お母さんに電話する
okāsan ni denwa suru
To call mom in Japanese is お母さんに電話する (okāsan ni denwa suru).
This phrase is used specifically to describe the act of making a telephone call to one's mother.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of okāsan (mother), the particle ni (to/towards) and denwa suru (to do a telephone call).
Which one should you use?
Use denwa suru when you are communicating via telephone. If you are calling out to her with your voice or summoning her to come to you, use お母さんを呼ぶ.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
When speaking to someone outside your family, such as a boss or a stranger, about your own mother, it is more humble and standard to use 母に電話する instead of お母さんに電話する.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express that you already called your mother, change the verb suru to the past tense shita to get お母さんに電話した. To turn the phrase into a request, use the te-kudasai form of the verb to say お母さんに電話してください.
How do you pronounce it?
okāsan ni denwa suru
Did you know?
- The word denwa (telephone) is a compound of two kanji: den meaning 'electricity' and wa meaning 'word' or 'speech'. It literally translates to 'electric speech'.
- In very traditional or old-fashioned households, a mother might be referred to as おふくろ ('ofukuro'), a term originally used by men to refer to their own mothers.
- While お母さん is the standard way to address a mother, some Japanese children use ママ ('mama'), which was borrowed from English and became a common way to sound more affectionate or childlike.
Examples in context
- すみません、お母さんにお電話をしたいですExcuse me, I would like to call mom.
- お母さんに電話するI will call mom
- お母さんに電話する。okaasan ni denwa suru.I will call mom.
- 今からお母さんに電話するつもりです。ima kara okaasan ni denwa suru tsumori desu.I intend to call mom now.
Example conversation
Yui and Hiroto are talking about their plans for the weekend.
- 大翔 Hirotoもうすぐ日曜日の夜だね。Mousugu nichiyoubi no yoru da ne.It's almost Sunday night.
- 結衣 Yuiそうだね。今からお母さんに電話するよ。Sou da ne. Ima kara okaasan ni denwa suru yo.You're right. I'll call my mom now.
- 大翔 Hirotoいい考えだね。ゆっくり話してね。Ii kangae da ne. Yukkuri hanashite ne.That's a good idea. Enjoy your chat.
- 結衣 Yuiありがとう。また後でね。Arigatou. Mata ato de ne.Thanks. See you later.
