1.
father (polite/formal)
A polite way to refer to someone's father, including one's own when speaking to others.
お父さん、ただいま。
Dad, I'm home.
お父さんは会社員です。
My father is a company employee.
お父さんに聞いてみます。
I'll ask my father.
お父さんは料理が上手です。
My father is good at cooking.
お父さんは毎朝早く起きて、新聞を読みます。
My father gets up early every morning and reads the newspaper.
お父さん is the standard polite term for "father," used both as a form of address and as a reference term.
USAGE:
- Addressing one's own father directly: お父さん、おはよう。
- Referring to someone else's father: お父さんはお元気ですか。
- Used by children and adults alike in everyday conversation.
FORMALITY LEVELS:
- お父さん: standard polite (most common)
- 父: humble form (used when referring to one's own father in formal situations)
- お父さま: very formal/respectful
- パパ: casual, used by young children or in informal settings
- おやじ: colloquial, typically used by adult men (can sound rough)
NOTE:
In formal speech and writing, use 父 for one's own father and お父さん for someone else's father. This inside/outside (内/外) distinction is important in Japanese.