How to say 'Grandfather' in Japanese | 祖父

Wondering how to say 'Grandfather' in Japanese? You're in the right place!

The Japanese word for Grandfather is 'Sofu', written as 祖父 in Japanese.'Grandfather' in hiragana is そふ.

word

祖父

Meaning

Grandfather

Reading

そふ

sofu

Kanji

祖Ancestor 父Father

Explanation

The Japanese noun '祖父 (そふ)' refers to one's paternal grandfather. It is a formal term used to denote the father of one's father. This word is commonly used in both spoken and written Japanese when referring to or addressing one's grandfather. For example: My grandfather is kind「私の祖父は優しい」(わたしのそふはやさしい). I visited my grandfather「祖父を訪ねた」(そふをたずねた). It's important to note that '祖父' specifically refers to the paternal grandfather, while '外祖父 (がいそふ)' is used for the maternal grandfather, though '祖父' can sometimes be used more generally in casual contexts.

Part Of Speech

noun

Kanji JLPT

Kanji Grade

Frequency

3815

Composition

kanji

Handwriting

Kanji in the Word 祖父

This word contains 2 kanji characters:

kanji

祖

Meaning

Ancestor

kanji

父

Meaning

Father

Words Related to 祖父 Through the Kanji 祖

These 5 Words contain the Kanji 祖 as well.

word

お祖父さん

Meaning

Grandfather

word

お祖母さん

Meaning

Grandmother

word

祖母

Meaning

Grandmother

word

先祖

Meaning

Ancestor

word

祖先

Meaning

Ancestor

Words Related to 祖父 Through the Kanji 父

These 8 Words contain the Kanji 父 as well.

word

父

Meaning

Father

word

お父さん

Meaning

Father

word

父親

Meaning

Father

word

伯父

Meaning

Uncle

word

お祖父さん

Meaning

Grandfather

word

親父

Meaning

Father, Old man

word

父母

Meaning

Parents

word

父兄

Meaning

Parents

Learn the Word 祖父

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What does 'Sofu' (祖父) mean?

'Sofu' means 'Grandfather' .

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