息子（むすこ、musuko）
- son

The Japanese word 息子 means "son." It refers to a male child in relation to his parents. It signifies a familial connection and is used to describe one's male offspring.

⚫︎ 私の息子 Translation: My son ⚫︎ 息子は大学生です。 Translation: My son is a university student. ⚫︎ あの息子さんはとても親切です。 Translation: That son is very kind.

⚫︎ You use 息子 when you're talking about your own son or someone else's son. ⚫︎ It is a common and straightforward word to use in everyday conversation. ⚫︎ It's also used in formal and informal settings alike. ⚫︎ When addressing your own son, you generally wouldn't use 息子. Instead, you would use his name or a term of endearment.

⚫︎ The word 息子 is written as 息子 using kanji. ⚫︎ The reading (pronunciation) is むすこ in hiragana. ⚫︎ There are no variations in okurigana.

⚫︎ There aren't many direct synonyms, but words that relate to male children/offspring are: 男の子（おとこのこ） (boy, male child) and 子供（こども） (child). However, these are broader terms and not direct synonyms for 息子.

⚫︎ 娘（むすめ）: daughter ⚫︎ 娘さん（むすめさん）: daughter (polite)

私は二人の息子がいます。 ・Translation: I have two sons. ・Explanation: This sentence directly uses 息子 to state that the speaker has two male children.

私の息子はサッカーが好きです。 ・Translation: My son loves soccer. ・Explanation: This sentence shows how to describe something your son enjoys using the word 息子.

The etymology of 息子 isn't definitively known. However, it's generally understood to come from the combination of むす（meaning "to be born" or "to beget") and こ（meaning "child" or "son").