息子
むすこ · musuko · JLPT N4 · noun
son
👦 息子 = breath + child: the child who is your own breath
息 means breath, 子 means child. Sound hook: musuko sounds like MOO-SKO, close to my scold-kid, said modestly. Use 息子 for your own son; for someone else's son say 息子さん.
子 — pictograph of a baby/child with arms out
子 began as a pictograph of a swaddled infant with a large head and outstretched arms, originally meaning 'baby' or 'child.' From there it broadened to 'son,' 'offspring,' and a respectful suffix for masters like 孔子 (Confucius). It also became one of the twelve earthly branches.