息子さん
musukosan
息子さん (musukosan) is the Japanese phrase for "your son".
息子さん is used as a polite way to refer to the son of the person you are speaking to. If you wish to use a more neutral and polite term that can refer to either a son or a daughter, you can use お子さん.
Which one should you use?
While 息子さん is used to refer to someone else's son, 息子 is used when referring to one's own son.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Japanese, the possessive "your" is often omitted or implied by the use of the honorific suffix さん when referring to the listener's family members.
How do you pronounce it?
musukosan
Did you know?
- The concept of 'in-group' and 'out-group' known as 'uchi-soto' governs the use of 息子さん. If you are talking to your boss about your colleague's son, you might use a different level of politeness than if you were talking to the parent directly.
- Using the humble word 息子 for your own child while using 息子さん for another's is part of 'kenjougo', a linguistic system designed to lower your own status to elevate the listener.
- In very traditional or highly formal settings, you might hear the term ご子息 'goshisoku' instead of 息子さん. This version uses a specific honorific prefix ご and a different reading of the characters to show extreme respect.
Examples in context
- 息子さんは天才ですね。Your son is a genius.This sentence shows how to use 息子さん to describe a quality of the son.Tatoeba #11032919 by small_snow, translation #1527289 by quickfitter
- 息子さんのお仕事は何ですか。What does your son do?This sentence uses 息子さん to ask about the son's occupation.Tatoeba #140169 by bunbuku, translation #274383 by CK
- 息子さんについてお聞かせください。Tell me about your son.This sentence uses 息子さん when asking for information about the son.Tatoeba #8967746 by bunbuku, translation #2646011 by CK
- 〇〇さんのお子さんは元気ですか？How is your son/child doing, Mr./Ms. XX?
- 息子さんはどんな趣味がありますか？What hobbies does your son have?
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two acquaintances are chatting about their families at a cafe.
- 美咲 Misaki息子さんは今、大学生ですか？Musukosan wa ima, daigakusei desu ka?Is your son a university student now?
- 陽太 Yotaはい、今年から大学に入りました。Hai, kotoshi kara daigaku ni hairimashita.Yes, he started university this year.
- 美咲 Misakiそれはいいですね。勉強は何をしていますか？Sore wa ii desu ne. Benkyou wa nani o shiteimasu ka?That's great. What is he studying?
- 陽太 Yota経済学を学んでいるそうです。Keizaigaku o manande iru sou desu.I hear he is studying economics.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
