Family words in Urdu
ماں, ابا, دادی, دادا — family words that open homes.
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Parents anchor all: ماں (mother), ابا (father) — میری ماں (my mother), میرے ابا (my father). Children chant ماں first; learners should too. Home begins here.
Siblings share childhood: بھائی (brother), بہن (sister), بڑا بھائی (elder brother), بڑی بہن (elder sister). بڑا marks respect for age — birth order lives in address. Call elders rightly; love follows.
Grandparents crown memory: دادی (grandmother), دادا (grandfather) — story-keepers, sweet-givers, wisdom-wells. میری دادی پیاری کہانی سناتی ہے (my grandmother tells lovely stories) — everyone smiles. Honour them in speech.
The household gathers: خاندان (family), گھر (home), شادی (wedding), بچہ (child). میرا خاندان بڑا ہے (my family is big) — then listen; people narrate families with epic joy. Share yours; hear theirs.
Words and phrases for this topic
| English | Urdu | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Mother | ماں | maan |
| Father | ابا | abbaa |
| Brother | بھائی | bhaai |
| Sister | بہن | bahan |
| Elder brother | بڑا بھائی | badaa bhaai |
| Elder sister | بڑی بہن | badi bahan |
| Grandmother | دادی | daadi |
| Grandfather | دادا | daadaa |
| Uncle | چچا | chachaa |
| Aunt | چچی | chachi |
| Family | خاندان | khaandaan |
| Child | بچہ | bachchaa |
| Wedding / marriage | شادی | shaadi |
Language, culture, and common traps
Practice: recall, then use
Use this quick recall drill for Family words. Hide the script and romanisation columns; say the Urdu form for each cue before revealing its row, then check spelling and sound. The phrase-table speaker buttons provide a model when a matching browser voice is available.
- Mother
- Grandmother
- Wedding / marriage
Transfer practice. Choose one real relationship and practise the matching term in a short introduction. Family titles can carry age, affection, respect, and local habit, so they do not always map neatly onto English labels. When unsure, listen to how the family addresses one another and ask before using an intimate form. Start from ماں (maan) and decide whether it fits the situation before using it elsewhere.
Context check. For Family words, “Wedding / marriage” belongs to a particular setting. A common mistake is to treat an English gloss as universal; read the language-specific note above and ask a fluent speaker when local usage differs.
Check your recall: answer key
- ماں maan — Mother
- دادی daadi — Grandmother
- شادی shaadi — Wedding / marriage
Questions learners ask
ماں (mother), ابا (father), بھائی (brother), بہن (sister). Family first — people ask about yours within minutes.
چچا (uncle), چچی (aunt), دادی (grandmother), دادا (grandfather). Extended family, extended vocabulary.
میرا خاندان بڑا ہے (my family is big) — میری ماں استانی ہے (my mother is a teacher). Describe yours; hearts open.