息子

What it means

息子 means one's son, a male child in relation to the speaker or a parent. It designates a person's male offspring and is used as a standard noun in family talk and writing, typically introduced with possessives like 私の息子.

Main meanings

• Primarily denotes one’s own son in a family context (casual).
• 息子さん is the polite form used when speaking about someone else’s son or in respectful address.
• In literature or historical contexts a closely related form 子息 may appear as an archaic term for son.

How to use it

息子 is used in casual and formal Japanese to refer to a male child who is the speaker’s offspring or when discussing someone else’s son. In conversation, 私の息子 or 彼の息子 are common, while 息子さん conveys politeness in talking about another person’s son. In writing, the term typically appears without additional honorifics when the context is clear.