Mother

by Nao

haha, kā-san, bo, mo

When you mention your mother in front of others, call her “haha.” We call Mother “o-kā-san” when we talk to her. “Haha” sounds polite and humble. “O-kā-san” is more common. If you want to call somebody’s mother or to talk to your own mother very politely, call her “o-kā-sama.” Even the common people use “o-kā-sama” to call others’ mother but calling your own mother “o-kā-sama” is only acceptable if you are from the upper class or if you want to beg her for something often with humor. By the way, small children call their mother “mama.” It’s an English loanword and written in katakana.

Mother’s Day is “haha no hi.”

A grandmother is sobo. The so of sobo means ancestry.

Your mother country is bokoku. Your mother tongue is bokokugo. Koku means a country and go means a language.

Unmo is mica. It’s a mineral. I could not find how this was relevant to mother.

The horizontal line is the last stroke.

1. Draw the rotated chevron-shape.
2. Draw the hook with an upward turn. These two strokes enclose the dots.
3. Draw the upper dot.
4. Draw the lower dot.
5. Draw the horizontal line.

[Via http://calligraphernao.wordpress.com]