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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "uncle" in Japanese?
おじさん
ojisan
In Japanese, "uncle" is おじさん (ojisan).
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Pronunciation
Oh-jee-sahn, three syllables, the polite -san ending softening the word.
Writing and usage
おじさん is written using hiragana. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.
Example sentence
叔父が釣りの仕方を教えてくれたんだ。
oji ga tsuri no shikata wo oshie tekuretanda.
My uncle taught me how to fish.
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How to remember おじさん
Ojisan carries the same polite -san ending you might already know from names, marking respect for an uncle.
Related words
- grandfather 祖父 sofu
- grandmother 祖母 sobo
- aunt おばさん obasan
- nephew 甥 oi
- niece 姪 mei
- cousin いとこ itoko
- stepfather 継父 mamachichi
- stepmother 継母 mamahaha
- godfather 名付け親 nazuke oya
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about おじさん
How do you pronounce おじさん?
Oh-jee-sahn, three syllables, the polite -san ending softening the word.
Is おじさん formal or casual?
おじさん is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.
How is おじさん written in Japanese?
おじさん is written using hiragana. Romanised, it reads as ojisan.
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Uncle" in other languages
Curated by Callan Ratcliffe
This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.
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