奥(おく)

奥(おく) is the deep interior of a space — the part furthest from the entrance, or from where the speaker stands. It is a relative position word, so it almost always appears as Xの奥(おく) (the back of X) or as a destination with に or へ.

Common patterns

• 部屋(へや)の奥(おく) (the back of the room)
• 山(やま)の奥(おく) (deep in the mountains)
• 心(こころ)の奥(おく) (the depths of one's heart)
• 奥(おく)へ進(すす)む (to move further in)

Contrast: 手前(てまえ) is the near side, closest to the viewer; 奥(おく) is the far side. In a shop or a photograph the two are often paired to describe where something is.

Related words

• 奥(おく)さん is a polite word for another person's wife. The connection is historical: the wife of the house was the person in its inner rooms.
• 奥深(おくぶか)い (deep, profound) applies the same image to ideas and skills.

Register: Neutral, common in everyday directions and descriptions.