おや

Japanese

Etymology 1

For pronunciation and definitions of おや – see the following entry.

【親】2 [noun] [from 720] a parent [noun] [from 1001] the originator or founder of a school, company, or other organization [noun] [from 1001] the boss or leader [noun] [from 1809] the larger one of several objects of the same kind [noun] [from 1686] (hanafuda, card games, by extension, board games) the dealer, (gambling) the banker [noun] [from 712] one's ancestors, one's forebears Alternative spelling 祖

(This term, おや, is the hiragana spelling of the above term.) For a list of all kanji read as おや, see Category:Japanese kanji read as おや.)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) おや​ [òyáꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
• (Tokyo) お​や [óꜜyà] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [o̞ja̠]

Interjection

おや • (oya) 

1. Oh!, Good heavens!