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Kaasan (母さん): what it means in anime
母さん
かあさん · kaasan · mom; mother Not on JLPT lists
Kaa-san means "mom" or "mother" when talking to or about your own mother. It is a step more casual than お母さん (okaa-san), and a step more grown-up than ママ (mama).
Where you hear it 3 of 42 series
Lines from the Japanese subtitles of episodes 1–3 of each show. A translation is shown only when it clearly matches the line; counts are subtitle lines containing the word.
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Attack on Titan · 12 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 2
お前が 母さんを 助けられなかったのはThe reason you couldn't save your mother
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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood · 11 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 2
父さんも母さんも 戦場に連れて行かれて殺されたからMy mother and father were taken away to the battlefield and were killed there.
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Erased · 10 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
ああ おかえり 悟 母さん…
Usage and nuance
Boys and young men in anime say 母さん: Eren in Attack on Titan, Edward in Fullmetal Alchemist, Satoru in Erased. Girls more often say お母さん or ママ. The choice tells you something about the character's age and family.
Talking about your mother to outsiders politely uses 母 (haha) alone, without さん. Talking about someone else's mother uses お母さん.
The father set works the same way: 父さん (tou-san), お父さん (otou-san), パパ (papa), 父 (chichi).
Hear 母さん in Attack on Titan12 lines in episodes 1–3 · tappable subtitles · free, no account