お手伝い|おてつだいotetsudai[2]nakadaka (mid-high)

1. nounmaid; helper
   今日きょうではお手伝てつだいさんを雇やとう余裕よゆうのある人ひとは少すくない。↗

   Nowadays few people can afford to employ a maid.
2. noun, suru verb, transitive verbhelp; assistance
   恐縮きょうしゅくですがお手伝てつだい願ねがえませんか。↗

   May I make so bold as to request your assistance?

• Synonymお手伝いさんおてつだいさんNeutralAdds the friendly honorific さん to mean a maid or nanny; 「お手伝い」 alone can refer to the act of helping as well as to the helper.
• SynonymメイドNeutralA loanword for a Western-style housemaid or hotel room attendant; also the staff at a maid café.
• Synonym家政婦かせいふNeutralA formal job title for a woman hired to do housework; use this for professional domestic work.
• Synonym女中じょちゅうNeutralAn old-fashioned word for a maidservant, now often avoided; it carries a sense of class hierarchy.
• SynonymヘルパーNeutralA loanword for a helper or care worker, mostly in elder care, as in 「ホームヘルパー」.
• Synonym手伝いてつだいNeutralThe plain form without the honorific prefix, meaning help or a helper; works in both speech and writing, as in 「手伝いに行く」.
• Synonym小間使いこまづかいWrittenA written, old-fashioned word for a maid doing odd jobs and errands around the house.
• Synonym下女げじょWrittenAn old, derogatory written term for a maidservant; avoid in modern usage.
• Synonym下婢かひWrittenA rare, archaic written word for a servant girl.
• Antonym主人しゅじんNeutralThe master or head of the household — the opposite pole to the employed helper 「お手伝い」.
• Antonym主あるじWrittenA literary, elegant term for the head of a household; the opposite of 「お手伝い」.
• Antonym雇い主やといぬしNeutralThe employer who hires someone; the opposite of the hired 「お手伝い」.

Use 「お手伝い」 for helping out or for a domestic helper, as in 「何かお手伝いしましょうか」 or 「お手伝いさん」. For professional housework say 「家政婦」, for care work 「ヘルパー」, and for maid cafés 「メイド」. On the other side is 「雇い主」, the employer.

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

1. 家事かじなどをするために雇やとわれた女性じょせい労働者ろうどうしゃ。
2. 誰だれかが仕事しごとをするのを手助てだすけすること。