パパ

パ

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

1

familiar language

Familiar, affectionate word for one's father, especially in children's speech or within the family. Less formal than お父さん and not used for formal self-introduction.

パパ、絵え本ほんを読よんで。

Daddy, read me a picture book.

うちのパパは料りょう理りが上手じょうずだ。

My dad is good at cooking.

2

noun

sugar daddy

colloquial

Colloquial slang for an older or wealthier man who financially supports or spends money on a younger partner; often associated with パパ活.

彼かの女じょはパパ活かつで知しり合あったパパと食しょく事じに行いった。
She went to dinner with a sugar daddy she met through papa-katsu.

Usage patterns

パパになるto become a father
去きょ年ねん、彼かれはパパになった。
He became a father last year.
パパになってもらうto get someone to act as one's sugar daddy
彼かの女じょはお金かね持もちの男だん性せいにパパになってもらった。
She got a wealthy man to be her sugar daddy.
パパに似にるto resemble one's dad
この子こは目め元もとがパパに似にている。
This child's eyes look just like her dad's.

Related words

おやじN1sense 1
おやじ is a rougher, more masculine slang term for one's father, often used by adult men, unlike the childlike パパ.
父とうさん
パパ is an even more childlike, affectionate term for father typically used by young children, while 父さん sounds slightly more grown-up.
パパさん
パパ is the plain, everyday word for dad, while パパさん adds a slightly more affectionate or polite tone.
お父とうさんN5
パパ is a more casual, childlike word for dad, whereas お父さん is the standard polite term used by children and adults alike.
父とうちゃん
父ちゃん and パパ are both casual, affectionate words for dad, but パパ is a Western-style loanword with a more modern feel while 父ちゃん feels more traditionally Japanese.

Opposites

ママN3sense 1
パパ refers to one's father while ママ is the matching familiar term for one's mother.

Politeness

お父とうさんpolite 丁寧語N5sense 1
お父さん is the standard, polite way to refer to one's father, while パパ is a childish, intimate term used mainly within the family.
父ちちhumble 謙譲語N5sense 1
父 is the modest, formal way to refer to one's own father when speaking to outsiders, whereas パパ is the affectionate word used at home.

Counted with

人にん
The everyday counter for people: 一人 (ひとり), 二人 (ふたり), 三人 (さんにん).
名めいN2
More formal than 人 — used for headcounts in reservations, staff lists, and announcements (5名様).

Word family

パパ友とも
dad friend; father friend
パパ活かつ
compensated dating; sugar daddy dating
太ふとパパ
big-spending sugar daddy
パパっ子こ
daddy's girl; daddy's boy

Etymology

No language-of-origin information is specified. パパ is a katakana familiar term resembling the international child word “papa”; the exact route into Japanese is not specified here.

パパ休きゅう暇か

paternity leave

シングルパパ

single father