What does “ojisan” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “ojisan” often to mean ‘uncle’ 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 “ojisan” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “ojisan”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “ojisan”.
- ojisan – 伯父さん/叔父さん (おじさん) : a noun meaning ‘uncle’ 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 man or men.
Japanese native speakers use this noun often to refer to a brother or brothers of their parents. It’s also worth mentioning here that they sometimes use this noun to refer to a middle-aged man or men 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 “ojisan” literally mean in Japanese?
“Ojisan” 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’.
- 父 : a kanji character used to mean ‘father’ in Japanese.
These three kanji characters tell us that “伯父” and “叔父” literally mean ‘the oldest sibling and a father’ and ‘a younger sibling and a father’ 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 brother or brothers of their parents and the second to refer to a younger brother or brothers. “さん” is an honorific suffix used after a name, pronoun, or such. So, “ojisan” is literally the polite expression for brothers 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 “ojisan” through the detailed kanji check above.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “ojisan” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “uncle” in Japanese
watashi wa kinou ojisan ni at ta – 私は昨日伯父さんに会った (わたしはきのうおじさんにあった)
I met my uncle yesterday.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi” 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.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say in which direction an action goes. In the example, this is used after “ojisan” to say whom the speaker met yesterday.
- at – 会っ (あっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “au”, which means ‘to meet’ or ‘to see’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with the following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. In the example, this is used after “at” to make its past tense form, “at ta”.
This is a typical usage of “ojisan”. In this example, it works together with the case particle, “ni”, to become the object in the sentence. When we want to say “uncle” in Japanese, anyway, this noun is the best option.
Example #2: another usage of “ojisan”
kanojo wa kakkoii ojisan ga suki desu – 彼女はかっこいいおじさんが好きです (かのじょはかっこいいおじさんがすきです)
She loves cool middle-aged men.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- kakkoii – かっこいい : an i-adjective meaning ‘cool’, ‘handsome’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this works as a modifier in front of “ojisan”.
- 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 “kakkoii ojisan” to make the object 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 “ojisan”. In this example, it works to refer to middle-aged men in Japanese.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “ojisan” 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.
- ojisan – 伯父さん/叔父さん (おじさん) : a noun meaning ‘uncle’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. The first kanji expression refers to an older brother or brothers of parents and the second refers to a younger brother or brothers of parents. It’s also worth mentioning here that Japanese native speakers sometimes use this noun to refer to a middle-aged man or men in general.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
