also: おう
old man; venerable gentleman
A respectful or literary term for an elderly man. Often used in traditional contexts or to show deference.
The old man of the village told us old tales.
Only with reading おう
Honorific suffix attached to names or titles of respected elderly men, e.g., 田中翁 (Venerable Tanaka).
Venerable Tanaka devoted himself to the development of the region.
The venerable Tanaka left behind many great achievements.
He was respectfully called 'the venerable one' by the villagers.
老翁 is an almost synonymous classical compound for an old man, often interchangeable with 翁 in literary or historical writing.
爺 is a plain, sometimes rustic or affectionate word for an old man, lacking the honorific dignity of 翁.
翁 is the common, everyday word for an old man, while 尉 is a specialized term used only for the old-man role in Noh theater.
Standard kanji spelling for the noun 'old man'.
Suffix reading, used in honorific names and titles.
The kanji 翁 originally depicted an old man with a feather headdress, symbolizing wisdom and age. The reading おきな is native Japanese, while おう is the Sino-Japanese reading used in compounds and honorific suffixes.