お母さん

Japanese

Etymology
Kanji in this term
母
かあ
Grade: 2
kun’yomi

お (o-, honorific prefix) +‎ 母 (kā, “mother”) +‎ さん (-san, honorific suffix).

/okakasama/ → /okkasama/ → /okaːsama/

/okakasan/ → /okkasama/ → /okaːsan/

Attested in Osaka and Kyoto, with rare use in Edo (Tokyo), from the late Edo period, especially among upper-middle class households in Osaka.[1]

Usage became widespread in the 20th century after the Ministry of Education adopted お父(とう)さん (otōsan, “father”) and お母(かあ)さん for use in 尋常小学読本 (Jinjō shōgaku dokuhon “Standard elementary school reader”, 1903).[1]

Pronunciation
    • (Tokyo) おか​あさん [òkáꜜàsàǹ] (Nakadaka – [2])[2]
    • IPA(key): [o̞ka̠ːsã̠ɴ]

    Noun

    お母(かあ)さん • (okāsan) 

    1. (honorific) mother; one's mother

    Alternative forms
    • (honorific, polite) 御(お)母(かあ)様(さま) (okāsama), 御(お)母(かか)様(さま) (okakasama), 御(お)嬶(かか)様(さま) (okakasama)
    • (honorific, childish) 御(お)母(たあ)様(さま) (otāsama), 御(お)母(たた)様(さま) (otatasama)
    • (honorific, archaic) 御(お)母(かか)さん (okakasan), 御(お)嬶(かか)さん (okakasan), 御(お)っ母(か)さん (okkasan)

    Descendants
    • Min Nan: 卡桑 (khà-sàng) (Taiwanese)

    See also

    References
    1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
    2. NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
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