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奥様 (おくさま, okusama) Japanese meaning: wife | Kotomora

奥おく様さま

お

く

さ

ま

Common word›JLPTN2›Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

1

wife; married lady; madam

polite (teineigo)›

Polite term for someone else's wife, or a respectful way to address a married woman. Not used for one's own wife.

奥おく様さまはどちら

に

いらっしゃい

ます

か

。

Where is your wife?

隣となりの奥おく様さまはとても親しん切せつな方かたです。

The lady next door is a very kind person.

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉の奥おく様さまso-and-so's wife (respectful)
田た中なかさんの奥おく様さまはとても親しん切せつです。
Mr. Tanaka's wife is very kind.
奥おく様さまによろしくお伝つたえくださいplease give my regards to your wife
奥おく様さまによろしくお伝つたえください。
Please give my regards to your wife.
奥おく様さま、〜でございますused when politely addressing a married woman as 'madam' in service contexts
奥おく様さま、こちらの商しょう品ひんはいかがでしょうか。
Madam, how about this product?

Kanji

奥heart, interior
様Esq., way, manner

Related words

妻つまN5
妻 is the neutral, unmarked word for one's own wife, while 奥様 is a polite term used for another person's wife or to address a married woman.
ミセスN1
奥様 is a respectful Japanese term for someone's wife used in speech, while ミセス is a borrowed title placed before a name like 'Mrs.'
奥おくさんN5
奥様 is a more formal, elevated version of 奥さん, both honorific terms for another person's wife but 奥様 sounding more refined.

Politeness

奥おくさんpolite 丁寧語N5
奥様 is the more formal, elevated term for someone's wife, while 奥さん is the everyday polite version used in casual conversation.
家か内ないhumble 謙譲語N4
奥様 respectfully refers to someone else's wife, whereas 家内 is the humble term a speaker uses for their own wife when talking to outsiders.

Counted with

名めいN2
Used when counting people (奥様) in contexts like customer service or reservations.

Word family

大おお奥おく様さま
lady of the house; mistress of a grand residence
若わか奥おく様さま
young wife; young married woman

Built from

奥おく+様さま

Written forms

奥おく様さま
Standard kanji spelling; the most common written form.
奥おくさま
Variant with さま in kana; slightly softer or more casual in appearance.

Etymology

From 奥 (inner part of a house) + 様 (honorific suffix), originally referring to the lady of the inner chambers.