Is it natural to call elderly men ojiisan?


Is ojiisan an idiomatic word choice for a chronologically gifted man, akin to
obaasan for elderly women? For example, when giving your seat to them on the
train.




おじいさん means both a grandfather and an elderly man. When written in kanji, it
is written as
[お祖父さん](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%98%E3%81%84%E3%81%95%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&index=102536800000&pagenum=1)
when it means grandfather, and written as
[お爺さん](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%98%E3%81%84%E3%81%95%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&index=102536900000&pagenum=1)
when it means elderly man. The same applies to おばあさん
([お祖母さん](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%B0%E3%81%82%E3%81%95%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&index=102686200000&pagenum=1)/[お婆さん](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%B0%E3%81%82%E3%81%95%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&index=102686300000&pagenum=1)).

It is natural to call an elderly man おじいさん. However, I have heard that some
people do not like the use of おじいさん and おばあさん which mean elderly man and
woman, and that in particular they do not like to be called that way. I guess
that the reason for this is that calling a person おじいさん or おばあさん may imply
that the most relevant attribute of the person is his/her age. Although I do
not find it reasonable, I may hesitate to call someone who I do not know at
all おじいさん or おばあさん to avoid unnecessary conflict.

By the way, similarly to おじいさん and おばあさん, おじさん can mean an uncle or a middle-
aged man, and written as [伯父さん (elder brother of parent), 叔父さん (younger
brother of
parent)](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%98%E3%81%95%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&index=102547100000&pagenum=1),
or
[小父さん](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%98%E3%81%95%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&index=102547000000&pagenum=1)
(middle-aged man, but not commonly written in kanji). The same applies to おばさん
([伯母さん,
叔母さん](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%B0%E3%81%95%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&index=102688900000&pagenum=1),
[小母さん](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%B0%E3%81%95%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&index=102688800000&pagenum=1)).




おじいさん means both a grandfather and an elderly man. When written in kanji, it
is written as
[お祖父さん](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%98%E3%81%84%E3%81%95%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&index=102536800000&pagenum=1)
when it means grandfather, and written as
[お爺さん](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%98%E3%81%84%E3%81%95%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&index=102536900000&pagenum=1)
when it means elderly man. The same applies to おばあさん
([お祖母さん](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%B0%E3%81%82%E3%81%95%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&index=102686200000&pagenum=1)/[お婆さん](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%B0%E3%81%82%E3%81%95%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&index=102686300000&pagenum=1)).

It is natural to call an elderly man おじいさん. However, I have heard that some
people do not like the use of おじいさん and おばあさん which mean elderly man and
woman, and that in particular they do not like to be called that way. I guess
that the reason for this is that calling a person おじいさん or おばあさん may imply
that the most relevant attribute of the person is his/her age. Although I do
not find it reasonable, I may hesitate to call someone who I do not know at
all おじいさん or おばあさん to avoid unnecessary conflict.

By the way, similarly to おじいさん and おばあさん, おじさん can mean an uncle or a middle-
aged man, and written as [伯父さん (elder brother of parent), 叔父さん (younger
brother of
parent)](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%98%E3%81%95%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&index=102547100000&pagenum=1),
or
[小父さん](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%98%E3%81%95%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&index=102547000000&pagenum=1)
(middle-aged man, but not commonly written in kanji). The same applies to おばさん
([伯母さん,
叔母さん](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%B0%E3%81%95%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&index=102688900000&pagenum=1),
[小母さん](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%8A%E3%81%B0%E3%81%95%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&index=102688800000&pagenum=1)).

