おふくろ・お袋・お母ofukuro[0]heiban (flat)

1. noun(one's) mother
   お袋ふくろの前まえではそのことに触ふれるな。↗

   Don't talk about it in my mother's presence.

• Synonymお母さんおかあさんNeutralThe standard, neutral way to say or address 'mom', with warmth and respect; 「お袋」 is the colloquial choice adult men use when referring to their own mother to others.
• Synonym母さんかあさんCasualMore casual than 「お母さん」; used both to address your mother directly and to refer to her, while 「お袋」 is mostly for mentioning her to others.
• SynonymママNeutralLoanword for 'mom', typical of small children's speech; also the proprietress of a bar. 「お袋」, by contrast, is mainly how grown men refer to their own mother.
• Synonym母親ははおやNeutralThe neutral, objective word for 'mother', common in speech and writing, as in 「母親の役割」 or 「うちの母親」; not used in direct address and lacks 「お袋」's affectionate tone.
• Synonymお母様おかあさまFormalA formal honorific for one's mother, heard in refined households or when speaking of someone else's mother; 「お袋」 is casual and only about your own.
• Synonym母ちゃんかあちゃんCasualAffectionate colloquial 'mom' with a downtown Tokyo flavor; can also mean one's wife. More childish than 「お袋」.
• Synonym母上ははうえFormalA formal honorific with an old-fashioned, aristocratic air, familiar from period dramas; 「お袋」 is everyday colloquial speech.
• Synonym母様かあさまFormalA formal, affectionate honorific with an upper-class flavor; rarely used today, unlike the everyday 「お袋」.
• Synonym御母様おたあさまFormalSame word as 「お母様」 above: an honorific heavier than 「お母さん」, mostly for others' mothers or refined families; 「お袋」 is casual.
• RelatedおっかさんCasualAn Edo-style colloquial 'mom' with a shitamachi (old downtown) flavor, now mostly seen in period dramas; 「お袋」 remains in everyday use.
• RelatedおかあCasualA colloquial 'mom' common in Kansai and elsewhere; it can also mean one's own wife, a sense 「お袋」 lacks.
• RelatedマミーNeutralLoanword for 'mommy' with a childish, cutesy feel; uncommon in daily use, unlike 「お袋」.
• Related母者人ははじゃひとWrittenAn archaic written honorific for one's mother, found in classics and period dramas; very rare in modern Japanese.
• Related御母みおもCasualSame word as 「お母」 above: means mother and also one's own wife; strongly colloquial in flavor and little used.
• Related女親おんなおやWrittenA written, descriptive term for a female parent, paired with 「男親」; more objective than the affectionate 「お袋」.
• Related母君ははぎみFormalA formal honorific with an archaic, aristocratic flavor; rarely heard today.
• RelatedははごWrittenA written honorific for someone else's mother with an old-fashioned air; rarely used today.
• RelatedマザーNeutralLoanword for 'mother'; also used for a Mother Superior or a computer motherboard, senses 「お袋」 does not cover.
• AntonymおやじCasualThe male colloquial counterpart for one's father, often paired with 「お袋」, as in 「親父とお袋」.
• Antonym父親ちちおやNeutralThe neutral, fairly written word for 'father'; the counterpart of the mother that 「お袋」 refers to.

To address or mention your mother, 「お母さん」 is the standard choice; adult men casually referring to their own mother to others say 「お袋」, as in 「お袋の味」. 「母さん」 and 「母ちゃん」 are looser spoken variants, 「母親」 is the neutral objective word, 「お母様」 the honorific, and 「親父」 the matching colloquial word for one's father; the rest are formal, archaic, regional or loanword variants.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 「おふくろ」の漢字かんじ混まじり表記ひょうき。