What does “obasan” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “obasan” often to mean ‘aunt’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, songs, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expressions. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “obasan” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “obasan”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “obasan”.
- obasan – 伯母さん/叔母さん (おばさん) : a noun meaning ‘aunt’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural. Depending on the context and situation, this can also refer to a middle-aged woman or women.
Japanese native speakers use this noun often to refer to a sister or sisters of their parents. It’s also worth mentioning here that they sometimes use this noun to refer to a middle-aged woman or women in general.
The definition and meanings are not that difficult, I think. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
What does “obasan” literally mean in Japanese?
“Obasan” has two different kanji expressions. The following three kanji characters are used:
- 伯 : a kanji character originally used to mean ‘the oldest sibling’.
- 叔 : a kanji character originally used to mean ‘younger sibling’.
- 母 : a kanji character used to mean ‘mother’ in Japanese.
These three kanji characters tell us that “伯母” and “叔母” literally mean ‘the oldest sibling and a mother’ and ‘a younger sibling and a mother’ respectively in Japanese. These literal interpretations are not completely in line with the actual meanings, but not so far either. Japanese native speakers use the first kanji expression to refer to an older sister or sisters of their parents and the second to refer to a younger sister or sisters. “さん” is an honorific suffix used after a name, pronoun, or such. So, “obasan” is literally the polite expression for sisters of parents in Japanese.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “obasan” through the detailed kanji check above.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “obasan” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “aunt” in Japanese
obasan ga kinou ie ni ki ta – 伯母さんが昨日家に来た (おばさんがきのういえにきた)
My aunt came to our house yesterday.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “obasan” to make the subject in the sentence.
- kinou – 昨日 (きのう) : a noun meaning ‘yesterday’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. In the example, this works as an adverb in the middle of the sentence to say “yesterday” in Japanese.
- ie – 家 (いえ) : a noun meaning ‘house’ or ‘home’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say where someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “ie” to say where the aunt came yesterday.
- ki – 来 (き) : one conjugation of the verb, “kuru“, which means ‘to come’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, this is used after “ki” to make its past tense form, “ki ta”.
This is a typical usage of “obasan”. In this example, it works together with the case particle, “ga”, to become the subject in the sentence. When we want to say “aunt” in Japanese, anyway, this noun is the best option.
Example #2: another usage of “obasan”
kare wa obasan ga suki desu – 彼はおばさんが好きです (かれはおばさんがすきです)
He loves middle-aged women.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kare” to make the subject in the sentence.
- suki – 好き (すき) : the stem part of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. Native speakers, however, often use this as an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese. In the example, this is used to mean ‘to love’.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “suki” to make it sound polite.
This is another typical usage of “obasan”. In this example, it works to refer to middle-aged women in Japanese.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “obasan” in detail based on its kanji expressions. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- obasan – 伯母さん/叔母さん (おばさん) : a noun meaning ‘aunt’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. The first kanji expression refers to an older sister or sisters of parents and the second refers to a younger sister or sisters of parents. It’s also worth mentioning here that Japanese native speakers sometimes use this noun to refer to a middle-aged woman or women in general.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
