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

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

Descendants

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
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