Japanese word

ばあさん

Pronunciation

Romajibāsan

Meaning

  • noungrandma

Example

私のばあさんは大阪に住んでいます。watashi no bā sa n wa ō saka ni su n de i ma su

My grandma lives in Osaka.

Illustration for ばあさん (grandma)

More examples

子どものころ、ばあさんから昔の話をよく聞きました。ko do mo no ko ro bā sa n ka ra mukashi no hanashi o yo ku ki ki ma shi ta

When I was a child, I often heard old stories from my grandma.

Core concept

Refers to an older woman through familiar everyday speech, most often as a grandmother or a woman known to the speaker.

Common phrases

  • ばあさんから聞くbā sa n ka ra ki ku

    hear from grandma

  • ばあさんに電話するbā sa n ni den wa su ru

    call grandma

  • ばあさんの料理bā sa n no ryō ri

    grandma's cooking

Similar words

ばあちゃんbāchan: A familiar term for a grandmother or an older woman, often showing affection.
おばあさんobāsan: A polite everyday term for a grandmother or an older woman.
祖母sobo: A formal family term for one's grandmother, especially in speech about her.

Definition in Japanese

自分の祖母、または年配の女性をくだけて指す語。ji bun no so bo ma ta wa nen pai no jo sei o ku da ke te sa su go

Word origin

ばあさん (bāsan) comes from おばあさん (obāsan) by dropping the honorific prefix お (o), leaving the colloquial form 婆さん (bāsan, "old woman").

Usage tips

  • The ending さん (san) does not make ばあさん (bāsan) formal, because the whole expression remains a colloquial way to refer to an older woman.

Other meanings

  • old womannoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word