Grandma

/ˈɡrænmɑː/ noun

Definition

informal term for grandmother; one's female grandparent

Etymology

compound of 'grand' + 'ma', first recorded in 1749, from French 'grand-mère'

Kelly Says

Grandma is one of those words that feels warm and fuzzy in every language - it's amazing how similar grandmother terms sound across cultures!

Translations

AMአማርኛ
አያት
ah-yat
ARالعربية
جدة
jah-dah
BNবাংলা
দাদী
dah-dee
CACatalà
àvia
ah-vee-ah
CSČeština
babička
bah-bee-chkah
DADansk
bedstemor
beh-steh-mohr
DEDeutsch
Oma
oh-mah
ELΕλληνικά
γιαγιά
yah-yah
ESEspañol
abuela
ah-bweh-lah
FAفارسی
مادربزرگ
mah-dehr bozorg
FISuomi
isoäiti
ee-soh-ah-ee-tee
FRFrançais
grand-mère
grahn mehr
GUGU
દાદી
dah-dee
HAHA
goggo
goh-goh
HEעברית
סבתא
sah-vah-tah
HIहिन्दी
दादी
dah-dee
HUMagyar
nagymama
nah-gy-mah-mah
IDBahasa Indonesia
nenek
neh-nehk
IGIG
nne
neh-neh
ITItaliano
nonna
noh-nah
JA日本語
おばあさん
oh-bah-ah-san
KKKK
әже
ah-jeh
KMKM
ជីដូន
jee dohn
KO한국어
할머니
hal-moh-nee
MRMR
आजी
ah-jee
MSBahasa Melayu
nenek
neh-nehk
MYမြန်မာ
အဘိုး
ah-boo
NLNederlands
oma
oh-mah
NONorsk
bestemor
beh-steh-mohr
PAPA
ਦਾਦੀ
dah-dee
PLPolski
babcia
bahb-cha
PTPortuguês
avó
ah-vo
RORomână
bunica
boo-nee-kah
RUРусский
бабушка
bah-boosh-kah
SVSvenska
farmor
fahm-ohr
SWKiswahili
bibi
bee-bee
TAதமிழ்
பாட்டி
pah-tee
TEతెలుగు
నాన్నమ్మ
nah-nahm-mah
THไทย
ย่า
yah
TLTL
lola
loh-lah
TRTürkçe
büyükanne
byoo-ykah-neh
UKУкраїнська
бабуся
bah-boos-yah
URاردو
دادی
dah-dee
VITiếng Việt
bah
YOYO
ìyá àgbà
ee-yah ah-gbah
ZH中文
奶奶
nai nai
ZUZU
gogo
goh-goh

Ethical Language Guidance

Gender History

Kinship terms encode gendered roles; 'grandma' assumes female caregiver, while 'grandpa' often implies secondary parental role. Reflects historical division of childcare labor.

Inclusive Usage

Specify relationship to actual person or use 'grandparent' when gender unknown or irrelevant.

Inclusive Alternatives

["grandparent","grandmother","grandfather","older family member"]

Empowerment Note

Recognize that grandmothers historically provided unpaid care work that enabled family economies—work often rendered invisible in economic accounts.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.