お父(とう)さん

おとうさん
noun
father; Dad
informalpolitefamily
1. father (honorific)
A polite way to refer to someone's father, including one's own when speaking to others.
お父(とう)さん、ただいま。
Dad, I'm home.
お父(とう)さんは会社員(かいしゃいん)です。
My father is a company employee.
お父(とう)さんに聞(き)いてみます。
I'll ask my father.
お父(とう)さんは料理(りょうり)が上手(じょうず)です。
My father is good at cooking.
お父(とう)さんは毎朝(まいあさ)早(はや)く起(お)きて、新聞(しんぶん)を読(よ)みます。
My father gets up early every morning and reads the newspaper.

お父(とう)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(とう)さん、おはよう。
  • Referring to someone else's father: お父(とう)さんはお元気(げんき)ですか。
  • Used by children and adults alike in everyday conversation.

In formal speech and writing, use 父(ちち) for one's own father and お父(とう)さん for someone else's father. This inside/outside (内(うち)/外(そと)) distinction is important in Japanese.

Register

  • お父(とう)さん: standard polite (most common)
  • 父(ちち): humble form (used when referring to one's own father in formal situations)
  • お父(とう)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)

Related Words

Keigo: 父(ちち) (humble)
Related: お母(かあ)さん (mother (polite))
Compare: 父親(ちちおや) (father)
Related: おやじ (father, old man)
Related: ご両親(りょうしん) (parents (polite — someone else's))

Related Articles

Referring to People: Pronouns, Names, Titles, and Family Terms
basic
Added 2026.1.11 18:22 · Revised 2026.10.3 21:43
02500/02855_otousan