# grandma, grandad



## pacificblue

My mum and dad are about to become grandparents for the first time and are trying to figure out what they want to be called.  In NZ all we really call grandparents is just that ... Grandma and Grandpa but they think it's a little boring.

The child is going to be half Italian, half Kiwi.  Any suggestions (and pronunciation?)



[Edit]
Ummm just so you know (and since I don't know how to move this thread) I'm wanting non-english/italian words as I already know those ...


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## mercedesm

hello! in Italy we call them Nonno (grandpa) and Nonna (grandma).
easy and cute for children to pronounce...
for pronounciation.. I'll wait for some english native...
ciao
mercedes

[Edit]
oopps, sorry too late!!


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## Maja

In Serbian:

grandma - baba/baka (баба/бака)
grandpa - deda/deka (деда/дека)


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## optimistique

In Dutch we call them:

grandma = *oma  *
grandad = *opa*

The pronunciation is more or less the same as you would pronounce it in English, only probably a little bit shorter in the vowels.

In French they say respectively *mamy *and *papy* (pronunciation = approx. 'mummy' and 'puppy', only a bit more of a European 'a' and the stress is on the last syllable).


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## robbie_SWE

In Romanian we say "*mamaia/e*" and "*tataia/e*". I think it's quite cute (I still call my grandma for mamaia). 

In Swedish we say "*mormor (mother of the mother) or farmor (mother of the father)*" and "*morfar (father of the mother) or farfar (father of the**father)*". 

Hope this gave you some inspiration! 

+ CONGRATULATIONS FOR THE BABY


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## Etcetera

In Russian:
Grandma - бабушка (babushka),
Grandpa - дедушка (dedushka) or дед (ded). The second sounds a bit too formal.


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## linguist786

In *Gujarati, Hindi & Urdu*, it depends on whether they are maternal or paternal grandparents.

naanaa + naani (grandpa + grandma) - MATERNAL
daadaa + daadi (grandpa + grandma) - PATERNAL


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## Pivra

Maternal- Ta Yay = Grandp GrandM  (yay like hay in Spanish)
Paternal- Pu  Ya = GrandP  GrandM 

or  Aiyata and Aiyika but these two words are not very common


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## ronanpoirier

Portuguese:


Avô (Vovô) = Grandfather (Grandpa)

Avó (Vovó) = Grandmother (Grandma)


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## ILT

In Spanish we have the usual *abuelita* (granma) and *abuelito* (grandpa), and from there many kids "invent" their own variations:

Grandma:
ita
ata
titi
tita
nana
yaya

Grandpa:
ito
oto
tata
tito


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## french4beth

Some English alternatives:
Grammy, Grampy (one friend is called "Grumpy" due to his personality)
Nana and Poppa
Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw

Another neighbor is called "Bobby" by her grandchildren (no idea why as her first name is Beverly).

Here's another site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandparents


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## panjabigator

linguist786 said:
			
		

> In *Gujarati, Hindi & Urdu*, it depends on whether they are maternal or paternal grandparents.
> 
> naanaa + naani (grandpa + grandma) - MATERNAL
> daadaa + daadi (grandpa + grandma) - PATERNAL



Identical in Punjabi, but people also say "bebe" for paternal grandma.


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## Honour

turkish
grandma: either *annanne* or *büyükanne* for mother of mum, *babanne* (mother of dad)
grandpa: either *dede* for both or *büyükbaba* for father of dad


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## Nineu

Basque:
Grandmother: amoma/amona/amama
Grandfather:  aitite/aitita/aitata/aitona

It depends on the zone of Basque Country.


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## Cereth

in Japanese it is:
Grandmother: Obaasan
Grandma/granny: Obaachan / bachan
Grandfather: Ojiisan
Grandpa: Ojiichan/jiichan

i think there´s more , but these are the ones i know, in spanish we also say : agüelo(a) bilito (a) they are not so common i think ILT say most common ones


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## panjabigator

Obaasan was the name of a book from Joy Kogawa, we had to read it in school.  I completely forgot the meaning...


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## linguist786

panjabigator said:
			
		

> Identical in Punjabi, but people also say "bebe" for paternal grandma.


oh ye! I knew that. I have punjabi friends who *ahem ahem* swear in punjabi, saying:  teri bebe di puddh


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## panjabigator

tauba tauba!  shubh shubh bolie ji  vaise, tumhein maze ki baat bataata huun.  jab main chhota tha, maiN ne apne cousin se puchha ki tum pudhh ko punjabi mein kya kahte ho (magar us samey mujhe pudhh ka koi jaankari nahii tha punjabi mein, main angrezi shabd bola).  Us ne mujhse kaha "pun" jis ka hindi shabd hai "puNy."  Shaiyad tum jaante ho ki "puNy" ka matlab "good dead" hota hai.  Main to kitna dumb tha...main ne maana ki "pun" pudhh" tha....

that is funny btw...are they Indian or Pakistani?  I didnt know they used the term bebe in pakistan...

do you know of any village terms for grandparents?


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## linguist786

LOLZ!! funny story! (although I don't know quite what you meant by "pun" and "puNy". And what did you mean by "good dead" (did you mean "good deed"? :S) Sorry - I'm slow  

My friends are Pakistani.

I don't actually know any village names for grandparents - I'm sure they exist though..
(I, myself, am from a village (Well not me, my parents))


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## panjabigator

I meant deed...haha..woops!
पुण is Punjabi for पुण्य
(here is the shabdkosh.com definintion...look at platts for more info...let me know if you'd like the link)


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## Pivra

दान   is actually a cognate of donner in French. 

दान  means alm in Thai.


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## elroy

In colloquial Palestinian Arabic:

Grandma: *sitto* or *taataa*
Grandpa: *siido*


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## anthodocheio

In Greek it is 
grandmother/grandma: *γιαγιά* (*yayá* as you would write this pronunciation in spanish)

and grandfather/grandpa: *παππού* (*pap**ú*).


Congratulations and I wish you to make the best choise.


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## stargazer

Hello

In Slovenian, *grandma* is BABICA or STARA MAMA, and *grandpa* is DED(EK) or STARI OČE/ATA. (all words are accented on the first syllable) 
As you can see, "babica" is very similar to Russian BABUSHKA, which to me is one of the sweetest words I've ever heard.


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## Whodunit

optimistique said:
			
		

> In Dutch we call them:
> 
> grandma = *oma *
> grandad = *opa*


 
Same in German, just capitalized. We have several other terms for "grandma" and "granddad":

Omi - Opi
Großmutter - Großvater
Großmama - Großpapa (I think these ones are used in fairy tales)


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## pacificblue

Ahhh I love all of the responses .... babushka is great but my mum thinks it's what you call a drink made of red wine and coke mixed together ...


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## Flaminius

Japanese:
Grandfather: ojīsan お祖父さん
Grandmother: obāsan お祖母さん
Without honorific morphemes, there are jiji and baba, rather antiquated words that by now have a slightly pejorative air.  But they are voiced counterparts of the words for father and mother; chichi and haha.

N.B. Japanese /h/ in many instances were *p before the 10th century.  A sound shift of /p/ > /f/, /Φ/ > /h/ is posited.  The above and many other evidence make it valid to treat /b/ as the voiced counterpart of /p/.


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## cityoflight

Hi all,

In Kiswahili it's Bibi for Granny and Babu for Grandpa - in Tanzania at least...in Kenyan Kiswahili it's Nyanya for Granny, which means 'tomato' in Tz Kiswahili! But there are three hundred languages in East Africa alone...I'm sure there are lots of regional variations. My American Granny insists on being called Goggy, though I have no idea why - it's not half as nice as Bibi to me!!


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## maree

In Norwegian it's either the same as in Sweden (posted above) or:

*Grandmother:*
Bestemor

*Grandfather:*
Bestefar

Meaning best mother and best father.

Pronunciation:
bes-te-moooor
bes-te-faaaar


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## ukuca

Addition to Turkish: 
nine = for both mother of mum and dad


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## amikama

Hebrew:

Grandpa = *סבא* (_saba_)
Grandma = *סבתא* (_savta_, sometimes colloquially pronounced _safta_)


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## Bienvenidos

*Persian (Farsi)*

grandmother:
*mahdur kulahn *(big mother)

grandfather: 
*baba kulahn *(big father)

*Bien*


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## jijigren

Im Malay Language:

Granma : Nenek (ne-nek)

Grandad : Datuk (da-tok)


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## Tilia

In Sweden we say

Morfar: mum's dad
Mormor: mum's mum
Farmor: dad's mum
Farfar: dad's dad


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## Confused Linguist

panjabigator said:
			
		

> tauba tauba! shubh shubh bolie ji vaise, tumhein maze ki baat bataata huun. jab main chhota tha, maiN ne apne cousin se puchha ki tum pudhh ko punjabi mein kya kahte ho (magar us samey mujhe pudhh ka koi jaankari nahii tha punjabi mein, main angrezi shabd bola). Us ne mujhse kaha "pun" jis ka hindi shabd hai "puNy." Shaiyad tum jaante ho ki "puNy" ka matlab "good dead" hota hai. Main to kitna dumb tha...main ne maana ki "pun" pudhh" tha....
> 
> that is funny btw...are they Indian or Pakistani? I didnt know they used the term bebe in pakistan...
> 
> do you know of any village terms for grandparents?


 
Aap ki Hindi to meri Hindi se bhi bahtar hain!  Mujhe to Hindi badi mushkil bhaashaa lagti hain.


Back to the original question....

*Bengali*

Paternal Grandfather: Thakurdada, thakurda

Paternal Grandmother: Thakuma, thamma

Maternal Grandfather: Dadamoshai, dadu

Maternal Grandmother: Didima, dida


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## Becker

In Sinhalese,

grandfather = _aataa_ or _seeyaa_
grandmother = _aacci_


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## panjabigator

Confused Linguist said:
			
		

> Aap ki Hindi to meri Hindi se bhi bahtar hain!  Mujhe to Hindi badi mushkil bhaashaa lagti hain.
> 
> 
> Back to the original question....
> 
> *Bengali*
> 
> Paternal Grandfather: Thakurdada, thakurda
> 
> Paternal Grandmother: Thakuma, thamma
> 
> Maternal Grandfather: Dadamoshai, dadu
> 
> Maternal Grandmother: Didima, dida



Maybe you can clarify this....is this a regional or religious thing?  In Indian Bengal, your elder brother is your dada right?  And in Bangladesh, your dada is your grandpa!


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## Confused Linguist

panjabigator said:
			
		

> Maybe you can clarify this....is this a regional or religious thing? In Indian Bengal, your elder brother is your dada right? And in Bangladesh, your dada is your grandpa!


 
Dadamoshai is often shortened to Dada. Dada means 'paternal grandfather' among Muslim speakers but 'older brother' among Hindu speakers. Bangladeshis generally use different terms for addressing close relatives, and you're right, it is a religious thing.

*English Indian Bengali Bangladeshi Bengali*

*Mother Ma Amma*

*Father Baba Abba*

*Older Brother Dada Bhaijaan*

*Older Sister Didi Didijaan*


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## Aldin

In Bosnian there are several names for grandmother:baka,baba,nana,nena,majka(actually it means mother),stara majka(old mother). For grandfather: deda,dedo,deka,djed


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## Chriszinho85

In Tagalog:

grandma: lola
grandpa: lolo


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## DickHavana

In Basque (Euskera):
(There are some dialects)

*Grandfather*:
Aitona
Aititxe (in Bizkaia coast)
Aitajaun
Aitatxi

*Grandmother*:
Amona
Amoma (in Bizkaia coast)
Amandre
Amatxi


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## panjabigator

Can someone post the Catalan equivalents?


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## kusurija

In Czech:
Grandma - babička, (bábi, bábinka)
Grandad - dědeček (děda)

In Lithuanian:
Grandma - močiutė, senelė
Grandad - senelis


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## vikicka

Maja said:


> In Serbian:
> 
> grandma - baba/baka (баба/бака)
> grandpa - deda/deka (деда/дека)


 
It's very similar in Macedonian:

grandma- baba (баба)
grandpa- dedo (дедo)


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## valdo

optimistique said:


> In Dutch we call them:
> 
> grandma = *oma *
> grandad = *opa*
> 
> The pronunciation is more or less the same as you would pronounce it in English, only probably a little bit shorter in the vowels.
> 
> In French they say respectively *mamy *and *papy* (pronunciation = approx. 'mummy' and 'puppy', only a bit more of a European 'a' and the stress is on the last syllable).


 
Almost the same in Latvia...
grandma = oma (vecā mamma)
grandpa = opis (vecais tēvs)


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## blue_jewel

In Tagalog: 

Grandma - Lola
Grandpa - Lolo


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## bb3ca201

Gaelic:

grandma = seanmhair (SHAN-uh-ver)
grandad = seanair (SHAN-er)


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## Nizo

In *Esperanto*,


_grandfather = __*avo*_ / grandpa, granddad = _*avĉjo*_
_grandmother = __*avino*_ / grandma = _*avinjo, avineto*_


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## MarX

I always say *oma* and *opa*.
I guess they are loanwords from Dutch.

There are also *nènèK* and *kakèK *(the final *K*'s here are glottal stop), but I hardly ever use them words.

I'm Indonesian, by the way.


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## Mukti

Telugu is a southern indian language, and in my language the words are:

Grandma and Grandpa - Maternal - Ammamma and Tata
Grandma and Grandpa - Paternal - Nanamma and Tata

Ammamma, which is pronounced um-amma means mom's mom, and Nanamma, which is pronounced nan-amma, means dad's mom, and Tata is pronounced tatha

Congratulations, hope this helps!


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## Kanes

Bulgarian:

diado - grandfather
baba - grandmother


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## qwill

pacificblue said:


> My mum and dad are about to become grandparents for the first time and are trying to figure out what they want to be called.  In NZ all we really call grandparents is just that ... Grandma and Grandpa but they think it's a little boring.
> 
> The child is going to be half Italian, half Kiwi.  Any suggestions (and pronunciation?)


 
Couldnt they just create some funny and sweet combination with their grandparents' firs names ?


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## qwill

"first" names... sorry...Example : in french, for an aunt or uncle, we often transform "tonton" or "tata" (quite heavy to wear !) by "tata-dé" (for Andrée) or "Tonton Jean" for instance... when it's not much more creative !So it could be : "MummyRose" or "DaddyJack" or whatever, forgotting the "grand"...Just an idea...


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## mcibor

In Polish the child form is:

Baba (pronounced a bit like _bahbah_) for grandma
*Dziadzia* (DZ followed by an I is pronounced as J in "Jeep", so _j-ah j-ah_)if anyone has better pronounciation of these, I am open to suggestions 

the formal ones are
*Babcia* (_bah - p - chiah_)
Dziadek (_j-ah-deck_)

Hope your mother finds something suitable for her. And congrats to you!


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## saljac

I know this is a few years late (belated congratulations to "pacificblue") but here are the South African versions in Afrikaans and Xhosa (2 of our 12 official languages). 

*Grandmother:*
Afrikaans (similar to Dutch) = "ouma" 
Xhosa = "ma-kulu"

*Grandfather:*
Afrikaans (similar to Dutch) = "oupa"
Xhosa = "tata-kulu"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"_Suid-Afrika is die beste, want ons bied die Fifa 2010 Wereld Beker aan!_"


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## Favara

panjabigator said:


> Can someone post the Catalan equivalents?


*Grandfather: *_Avi_ (informal: _iaio, jaio_).
*Grandmother: *_Àvia_ (informal: _iaia, jaia_).


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