Can I use the title san if I refer to myself as an ojisan?


I know that the title san cannot be used when referring to myself. It seems
appropriate to use if it is with a title of some sort. I just wanted to
clarify. Thank You!




**おじ is "uncle", but おじさん is not necessarily "(Mr.) uncle" any more.** おじさん
usually means "middle-aged guy", and you can refer to someone as おじさん even if
he is not your uncle. You can even say 私はもうおじさんだ ("I am no longer young"),
referring to yourself, and this さん has no honorific meaning. The same can be
said for おばさん ("middle-aged lady").

This process is called
[**lexicalization**](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/13081/5010). In
short, おじさん was initially `おじ + さん`, but this combination became a new word
with its own meaning. さん has become an integral part of the new word. This
also means dictionaries have a dedicated entry for おじさん (see it in
[jisho.org](https://jisho.org/search/%E3%81%8A%E3%81%98%E3%81%95%E3%82%93),
[goo辞書](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E3%81%8A%E3%81%98%E3%81%95%E3%82%93/#jn-31000)).

Note that you can still address your real uncle with おじさん, too. When you talk
to your young nephew, you may call yourself おじさん, and this is in the same vein
as [calling yourself
ママ/お父さん/etc](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/25947/when-
referring-to-herself-is-there-any-pronoun-other-
than-%E3%81%8A%E6%AF%8D%E3%81%95%E3%82%93-when-speaking-to) when talking to
your child. In my case, I don't have a nephew and I haven't met my real uncle
for decades, so whenever I say おじさん, it almost certainly means "middle-aged
guy".




**おじ is "uncle", but おじさん is not necessarily "(Mr.) uncle" any more.** おじさん
usually means "middle-aged guy", and you can refer to someone as おじさん even if
he is not your uncle. You can even say 私はもうおじさんだ ("I am no longer young"),
referring to yourself, and this さん has no honorific meaning. The same can be
said for おばさん ("middle-aged lady").

This process is called
[**lexicalization**](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/13081/5010). In
short, おじさん was initially `おじ + さん`, but this combination became a new word
with its own meaning. さん has become an integral part of the new word. This
also means dictionaries have a dedicated entry for おじさん (see it in
[jisho.org](https://jisho.org/search/%E3%81%8A%E3%81%98%E3%81%95%E3%82%93),
[goo辞書](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E3%81%8A%E3%81%98%E3%81%95%E3%82%93/#jn-31000)).

Note that you can still address your real uncle with おじさん, too. When you talk
to your young nephew, you may call yourself おじさん, and this is in the same vein
as [calling yourself
ママ/お父さん/etc](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/25947/when-
referring-to-herself-is-there-any-pronoun-other-
than-%E3%81%8A%E6%AF%8D%E3%81%95%E3%82%93-when-speaking-to) when talking to
your child. In my case, I don't have a nephew and I haven't met my real uncle
for decades, so whenever I say おじさん, it almost certainly means "middle-aged
guy".

