おばさん – Aunt or Middle Aged Woman?
おばさん is a very common but sometimes hard to use word in Japanese. Let’s take a look.
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What does おばさん mean?
おばさん is the word おば with さん following it.
おば means aunt but if you want to be specific there is more than one type of aunt out there.
- 伯母 – mother or father’s older sister
- 叔母 – mother or father’s younger sister
In writing, you can see that there are two ways to write おば. But, generally, おば should be fine. When you are talking about your aunt it is normal to say おばさん though instead of おば.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/What about People that are not my Aunt?
If you write おばさん as 小母さん that refers to middle-aged women. Again though usually, you will write it just in hiragana.
When do People say おばさん？
There are a few situations that people will use this word. Children talking to adult women will say おばさん to refer to the woman. Usually when they don’t know their name. In return, adult women may refer to themselves as おばさん when talking to children.
Other than children talking to adults, adults may also say おばさん. Most people will not walk up to someone and just say, hey おばさん. That would be considered rude and probably shocking for certain women 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 おばさん when talking to someone else about some woman they saw somewhere. Instead, though you could also say 女の人 which means an adult female and would be less controversial. Finally, adult females may refer to themselves as おばさん. This is to emphasize themselves as older people in a slightly self-deprecating way.
