also: ははこ · おやこ
mother and child
Refers to a mother and her child as a pair, often used in social, medical, or welfare contexts (e.g., 母子家庭, 母子手帳).
母子家庭への支援が拡充された。
Support for single-mother families has been expanded.
The mother and child took a walk in the park together.
母子手帳は妊娠中に交付される。
The maternal and child health handbook is issued during pregnancy.
Regular checkups are important for protecting the health of mother and child.
He grew up in a single-mother household.
母子 refers to a mother and her child, while 父子 is the equivalent term for a father and his child.
母子 means 'mother and child', while 妻子 means 'wife and children'; the parallel '〜子' structure makes them easy to mix up despite referring to different family relationships.
父子 and 母子 differ by only one kanji and are easy to mix up, but 父子 means father and child while 母子 means mother and child.
denominator and numerator
home for mothers and children
single-mother household; fatherless family
widowed mother's allowance; mother-and-child pension
mother-to-child infection; vertical transmission
Standard kanji spelling for the reading ぼし. High-frequency news word.
Rare reading of the same kanji. Mostly found in older or literary contexts.
Gikun (jukujikun) reading. Rare and non-standard; the usual word for 'parent and child' is 親子.
Compound of 母 (mother) and 子 (child). The reading ぼし is the standard Sino-Japanese on'yomi. The reading ははこ uses the native kun'yomi for 母 and is rare. The reading おやこ is a non-standard gikun reading.