1.
mother (honorific)
A polite way to refer to someone's mother, including one's own when speaking to others.
お母さん、おはよう。
Good morning, Mom.
お母さん is the standard polite term for "mother," used both as a form of address and as a reference term.
Usage
- Addressing one's own mother directly: お母さん、晩ご飯は？
- Referring to someone else's mother: お母さんはお元気ですか。
- Children and adults alike use this form in everyday conversation.
In formal speech and writing, use 母 for one's own mother and お母さん (or 母上) for someone else's mother. This inside/outside (内/外) distinction is important in Japanese.