Grandfather in Different Languages
Discover 'Grandfather' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Grandfather
Afrikaans oupa | ||
Albanian gjyshi | ||
Amharic ወንድ አያት | ||
Arabic جد | ||
Armenian պապիկ | ||
Assamese দাদা | ||
Aymara achachilaxa | ||
Azerbaijani baba | ||
Bambara bɛnbakɛ | ||
Basque aitona | ||
Belarusian дзед | ||
Bengali দাদা | ||
Bhojpuri दादाजी के बा | ||
Bosnian deda | ||
Bulgarian дядо | ||
Catalan avi | ||
Cebuano apohan | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 祖父 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 祖父 | ||
Corsican babbone | ||
Croatian djedice | ||
Czech dědeček | ||
Danish bedstefar | ||
Dhivehi ކާފަ އެވެ | ||
Dogri दादा जी | ||
Dutch opa | ||
English grandfather | ||
Esperanto avo | ||
Estonian vanaisa | ||
Ewe tɔgbuiyɔvi | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) lolo | ||
Finnish isoisä | ||
French grand-père | ||
Frisian pake | ||
Galician avó | ||
Georgian ბაბუა | ||
German großvater | ||
Greek παππούς | ||
Guarani abuelo | ||
Gujarati દાદા | ||
Haitian Creole granpapa | ||
Hausa kakan | ||
Hawaiian kupunakāne | ||
Hebrew סָבָּא | ||
Hindi दादा | ||
Hmong yawg | ||
Hungarian nagyapa | ||
Icelandic afi | ||
Igbo nna nna | ||
Ilocano lolo | ||
Indonesian kakek | ||
Irish seanathair | ||
Italian nonno | ||
Japanese 祖父 | ||
Javanese simbah | ||
Kannada ಅಜ್ಜ | ||
Kazakh атасы | ||
Khmer ជីតា | ||
Kinyarwanda sekuru | ||
Konkani आजोबा | ||
Korean 할아버지 | ||
Krio granpa | ||
Kurdish bapîr | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) باپیر | ||
Kyrgyz чоң ата | ||
Lao ພໍ່ຕູ້ | ||
Latin avus | ||
Latvian vectēvs | ||
Lingala nkɔkɔ ya mobali | ||
Lithuanian senelis | ||
Luganda jjajja | ||
Luxembourgish grousspapp | ||
Macedonian дедо | ||
Maithili दादाजी | ||
Malagasy raibe | ||
Malay datuk | ||
Malayalam മുത്തച്ഛൻ | ||
Maltese nannu | ||
Maori tupuna | ||
Marathi आजोबा | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯗꯥꯗꯥ꯫ | ||
Mizo pi leh pu | ||
Mongolian өвөө | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အဖိုး | ||
Nepali हजुरबुबा | ||
Norwegian farfar | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) agogo | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଦାଦା | ||
Oromo akaakayyuu | ||
Pashto نیکه | ||
Persian بابا بزرگ | ||
Polish dziadek | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) avô | ||
Punjabi ਦਾਦਾ | ||
Quechua hatun tayta | ||
Romanian bunicul | ||
Russian дедушка | ||
Samoan tamamatua | ||
Sanskrit पितामहः | ||
Scots Gaelic seanair | ||
Sepedi rakgolokhukhu | ||
Serbian деда | ||
Sesotho ntate-moholo | ||
Shona sekuru | ||
Sindhi ڏاڏو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) සීයා | ||
Slovak dedko | ||
Slovenian dedek | ||
Somali awoowe | ||
Spanish abuelo | ||
Sundanese akina | ||
Swahili babu | ||
Swedish farfar | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) lolo | ||
Tajik бобо | ||
Tamil தாத்தா | ||
Tatar бабай | ||
Telugu తాత | ||
Thai ปู่ | ||
Tigrinya ኣቦሓጎ | ||
Tsonga kokwa wa xinuna | ||
Turkish büyük baba | ||
Turkmen atasy | ||
Twi (Akan) nana | ||
Ukrainian дідусь | ||
Urdu دادا | ||
Uyghur بوۋا | ||
Uzbek bobo | ||
Vietnamese ông nội | ||
Welsh taid | ||
Xhosa utatomkhulu | ||
Yiddish זיידע | ||
Yoruba baba agba | ||
Zulu umkhulu |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | "Oupa" is the Afrikaans word for "grandfather," ultimately deriving from the Dutch "vader," meaning "father." |
| Albanian | "Gjyshi" is also a term of endearment for men who are older or wiser than the speaker, regardless of their familial relationship. |
| Amharic | The word "ወንድ አያት" is also used to refer to a "father-in-law". |
| Arabic | The Arabic word "جد" (grandfather) also means "ancestor" or "forefather" and can be used to refer to any male relative in the ascending line. |
| Armenian | The word "պապիկ" can also refer to a respectful elderly man or a priest. |
| Azerbaijani | The Azerbaijani word "baba" can also refer to a child or an old man, as well as being a term of endearment. |
| Basque | The word "aitona" originally meant "father of the father", and is also used in a more general sense to refer to an older man. |
| Belarusian | In Russian, the word "дед" also means "old person". In Russian phraseology, "дед" is often used with the meaning "father". In Belarusian, "дзед" has the meaning "great-grandfather". |
| Bengali | In Bengali, the word "দাদা" can also be used as a respectful form of address to an elder brother. |
| Bosnian | The word "deda" also means "old man" or "sir" in Bosnian. |
| Bulgarian | The word "дядо" can also mean "old man" or "respected elder". |
| Catalan | The word "avi" can also refer to an ancestor or a forefather in Catalan. |
| Cebuano | The word "apohan" in Cebuano can also refer to a male ancestor or elder. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "祖父" can also mean "paternal grandmother" in a literary context. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 祖父 can also mean "forefather" or "ancestor." |
| Corsican | In Corsican, "babbone" is also used to refer to a wise man or a venerable person. |
| Croatian | The word 'djedice' (grandfather) in Croatian also refers to a traditional type of grandfather clock. |
| Czech | The word "dědeček" can also mean "old man" or "ancestor". |
| Danish | The Danish word "bedstefar" consists of two words: bedst, meaning "best" and far, which is cognate with the Old English fæder and the modern English "father." |
| Dutch | The Dutch word "opa" is also used as a term of endearment for a male friend or acquaintance. |
| Esperanto | "Avo" also means "ancestor" or "forefather" in Esperanto. |
| Estonian | The word 'vanaisa', Estonian for grandfather, is also related to 'vana', or 'old', and could be roughly translated to 'old man'. |
| Finnish | The word "isoisä" derives from the Proto-Finnic word *isä, which also means "father". |
| French | The term "grand-père" can also be used figuratively to refer to a wise or experienced person. |
| Frisian | The word "pake" in Frisian is related to the Old English word "faeder" and the Old Saxon word "fader", both meaning "father". It is also related to the Dutch word "vader" and the German word "Vater", both meaning "father". |
| Galician | "Avó" is also used for the wife's maternal or paternal grandmother in Galician. |
| Georgian | The Georgian word "ბაბუა" (grandfather) also refers to a mythical creature with long claws and a big head who is said to abduct children. |
| German | Großvater is a compound noun consisting of the words groß ('big') and Vater ('father'). It can also refer to a great-grandfather. |
| Greek | "Παππούς" can also mean "priest" in some dialects. |
| Gujarati | "દાદા" is one of the two Gujarati words for "grandfather"; the other is "પાપાji." |
| Haitian Creole | Granpapa is used in Haitian Creole to refer to great-grandfathers as well. |
| Hausa | Hausa kakan (grandfather) shares its root with the word for "elder brother" or "old man": ka (older). |
| Hawaiian | The word 'kupunakāne' also means 'elder' or 'senior,' implying respect and wisdom of age. |
| Hebrew | In the Talmud, "סָבָּא" also refers to a revered scholar |
| Hindi | The word 'दादा' also refers to the paternal uncle or a revered elderly figure in Hindi. |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "yawg" also means "father's elder brother". |
| Hungarian | "Nagy" means "great" and "apa" means "father" so "nagyapa" literally means "great father." |
| Icelandic | Afi also means 'father's father' and 'ancestor.' |
| Igbo | Nna nna may also refer to a senior man in the community or an elder brother. |
| Indonesian | The word "kakek" is also used to refer to an old or wise man. |
| Irish | "Seanathair" derives from "sean" (old) and "athair" (father), but can also mean "ancestor" in a more general sense. |
| Italian | The word "nonno" can also mean "godfather" or "uncle" in some regions of Italy. |
| Japanese | The kanji characters for "grandfather" (祖父) can also stand for a guardian animal with the power to grant wishes. |
| Javanese | "Simbah" in Javanese can also mean "a highly respected elder or ancestor". |
| Kannada | In archaic Kannada, the term "Ajja" referred to a respected elder, not necessarily the maternal or paternal grandfather. |
| Kazakh | In Turkic etymology, the term 'ata' also refers to a paternal uncle, while 'баба' can refer to a maternal uncle. |
| Khmer | The word "ជីតា" can also refer to a paternal uncle or a paternal granduncle. |
| Korean | 할아버지 is also an honorific term of address for men older than one’s father |
| Kurdish | The Kurdish word 'bapîr' comes from the Persian word 'babr' meaning tiger, and has historically been used to denote both 'grandfather' and 'warrior'. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "чоң ата" also means "great-grandfather" in Kyrgyz. |
| Lao | The word "ພໍ່ຕູ້" also has additional nuances, implying respect, wisdom, and maturity, similar to the English term "elder statesperson." |
| Latin | In Latin, 'avus' can also mean 'forefather' or 'ancestor', and is related to the Sanskrit word 'avas', meaning 'to dwell'. |
| Latvian | The word "vectēvs" can also refer to the husband of one's paternal aunt or maternal uncle in Latvian. |
| Lithuanian | In the Aukštaitian dialect, "senelis" can also mean "old man" or "patriarch." |
| Luxembourgish | Grousspapp is a formal or endearing term for grandfather, and can also be used to address a close, elderly male friend in Luxembourgish. |
| Macedonian | "Дедо" also means "old man" or "elder" in Macedonian. |
| Malagasy | The word "raibe" can also refer to a revered ancestor or a wise old man. |
| Malay | The word "datuk" has multiple meanings, including hereditary Malay chief, royal male relative, or ancestor. |
| Malayalam | The word "മുത്തച്ഛൻ" also means "a term of respect for an elderly man" in Malayalam. |
| Maltese | "Nannu" comes from the diminutive form of "nanu", an archaic form of "nannu" meaning "grandfather" or "great-grandfather". |
| Maori | The word 'tupuna' in Māori has many secondary meanings, including 'ancestor', 'source', and 'foundation' |
| Marathi | The Marathi word "आजोबा" (grandfather) is derived from the Sanskrit word "आज" (father) and "आप" (honorific suffix), indicating respect for the father figure. |
| Mongolian | It also refers to a revered elder or ancestor in the context of history, genealogy, and mythology. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The word "အဖိုး" can also mean "old man" or "respected elder" in Myanmar (Burmese). |
| Nepali | The word "हजुरबुबा" in Nepali may also refer to a respected elder or teacher, or it could be used as a polite way to address someone older than oneself. |
| Norwegian | In Old Norse, "farfar" originally meant "father's father", but it now also refers to "mother's father". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "agogo" also means "elder" or "ancestor" in Nyanja. |
| Pashto | The etymon is likely to be Indo-Iranian, being a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *neǵ-os. |
| Persian | The term "بابا بزرگ" can also refer to a wise old man or a spiritual leader in Persian culture. |
| Polish | "Dziadek" can also refer to an elderly gentleman or a male ancestor, regardless of his relation to the speaker. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | "Avô" derives from the Latin "avus", meaning "ancestor" and "forefather". In Brazil, it's also used to refer to a male guardian or mentor. |
| Punjabi | The word "ਦਾਦਾ" (grandfather) in Punjabi is derived from the Sanskrit word "दादा" (father), and can also be used as a term of endearment for an elderly man. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word “bunic” (grandfather), derives from the Proto-Slavic form *buky, denoting a relative or a family ancestor. |
| Russian | This word also has a slang meaning which translates into English as |
| Samoan | "Tamamatua" comes from "tama" (father) and "matua" (elder), thus meaning "great father" |
| Scots Gaelic | Seanair can also mean a 'person of importance'. |
| Serbian | The Slavic term деда is cognate with the Latin noun **tata** ('father'), from which the English 'dad' is also etymologically derived; thus 'great-grandfather' could etymologically be 'the grandfather of one’s father or mother'. |
| Sesotho | Ntate-moholo also means 'father' when used in a more general sense, or 'old man' when referring to an elderly person who is not necessarily related. |
| Shona | The word 'sekuru' also means 'chief' and 'elder' in Shona. |
| Sindhi | Sindhi word "ڏاڏو" also means a "venerable old man", a "chief", and a "lord". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The Sinhala word 'සීයා' is cognate with its Indo-Aryan counterparts and also means 'father in law'. |
| Slovak | Dedko is also a term of endearment for an older male friend or acquaintance. |
| Slovenian | The word 'dedek' can also mean 'old man' or 'ancestor' in Slovenian. |
| Somali | In Somali, "awoowe" can also refer to a grandmother, and is sometimes used to express endearment towards an elderly person, regardless of their actual relationship. |
| Spanish | "Abuelo" originates from the Latin "aviolus", possibly meaning "little bird". |
| Sundanese | The word 'akina' can be used metaphorically to refer to someone who is respected and has a lot of knowledge. |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "babu" shares its origin with the Persian and Arabic "bab" and also means "door" or "entrance". |
| Swedish | "Farfar" (grandfather) in Swedish also means "butterfly" in Icelandic and "ship" in some dialects of Swedish, as well as "father" in certain Old Swedish dialects. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | Some other meanings of the Tagalog "lolo" include "an old man" and "an elder brother". |
| Tajik | The word "бобо" can also refer to a paternal uncle or an elderly man. |
| Tamil | "தாத்தா" also refers to elders who are respectable, wise and are like grandfathers. |
| Telugu | In its ancient form, 'తాత' (taata) was also used to refer to uncles. |
| Thai | The word "ปู่" can also refer to a revered elderly person or a monk's teacher. |
| Turkish | The word ''Büyük baba'' is also used in some regions as a respectful way of referring to older men who are not one's grandfather. |
| Ukrainian | Didus is also a name for the extinct dodo bird in Ukrainian. |
| Urdu | The word "dadā" in Urdu can also mean "an old or respected person" or "a religious teacher or spiritual guide". |
| Uzbek | "Bobo" is derived from the Persian word "baba," meaning "father," and is also used in Turkish and other languages. |
| Vietnamese | In addition to the meaning "grandfather", "ông nội" can also mean "paternal grandfather" in Vietnamese. |
| Welsh | Taid in Welsh can also refer to a grandfather's brother, or less commonly, a great-uncle. |
| Xhosa | "Utatomkhulu" also derives from the same "tata" stem but implies someone older and thus of the preceding generational era. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "זיידע" derives from the German "Seite," meaning "side" or "lineage." |
| Yoruba | The term "baba agba" can also refer to a wise or respected elder, regardless of their biological relationship. |
| Zulu | In Zulu, "umkhulu" denotes a paternal grandfather, chief of a clan, or a venerable elder who acts as an advisor. |
| English | The word 'grandfather' is derived from the Old English words 'grandfaeder' and 'fæder', meaning 'great father'. |