祖父

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 私の祖父は今年90歳になります。▶ —
   My grandfather turns 90 this year.
2. 祖父が植えた木が大きく育った。▶ —
   The tree my grandfather planted has grown tall.

Collocations

Mnemonic

Sofu refers to your own grandfather in outside reference — uchi / soto rule, humble toward own family. It is a Sino-Japanese (on-reading) compound, formal and written. Direct calling and child speech use ojiisan or ojiichan instead. Job interview: "watashi no sofu wa..." sounds right; chatting with friends: "uchi no ojiichan..." Korean jobu / harabeoji / harabeonim split similarly, but Japanese adds on-reading (Sino) vs kun-reading (native) as an extra register layer. Sofubo (grandparents) is a common collective.

Quick check

1. How to refer to your own grandfather in a job interview?

   • Sofu — on-reading, formal, own
   • Ojiichan — affectionate
   • Ojiisan — polite for others
   • Otousan — father