お父さん

Japanese

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

Alternative spelling
御父さん

Etymology

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

/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”).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

お父(とう)さん • (otōsan) 

1. (honorific) father

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

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.

Descendants

• Min Nan: 多桑 (tò-sàng) (Taiwanese)