お母さん
okāsan[o̞ka̠ːsã̠ɴ]
The everyday Japanese word for mom is お母さん, read okāsan.
お母さん is what children call their mother, and it is also used to talk about mothers in general or about someone else's mother.
What does it mean word for word?
お is a polite prefix, 母 means mother and さん is a polite suffix used after names and family terms.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanized reading is okāsan. The line over the a marks a long vowel, so hold it a little longer than the other vowels.
What mistakes should you avoid?
When you talk about your own mother to people outside your family, use the plain 母 instead of お母さん. Using the polite form for your own mother in that setting sounds odd to Japanese ears.
When do people say it?
In many Japanese families parents also call each other お母さん and its counterpart for dad in front of their children.
Did you know?
- The general popularity of お母さん was cemented by the Japanese government in 1903 when the term was included in the 'Standard elementary school reader' textbook.
Examples in context
- お母さんはどこ？Where's mom?お母さんはどこ？ is a simple way to ask where mom is.Tatoeba #226610 by small_snow, translation #10780372 by CK
- ただいま、お母さん。I'm home, Mom!ただいま is what people say when they get home, here followed by お母さん.Tatoeba #203661 by arnab, translation #40899 by CM
- お母さんに話したの？Have you told your mom?お母さんに means to mom, used here with the verb for telling.Tatoeba #8602042 by small_snow, translation #3068233 by Hybrid
- 75 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daito and Misaki are talking at home.
- 大翔 Hirotoお母さんはもう帰った？Okāsan wa mō kaetta?Did mom come home already?
- 美咲 Misakiいいえ、まだだよ。Iie, mada da yo.No, not yet.
- 大翔 Hirotoお母さんに電話してみるね。Okāsan ni denwa shite miru ne.I'll try calling mom.
- 美咲 Misakiお願い。よろしくね。Onegai. Yoroshiku ne.Please. Thanks.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry お母さん, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries お母さん, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
