お母さん、元気？
okāsan, genki?
The English phrase "hi mom, how are you?" is expressed in Japanese as お母さん、元気？ (okāsan, genki?)
This phrase is an informal greeting used to ask a mother about her well-being.
What does it mean word for word?
The word お母さん (okāsan) literally means 'mother'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The phrase お母さん、元気？ is informal. While お母さん is a common way to address one's own mother, it is also used to refer to someone else's mother out of respect. For a less formal way to address one's mother, one might use 母さん.
How does it change in a sentence?
You can make the question more polite and formal by adding ですか to the end of 元気, resulting in お母さん、元気ですか？
How do you pronounce it?
okāsan, genki?
When do people say it?
A common informal response to this greeting is 元気だよ (I'm well/fine).
Did you know?
- When writing a formal letter or referring to your own mother to a stranger, it is more humble to use the word 母 (haha) instead of お母さん.
- The word 元気 (genki) is written with characters meaning 'origin' and 'energy', reflecting a cultural belief that health is a return to one's original, natural state of vigor.
- Depending on the region, some people use the word おかん (okan) to refer to their mother, which is a dialectal form primarily associated with the Kansai region.
Examples in context
- やあ、お母さん、元気？Hey, Mom. How are you?
- 母さん、元気にしてる？Mom, are you doing well?
- お母さん、最近元気？Mom, are you doing well recently?
- お母さん、元気？ 最近忙しい？Okāsan, genki? Saikin isogashii?Hi mom, how are you? Are you busy lately?
- お母さん、元気？ 電話したよ。Okāsan, genki? Denwa shita yo.Hi mom, how are you? I called you.
Example conversation
A child calls their mother on the phone.
- 結衣 Yuiお母さん、元気？Okaasan, genki?Hi mom, how are you?
- 健太 Kenta元気よ。結衣はどう？Genki yo. Yui wa dou?I'm good. How about you, Yui?
- 結衣 Yui私も元気だよ。Watashi mo genki dayo.I'm doing well too.
- 健太 Kentaよかったわね。Yokatta wa ne.I'm glad to hear that.
