奥おくさん

お

く

さ

ん

Common wordJLPTN5Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

wife; married lady; madam

Honorific term used to refer to someone else's wife, or to address a married woman politely. Not used for one's own wife.

奥おくさんによろしくお伝つたえくださいplease give my regards to your wife
奥おくさんによろしくお伝つたえください。
Please give my regards to your wife.
〈人ひと〉の奥おくさんは元げん気きですかasking how someone's wife is doing
田た中なかさんの奥おくさんは元げん気きですか。
How is Mr. Tanaka's wife doing?

妻つまN5
妻 is the neutral, everyday word a person uses for their own wife, while 奥さん is an honorific term used to refer to someone else's wife.
女にょう房ぼうN2
女房 is a casual, somewhat old-fashioned word for one's own wife, whereas 奥さん is polite and used for another person's wife.
奥おく様さまN2
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.
マダム
奥さん is the everyday, neutral word for a married woman or 'wife', while マダム adds a fancier, Western-influenced nuance.

Show 2 more

夫ふ人じんN3
奥さん is the everyday, slightly less formal way to refer to someone else's wife, while 夫人 is used in formal or written contexts, especially with a surname.
人ひと妻づま
奥さん is a polite term used to address or refer respectfully to someone's wife, whereas 人妻 is a more descriptive, third-person word often carrying a taboo or romantic nuance.

ご主しゅ人じんN5
奥さん is the parallel honorific term used to refer respectfully to someone else's wife, while ご主人 refers to someone else's husband.

家か内ないhumble 謙譲語N4
家内 is the humble term a husband uses to refer to his own wife when speaking to outsiders, while 奥さん is the honorific term used for someone else's wife.
妻つまplainN5
奥さん is the polite word used to refer to someone else's wife (and casually to one's own), while 妻 is the plain, neutral term.
嫁よめさんplain
奥さん is the polite term used for someone else's wife, while 嫁さん is a casual term that can refer to one's own or a close friend's wife.
奥おく様さまplainN2
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.
女にょう房ぼうplainN2
奥さん is the polite, honorific way to refer to someone else's wife, while 女房 is used only for one's own wife and never politely about another person's.

From 奥 (oku, 'interior') + honorific さん (san). Historically, the wife was associated with the inner part of the house.