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I often hear Japanese males use the word お袋 in place of お母さん when annoyed or
irritated. Is this word slang? How did this word come to mean 「お母さん」 and what
are the circumstances it is used in?

I am also interested in why the word 「袋」is chosen to address the mother. What
is the importance of this word?
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2012-08-17T21:16:28.513
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2012-08-18T02:08:48.793
2012-08-18T01:58:34.597
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question
usage etymology slang
Why do some Japanese men use お袋 to address their mothers?
I wondered the same thing the first time I saw that! In English it's rather
impolite to refer to your mother (or indeed any woman!) as a "bag". ("You old
bag!") This is not so in Japanese! It's actually a term of endearment. Please
see [this blog post](http://blogs.japanesepod101.com/blog/2010/02/05/your-
mother-as-a-bag-part-2/) on some explanation.

I'll give a section here in case the link breaks:

> I can’t find anything about the etymology of お袋, but I’m going to have to
> assume that it relates to the womb as the primordial bag. Just as koalas are
> known in the kanji sense for their pouches (e.g., 袋熊, fukuro-guma: koala,
> pouch + bear), a human mother is also nicknamed for her interior “pouch.”
>
> Here’s what Yahoo Japan’s dictionary has to say about お袋. See how much you
> can understand before turning to the link for the yomi and breakdown:
>
> "自分の母親を親しんでいう語。古くは敬称として用いたが、現在では主に男性が、他人に対して自分の母をいうのに用いる。" Yomi and
> Breakdown of the Words …
>
> A rough translation:
>
> "A word expressing closeness with one’s own mother. A long time ago, people
> used it as a title of honor, but nowadays a man will mainly use it when
> talking to others about his mother."
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2012-08-17T21:34:31.917
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answer
According to [Gogen](http://gogen-allguide.com/o/ofukuro.html), there are
several theories:

  1. A mother is likened to a bag where things like money and important valuables and treasures are kept, and she takes care of the management of such things.

  2. The 袋 is representative of the placenta or uterus (which is like a bag that contains a foetus).

  3. Breastfeeding on 懐 (ふところ), then the sound got changed to ふくろ。

Gogen also says it's an intimate way to refer to one's mother.
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answer