おじさん

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 近所のおじさんが手伝ってくれた。▶ —
   A neighborhood ojisan (uncle / man) helped me.
2. 父のおじさんに会いに行きます。▶ —
   I'm going to visit my father's uncle.

Collocations

Mnemonic

Ojisan has two senses sharing one pronunciation — (1) own / family uncle (older or younger), (2) generic middle-aged man (social hailing). Kanji disambiguates the family use: 伯父 (parent's older brother) vs 叔父 (parent's younger brother), matching Korean keun-abeoji / jageun-abeoji. Socially, ojisan is a friendly call for any middle-aged stranger. Watch: ojiisan (grandfather, with extra い) is one syllable longer — context and pronunciation matter. Calling a 50-something man ojisan is acceptable in Japan, though the addressee may flinch (age consciousness); workplace prefers a job title.

Quick check

1. Difference between ojisan and ojiisan?

   • Length of い — ojisan = uncle / middle-aged / ojiisan = grandfather
   • Politeness level
   • Gender forms
   • On / kun reading