Dictionary / Japanese / Mom
How to Say "Mom" in Japanese
お母さん
okāsan
Literally: (Respected) mother
お
(polite prefix)
母
mother
さん
(polite title)
Polite or casual
Politeお母様 (okāsama)
Casualママ (mama) / 母さん (kāsan)
お母さん is the everyday word for mom. You use it to call your own mother, and to talk about someone else's mother. When you mention your own mother in polite conversation, for example to a teacher, a boss or someone you have just met, say 母 (haha). Your family counts as your own side, so you do not use polite words for them in front of outsiders. ママ (mama) is common with small children, and some families keep using it. お母様 (okāsama) is a very polite way to refer to someone else's mother.
Correct
お母さん
What people say wrong
お母さんは先生です
My mom is a teacher. Fine with friends, but is out of place when you mention your own mother to a boss or in an interview.
The mistake to avoid. Learners often use お母さん for every mother, including their own in a job interview. To outsiders, your own mother is 母: 母は先生です (haha wa sensei desu), my mother is a teacher. Their mother is お母さん. With close friends, people are more relaxed, and you may hear お母さん or うちの母 (uchi no haha). In hiragana it is おかあさん, with a long a sound, so say oka-a-san and not okasan.
In context
お母さん、ただいま。
Okāsan, tadaima.
Mom, I'm home.
母は東京に住んでいます。
Haha wa Tōkyō ni sunde imasu.
My mother lives in Tokyo. (to someone outside the family)
田中さんのお母さんは先生ですか。
Tanaka-san no okāsan wa sensei desu ka.
Is Tanaka-san's mother a teacher?