母: はは｜Mother

母

Meaning

Mother, wife

Pronunciation

• Kun-Yomi:　はは、も
• On-Yomi:   ボ

Stroke Order

Common Compounds

KUN Reading Compound	母  【はは】	mother
	母親  【ははおや】
	必要は発明の母  【ひつようははつめいのはは】	necessity is the mother of invention
	義理の母  【ぎりのはは】	mother-in-law, foster mother, stepmother
	母屋  【もや】	purlin (structural beam in a roof), purline, main building   (of a manor),   central room (in traditional palatial-style architecture)
	母屋桁  【もやげた】	purlin (structural beam in a roof), purline
	雲母  【うんも】	mica, isinglass
	乳母  【うば】	wet nurse, nursing mother
ON Reading Compound	母国  【ボコク】	one's homeland
	母校  【ボコウ】	alma mater
	養父母  【ヨウフボ】	adoptive parents
	空母  【クウボ】	aircraft carrier

Interesting Facts

The Japanese take interpersonal relation very seriously. They divide the world into two parts, namely, within my cirle and outside my circle. Usually, they change their wordings according to the position of the things they refer to.

That's why a simple English word like "mother" can be translated into at least two Japanese words, namely, はは (haha) and お母さん (okaasan).

When a Japanese is in his home, talking to his family, he is the only one within his circle and all other family members are outside his circle. So he calls his mother "okaasan" to show respect.

But when he talks to his friends or colleagues, he and his family will be within his circle, and the friends and colleagues are outsiders. So he uses "haha" to refer to his own mother and "okaasan" to refer to other people's mother. When a Japanese is talking to you and he says "okaasan" without saying "my" or "your", you know he is referring to your mother.

Furthermore, when he talks to people from other companies or simply a stranger, such friends and colleagues will automatically be within his circle. And wordings will be changed accordingly.

(source: aiyori.org)