父とうさん

と

う

さ

ん

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

Casual, affectionate term for one's own father, used within the family or when speaking about him to close acquaintances. Less formal than お父さん.

Usage patterns

父とうさん、ただいまused to greet one's father when coming home
父とうさん、ただいま！
Dad, I'm home!
〈人ひと〉〉は父とうさんに似にているto resemble one's father
弟おとうとは父とうさんに似にている。
My little brother looks like our dad.

Kanji

父father

Related words

パパN1
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.

Opposites

母かあさん
父さん is the equivalent casual family term for one's father, the opposite of 母さん for one's mother.

Politeness

お父とうさんpolite 丁寧語N5
お父さん is the standard, more polite way to refer to one's father (usable for others' fathers too), while 父さん is a casual, family-only shortening.
父ちちhumble 謙譲語N5
父 is the humble term used for one's own father in formal speech or with outsiders, whereas 父さん is a warm, casual term used within the family.

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

お父とうさんN5
father; dad · husband (one's own) · you (older man); he; him
お義と父うさん
father-in-law · foster father · stepfather

Etymology

Contraction of お父さん (otōsan), dropping the honorific prefix お. The reading とう is a sound shift from ちち (father) combined with the honorific suffix さん.