お手伝(てつだ)いさん

おてつだいさん
noun
maid; housekeeper; domestic helper
politeoccupation
1. maid; housekeeper; domestic helper
A person hired to help with housework such as cleaning, cooking, and laundry. A polite and softened term compared to older words.
お手伝(てつだ)いさんが来(く)る日(ひ)だ。
Today is the day the housekeeper comes.
週(しゅう)に二回(にかい)、お手伝(てつだ)いさんに掃除(そうじ)を頼(たの)んでいる。
We have a housekeeper come to clean twice a week.
共働(ともばたら)きなので、お手伝(てつだ)いさんに家事(かじ)を任(まか)せることにした。
Since we're both working, we decided to leave the housework to a housekeeper.

お手伝(てつだ)いさん is the standard polite term for a domestic helper or housekeeper in modern Japanese. The お〜さん pattern makes it respectful.

The older term 女中(じょちゅう) is now considered offensive and should be avoided in modern usage.

Common collocations

  • お手伝(てつだ)いさんを雇(やと)う (to hire a housekeeper)
  • お手伝(てつだ)いさんに来(き)てもらう (to have a housekeeper come)
  • 住(す)み込(こ)みのお手伝(てつだ)いさん (a live-in housekeeper)
general
Added 2026.3.12 11:29 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
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