おじさん – Uncle or Middle Aged Man?
おじさん is a very common but sometimes hard to use word in Japanese. Let’s take a look.
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What does おじさん mean?
おじさん is the word おじ with さん following it.
おじ means uncle but if you want to be specific there is more than one type of uncle out there.
- 伯父 – mother or father’s older brother
- 叔父 – mother or father’s younger brother
In writing, you can see that there are two ways to write おじ. But, generally, おじ should be fine. When you are talking about your uncle it is normal to say おじさん though instead of おじ.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/What about People that are not my Uncle?
If you write おじさん as 小父さん that refers to middle-aged men. Again though usually, you will write it just in hiragana.
When do People say おじさん？
There are a few situations that people will use this word. Children talking to adult males will say おじさん to refer to the man. Usually when they don’t know their name. In return, adult males may refer to themselves as おじさん when talking to children.
Other than children talking to adults, adults may also say おじさん. Most people will not walk up to someone and just say, hey おじさん. That would be considered rude and probably shocking for certain males who still are young or were not aware that they looked middle-aged. So, when you are talking to people it is best just not to use the word. People will still often say おじさん when talking to someone else about some guy they saw somewhere. Instead, though you could also say 男の人 which means an adult male and would be less controversial. Finally, adult males may refer to themselves as おじさん. This is to emphasize themselves as older people in a slightly self-deprecating way.
