How to say "father" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 父ちちnounYour own father, spoken of humbly to people outside the family — the word you use when telling a colleague or acquaintance about your father. Not used for someone else's father.
- 父親ちちおやnounThe neutral noun for a father as a parent, with no humble or respectful coloring; suits objective talk about fathers in general or about someone's family.
- お父さんおとうさんnounRespectful language for 'father': used when speaking of another person's father, and also as the address term 'Dad' for your own father within the family.
- 父さんとうさんnounA casual 'Dad' for your own father, used when speaking to him or about him within the family; unlike お父さん, it carries no respectful coloring.
- 翁おきなsuffixIts main senses are 'venerable' and 'old' — a respectful word for an aged man — with 'father' only a secondary sense; for actual fathers this is seldom the word you want.
Use 父 for your own father when speaking to outsiders, 「お父さん」 for someone else's father or Dad at home, 「父さん」 for a casual Dad, 父親 for the neutral parent role, and 翁 almost never for actual fathers.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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