chief · count

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: In kinship terms, 伯 distinguishes the older side: 伯父 is read おじ, and 伯母 is おば.
• Basic usage: 父の兄, one's father's older brother, is a 伯父; 父の姉, one's father's older sister, is a 伯母.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Older than whom
  • The distinction is relative to the parent, not whether the relative is older than the speaker.
  • A parent's older siblings use 伯父 or 伯母; younger siblings use the identically pronounced 叔父 or 叔母.
• Including spouses
  • 伯父 can also mean the husband of a parent's older sister; 伯母 can mean the wife of a parent's older brother.
  • The terms are therefore not restricted to blood relatives on the father's side.
• The reading in a title
  • 伯爵, read はくしゃく, means a count or earl.
  • Unlike the kinship readings おじ and おば, this word reads 伯 as はく.