親元(おやもと)

おやもと
noun
parents' home; one's parents' side
1. parents' home; one's parents' side
The home where one's parents live, or more broadly, the care and proximity of one's parents.
親元(おやもと)を離(はな)れた。
I left my parents' home.
大学(だいがく)入学(にゅうがく)を機(き)に親元(おやもと)を離(はな)れて一人暮(ひとりぐ)らしを始(はじ)めた。
I started living alone after leaving my parents' home when I entered university.
子(こ)どもの頃(ころ)は親元(おやもと)にいるのが当(あ)たり前(まえ)だったが、社会人(しゃかいじん)になってからは帰(かえ)る機会(きかい)も減(へ)った。
When I was a child, being at my parents' home was natural, but since I started working, opportunities to visit have decreased.

Composed of 親(おや) (parent) + 元(もと) (place of origin, side of). Often used in the context of leaving home for the first time — for college, work, or marriage. Carries an emotional nuance of parental care and the family nest.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 親元(おやもと)を離(はな)れる: to leave one's parents' home
  • 親元(おやもと)で暮(く)らす: to live at one's parents' home
  • 親元(おやもと)に帰(かえ)る: to return to one's parents' home
  • 親元(おやもと)に戻(もど)る: to go back to one's parents' place

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 実家(じっか): family home, parents' house — more neutral, refers to the house itself
  • 故郷(ふるさと): hometown — broader, the place where one grew up
  • 生家(せいか): birthplace, house where one was born — specifically the birth home
general
Added 2026.3.29 2:13
20000/20220_oyamoto