VocabularyJLPT N5 · core

お父さん

おとうさん

hepburn otousan

father (someone else's or polite)

Part of speech · noun

Pattern visualization

父father

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Numbers4 strokes · 2.7s

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Examples

田中さんのお父さんはお医者さんです。
Mr. Tanaka's father is a doctor.
お父さん、おはよう。
Good morning, Dad.

Collocations

お父さんはお父さんの~お父さんに聞く父 (chichi, own)お父さん (someone else's/polite)

Mnemonic

お父さん otousan — お (honorific prefix) + 父 (father) + さん. Used for someone else's father OR when addressing your own father directly. When TALKING ABOUT your own father to outsiders, use 父 chichi (humble). The in-group/out-group split is strict in Japanese family vocabulary.

Quick check

When mentioning your own father to a coworker, which is correct?