1.
grandmother (highly polite term)
Very polite term for someone else's grandmother, or a respectful way to refer to an elderly woman. Also written お祖母様. More formal than おばあさん.
The honorific prefix お plus 様. Used for the listener's or a third party's grandmother; for your own grandmother when talking to outsiders, say 祖母.
Register
From casual to formal:
- おばあちゃん: grandma — casual, affectionate
- 祖母: my grandmother — humble; for your own grandmother
- おばあさん: grandmother; old woman — standard polite
- おばあさま: grandmother — very polite, usually someone else's
Similar words
- おじいさま: grandfather (very polite) — the parallel form
- お母様: mother (very polite)
Related Words
Compare:
お母様 (mother)