obasan
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.14 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Example Sentences
- "Some day Japanese women may be seen parading the streets bearing banners on which are written “Votes for Women,”—at least what appears to be a movement in this direction was inaugurated last week, says the Far East, when a public meeting for women was held at the Kanda Y. M. C. A. under the auspices of a woman’s periodical, the Blue-Stocking.[…]Mere male creatures were allowed to be present, and curious University students who wanted to see what all the fuss was about were obliged to ask the obasans in their neighbourhood if they could seek their protection."
- "Even if osteoporosis is not so common in elderly Japanese women as in Caucasians when measured in terms of bone density and fractures, I am still convinced that the many obasans one sees in Japan bent nearly double did not get that way merely from planting rice."
- "The boys resist the Japanese names by which the obasans of the camp address them as willfully as they renounce any identification with the fragmented body of the aged grandfather."
- "“Yeah,” September replied, “old woman. Push and shove. Often Tokyo obasans cut in line for everything and when they get caught they act innocent. They have power and they know it, like old-lady Morimoto, the drycleaner in our building. Geez, whoever designs obasan clothing should be arrested. Those tan shoes you’re wearing are revolting. I dressed up in those clothes for a Halloween party a few years back. But I didn’t look half as real as you.”"
- "Elderly gents in berets walked past us, elegant with walking canes, escorting obasans, grandmothers in gleaming tabi socks and geta clogs, treading lightly upon the path with a fixedness approaching solemnity."
- "You were nearly hypnotized by the enchanting aroma of the smoke, but managed to keep a steady pace, not wanting to be pegged as a tourist by two obasans, who, cheeks red from the cold, were chatting while cradling grandchildren in their arms."
Etymology
From Japanese 小母さん (obasan).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: 小母さん