Monday, April 23, 2018

ojisan

In Japanese, ojisan おじさん means "uncle," but sometimes refers to an older man.

Not to be confused with ojiisan おじいさん, or ojīsan with a macron, which mean "grandfather" instead.

Kanji

The word ojisan can be written with kanji in multiple ways, depending on the meaning of the word:

  • ojisan
    伯父さん
    Uncle, who is your parent's older brother. In other words, the oniisan of your otousan or okaasan.
  • ojisan
    叔父さん
    Uncle, who is your parent's younger brother. In other words, the otouto of your otousan or okaasan.
  • ojisan
    小父さん
    Elder man.

Variants

With family words in o__san お〇〇さん pattern, the o~ お~ prefix can be removed, and the honorific suffix can be changed between ~san ~さん, ~chan ~ちゃん, and ~sama ~さま.

o~
Default.

Relaxed.
~sama
Respectful.
Distant.
Formal.
ojisama
おじさま
伯父様
叔父様
小父様

jisama
じさま
~san
Default.
ojisan
おじさん
伯父さん
叔父さん
小父さん
jisan
じさん
~chan
Chummier.
Diminutive.
ojichan
おじちゃん
伯父ちゃん
叔父ちゃん
小父ちゃん
jichan
じちゃん

Relaxed.
oji
おじ
伯父
叔父
小父
ji

The words ossan おっさん, occhan おっちゃん, are other variants of ojisan.

vs. 伯父

The difference between ojisan and oji 伯父 (叔父) is that oji doesn't have honorifics.

Since you don't use honorifics toward yourself, when talking to other people about your family, you use oji 伯父 to refer to your uncle, and ojisan 伯父さん to refer to their uncle.

However, when talking to your own family, ojisan refers to your own uncle.

Toward Older Men

The word ojisan 小父さん can also refer not to your "uncle" but to an elder man instead. There's no hard rule about how old he has to be. It's a mid-point between oniisan and ojiisan.

おじさん いくら何でもひどいと思います ほんとに・・・・・・かける言葉もないわ・・・・・・ ポン フルフル
Manga: Hinamatsuri ヒナまつり (Chapter 9, 勘当ロックンロールフィーバー)
  • Context: Nitta Yoshifumi 新田義史 says what he did in a bar.
  • ojisan, ikura nandemo {hidoi} to omoimasu
    おじさん いくら何でもひどい思います
    [Mister], [no matter the circumstances] [I] think {[what you said] is horrible}.
    • The bartender, who is a child, refers to Nitta as ojisan, because he's at an age around of her father's age, or her father's brother's age, that is, he could be her uncle if they were related, he's uncle-aged, ojisan-aged.
    • ikura nandemo
      いくら何でも
      No matter how much, no matter the circumstances, regardless of what happened, etc.
  • honto ni..... {kakeru} kotoba mo nai wa......
    ほんとに・・・・・・かける言葉もない・・・・・・
    Really...... [I] don't even have [what to say]......
    • honto - same as hontou 本当, with long vowel shortened
    • kotoba wo kakeru
      言葉かける
      To pour words [onto someone]. (literally.)
      To give someone words. To talk with someone.
  • pon
    ポン
    *tap*
    (onomatopoeia.)
  • furufuru
    フルフル
    *shaking [head disapprovingly sideways]*
    (mimetic word.)

In anime, sometimes child characters can call young men in their 20's ojisan, giving them a bitter and unwarranted taste of the cruelty inherent of the passage of time.

One particular anime about a salaryman ojisan:

  • ojisan to mashumaro
    おじさんとマシュマロ
    Ojisan & Marshmallow.

When the word is used like this, it sometimes comes after the demonstrative pronouns kono, sono, ano.

  • ano ojisan
    あのおじさん
    That old man.
  • ano ossan
    あのおっさん
    (same meaning.)
  • kono ojisan
    このおじさん
    You! (you old man!)
  • kono ossan
    このおっさん
    (same meaning.)

Ojisan Fish

The word ojisan オジサン can also refer to a certain fish, the Manybar Goatfish (Parupeneus Multifasciatus).

Family Words

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