お父さん
otōsan[o̞to̞ːsã̠ɴ]
The English phrase 'your father' is expressed in Japanese as お父さん (otōsan).
お父さん is used to refer to the father of the person you are speaking to. In Japanese, this term can also function as a direct way to address a person's father, much like saying 'Dad' or 'Father' in English.
What does it mean word for word?
The word お父さん consists of the honorific prefix お, the kanji for father 父 (tō) and the honorific suffix san.
Which one should you use?
While お父さん is the standard way to refer to someone else's father, you should use chichi (父) when speaking about your own father to others.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For even more formal, respectful or stiff social situations, you can use お父様. Another highly respectful and traditional way to refer to someone's father is 父上. Conversely, パパ is an informal and affectionate way to say 'dad' or 'daddy'.
How do you pronounce it?
otōsan
Did you know?
- The modern way to say お父さん was actually popularized by the Japanese Ministry of Education during the early Meiji period through official school materials.
- Japanese has a grammatical system called 'relative honorifics' where you humble your own father by calling him chichi to elevate the listener.
- While お父さん is the standard polite term, using 父上 (chichi-ue) evokes a traditional or samurai-era atmosphere of extreme filial piety.
Examples in context
- お父さんはどこ？Where is your father?This sentence is useful for asking about the location of someone's father using お父さん.Tatoeba #10144909 by small_snow, translation #467672 by CK
- お父さんによろしくね。Say hello to your father for me.This sentence is useful for sending regards to someone's father using お父さん.Tatoeba #226742 by bunbuku, translation #64088 by CK
- お父さんは医者ですか？Is your father a doctor?This sentence is useful for asking about someone's father's profession using お父さん.Tatoeba #1356165 by bunbuku, translation #609041 by CK
- 昨日、お父さんと一緒に釣りに行きました。I went fishing with your father yesterday.
- パパ、これを見てください！Dad, please look at this!
- 67 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Yui and Yota are talking about family photos.
- 結衣 Yuiこの写真のお父さんは、とても若いですね。Kono shashin no otousan wa, totemo wakai desu ne.Your father in this photo is very young.
- 陽太 Yotaあはは、これは三十年前の写真だよ。Ahaha, kore wa sanjuu-nen mae no shashin da yo.Haha, this photo is from thirty years ago.
- 結衣 Yuiお父さんに似ていますね。Otousan ni nite imasu ne.You look like your father.
- 陽太 Yotaそうかな？よく言われるよ。Sou kana? Yoku iwareru yo.You think so? I get that a lot.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry お父さん, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries お父さん, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
