Words for family members and other relatives in Tamil (தமிழ்), a Dravidian language spoken in southern India, Sri Lanka and Singapore.
There are differences in the words used in formal (frm) written Tamil and in informal (inf) spoken Tamil.
| Meaning | Tamil (தமிழ்) |
|---|---|
| family | குடும்பம் (kuṭumpam) |
| relatives | உறவினர்கள் (uṟaviṉarkaḷ) |
| father | அப்பா (appā) - inf தந்தை (tantai) - frm |
| mother | அம்மா (ammā) - inf தாய் (tāy) - frm |
| husband | புருஷன் (puruṣaṉ) - inf கணவன் (kaṇavaṉ) - frm |
| wife | பொண்டாட்டி (poṇṭāṭṭi) - inf மனைவி (maṉaivi) - frm |
| child | குழந்தை (kuḻantai) |
| son | பையன் (paiyaṉ) - inf மகன் (makaṉ) - frm |
| daughter | பொண்ணு (poṇṇu) - inf மகள் (makaḷ) - frm |
| brother | சகோதரன் (cakōtaraṉ) அண்ணா (aṇṇā) - older brother தம்பி (tampi) younger brother |
| sister | சகோதரி (cakōtari) அக்கா (akkā) older sister தங்கை (taṅkai) - younger sister |
| uncle | பெரிய அப்பா (periya appā) - father’s older brother / mother’s sister’s husband சித்தப்பா (cittappā) - father’s younger brother / mother’s brother அத்திம்பேர் (attimpēr) - father’s sister’s husband |
| aunt | அத்தை (attai) - father’s sister பெரிய அம்மா (periya amma) - father’s older brother’s wife சித்தி (citti) - father’s younger brother’s wife / mother’s sister பெரிய அம்மா (periya amma) - mother’s older sister மாமி (māmi) - mother’s brother’s wife |
| cousin | பெரியப்பா (periyappā) மகன் (makaṉ) - male மகள் (makaḷ) - female |
| nephew son-in-law |
மருமகன் (marumakaṉ) |
| niece daughter-in-law |
மருமகள் (marumakaḷ) |
| grandfather | தாத்தா (tāttā), பாட்டன் (pāṭṭaṉ) - inf தாத்தா (tāttā) - frm |
| grandmother | பாட்டி (pāṭṭi), பாட்டியாரர் (pāṭṭiyārar) inf பாட்டி (pāṭṭi) - frm |
| grandson | பேரன் (pēraṉ) |
| granddaugther | பேத்தி (pētti) |
Hear some Tamil family words:
Information about family words in Tamil
https://www.learntamil.com/part1/ch03/professions-family-words/
http://polymath.org/tamil_family.php
Information about Tamil | Arwi Arabic script for Tamil | Phrases | Numbers | Time | Family words | Tower of Babel | Books about Tamil on: Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk [affilate links]
Family words in other languages
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