お母さん

okaasan

mother

お母さんは今日も忙しそうでした

My mother seemed busy today

informal

A respectful term for one's own mother or another woman in a motherly role

お母さんに電話をかけます

I'm calling my mother

お母さんは優しい人です

My mother is a kind person

Commonly used by children when speaking to or about their mother. Can also be used to address other women in a respectful, motherly context.

Collocations

to go visit my mother

my mother's cooking

The 'お' prefix and 'さん' suffix make this a respectful and affectionate term for one's mother.

While 'お母さん' is common in casual speech, more formal contexts may require '母' or '母親'.

Combination of the honorific prefix 'お' and the word '母さん' (mother). The 'さん' suffix is a polite honorific.

More commonly used by children when speaking to or about their mother. Adults may use '母' (haha) or '母親' (hahaoya) in more formal contexts.

お

honorific prefix

prefix

母さん

mother

root

さん

polite honorific

suffix

和英辞典