otou-san is usually the wisest choice, since otou-sama can sound a little baroque, and it's likewise best to avoid otou-sama when talking virtually your own dad, since it tin can make you sound conceited about your father's status, or possibly intimidated past his stature.

2. chic / 父

Our second way to say father, chichi, is actually written with the exact same kanji character every bit the "tou" part of otou-san (父), just with no additional hiragana characters in front of or behind it. That unfettered status makes chichi the virtually absolutely neutral fashion to say male parent in Japanese, and then the lack of added politeness means you commonly don't use it to talk near someone else'south dad.

Withal, in that location's a school of thought that y'all absolutely should use chic when talking about your own dad once you attain adulthood. The logic is that otou-san and its various alternate forms are all, to some extent, terms of respect. As such, if you're talking to someone else and use the term otou-san to refer to your ain begetter, the linguistic implication is that you lot're proverb that your dad occupies a position of college respect than the person you're talking to.

If you're a little kid talking to some other fiddling child, that'southward not an issue, since adults are more often than not in a position of authority compared to children. But if you're a full-grown developed talking to another adult, information technology'd be kind of presumptuous to talk as though your dad is in a position that demands the other person's respect similar information technology's a matter of course, and and then chic, in some people'due south minds, becomes the ameliorate selection for talking almost your own dad in grown-up conversations.

All that said, "yous shouldn't use otou-san for talking nigh your own dad to other people" is an admittedly sometime-school mode of thinking, and a guideline that younger Japanese people are increasingly less likely to adhere to or worry about. And terminal, chichi is the discussion used in the Japanese term for father's day, Chichi no Hullo.

3. papa / パパ

Yep, papa. Just similar in English language and many European languages, papa is now readily understood in Japanese. Information technology does, however, have a very childish ring to it, and so it's something that most kids, specially boys, start growing out of by the fourth dimension they end elementary school. Some women continue to use it into machismo, but even then primarily when speaking directly to their father or other family members, not in conversations with other people, to avoid being seen every bit a daddy'south girl.

4. oyaji / 親父 / おやじ

Oyaji is really two vocabulary words in 1. Written with the kanji characters for "parent" (親) and "father" (父), it not only means dad, but is as well a generic term for a middle-aged or elderly man.

Oyaji is the roughest-sounding term on our list, but said with plenty warmth in your voice, it can also radiate a certain masculine jovialness, and is almost exclusively used by men.

▼ Pictured: Mr. Sato'due south dad, who he calls "oyaji"

In English, oyaji is closest to "pop" or "pops." In keeping with that casualness, while oyaji can be written in kanji, you'll also frequently see it written in hiragana, which has a less formal experience. And yes, you may have also heard oyaji as part of the phrase "ero oyaji" ("muddied old man").

5. oton / おとん

As we move further downward the list, nosotros're also moving farther out into the countryside. To people from Tokyo and east Japan, oton has a incomparably country bumpkin feel, sort of like "pa" in English.

But oton isn't strictly for yokels, and as you head west from Tokyo, y'all'll start to hear it used by people who speak Kansai dialect, the way of Japanese prevalent in and around Osaka. That said, oton always carries a chip of a rustic feeling, and while some may say that's merely backwoods charm, it'll probably earn a few chuckles if you say it in a formal situation.

half dozen. chichiue / 父上

On the surface, chichiue looks similar information technology shouldn't be all that different from chichi. After all, it'southward just the same "dad" kanji every bit chichi (父) with 上, meaning "upward" or "above," tacked onto the end. Then it'south just a polite fashion of maxim male parent, right?

Sure…if you lot happen to be a samurai. Chichiue is an extremely old-fashioned mode of speaking, and it'south more than or less like saying "exalted father."

7. chichioya / 父親

And terminal, we come to chichioya. Written by reversing the kanji for oyaji, putting "father" first and "parent" 2nd. Chichioya is a useful term for talking well-nigh fathers in a full general or societal sense, perhaps in a prepared announcement or written argument. Mostly, though it's not then commonly used in conversation to talk about a specific person's male parent, and particularly not your own.

Then but similar when nosotros looked at the different ways to say "honey," once over again Japanese proves itself to exist a seriously deep language. Thanks for reading, and happy Father's Twenty-four hour period to you and your dad, whatever yous call him.

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Source: https://soranews24.com/2020/06/21/11-different-ways-to-say-father-in-japanese/

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