How to say Wife in Japanese?

In Japanese there are different ways of referring to a spouse or partner. In this article, we will look at some of these ways, their meanings and their differences. Ready to learn how to say wife in Japanese?

There are many ways to say wife in Japanese, below you will see many of these ways, their meanings and their differences. One of the main differences is that there are words used to refer to one's spouse or the spouse of other people.

Tsuma - My Wife

Wife [妻] is the term better known as wife mainly by Japanese language students, but they should be aware that this term is only used to refer to one's own wife. This is because the word also carries a romantic and embellished connotation, something like my darling, my honey.

Generally, the garnish served with sashimi is also called tsuma, because the word is also used to refer to something that is beside. Historically, the word tsuma has been used to refer to both, husband and wife.

The word makes perfect sense, its origin comes from [端] which means side and edge, indicating the person who is next to, that is, the spouse. Another way to read the ideogram for wife is sai [妻] which can be used in the formation of other words such as:

• Saishi [妻子] - Wife and children, formerly just wife;
• Saitai [妻帯] - To have a wife, to marry;
• Saisho [妻女] - Wife, Wife and children;
• Saishou [妻妾] - Wife and lover;
• Tsuma no Mikoto [妻の命] - You (conjugate);
• Gensai [幻妻] - Wife; Woman (derogatory); prostitute;
• Gusai [愚妻] - Archaic wife;

Okusan - Wife

A common way to refer to your wife is using the term okusan [奥さん] which can also be used to refer to other people's wives or married women. It is a respectful honorific sonkeigo, but its origin is controversial.

Oku [奥] means at the back and in this case at the back of the house. Then wife refers to someone who stays at the back of the house and does not come out to the front, someone who remains hidden. This concept came from the Sengoku Period when women stayed inside the castle at the back and served their master there. master [Master].

According to the dictionary, oku-san or oku-sama is also a common nickname for middle-aged women. It is common to see men calling women whose names they do not know okusan. The act of doing things for one's wife is called okusankoukou [奥さん孝行].

Kanai - Housewife

Another similar term is kanai [家内] which can refer to a wife in the humble form kenjougo that is commonly written in hiragana. The word literally means inside the house, which describes the role of a woman and her errands inside the house.

Kanai it can also refer to someone's family, which can be seen in the famous amulet kanaianzen [家内安全] which serves to protect the family from danger. Even though it's a term used for one's own wife, this word can be offensive to some.

I think if feminists read this article they will freak out, but many of these words are respectful and sweet to Japanese women. Don't be put off by the origin of the words otherwise you will go crazy if you research the origins of Portuguese words.

Nyoubou - From Maid to Wife

The word nyoubou [女房] originally referred to high-class women who worked in the Japanese Imperial Court. As expected, some ended up in bed with some men from the place. The word literally means woman of the room [房].

Bou it is a type of room in which they served the guests and took care of the Princess or the Emperor. They got that name because they were given their own room on site. Over time, this term was used to refer to wives.

The term is used only to refer to one's own wife. Some may not like this term due to its origin. Sometimes the term is often used for the woman with whom you live, without any laço matrimonial.

Oyomesan - Bride

Although the word oyomesan means bride, it can also refer to your own wife after getting married, but on rare occasions. Written with the ideogram [嫁] yome or yomesan can also be used to refer to a daughter-in-law.

In the Kansai area of Osaka and Kyoto, such use for wife is common, you might hear something like "uchi no yome", a phrase quite popular among manzai comedians. Another archaic way to refer to wife or bride is wakoto [我事].

To be more specific, we call the woman a bride using the expression hanayome [花嫁] so much that when searching for yome and hanayome on Google images, you'll see quite a difference in the clothing. We also have words like shinbu [新婦].

Other ways to say Wife in Japanese

Below we will see other ways to say wife in the Japanese language:

• Bujin [夫人] - Wife; Mrs; Madame; Wife of a noble;
• Kami-san [上さん] - Wife, generally of merchants or local chiefs;
• Couple [夫婦] - Husband and Wife;
• Kaasan [母さん] - Although it means mother, it can also refer to one's own wife;
• Kakaa [嬶] - Wife;