HomeHindi relation names
Hindi relation names: the complete family chart
Why “uncle” has five words in Hindi, and the right word for every relative on your mother’s side, your father’s side and your in-laws.
Why there is no single word for “uncle”
Hindi has five words where English has one. Your father’s elder brother is ताऊ (tau), his younger brother is चाचा (chacha), your mother’s brother is मामा (mama), your father’s sister’s husband is फूफा (phupha) and your mother’s sister’s husband is मौसा (mausa). A family’s kinship words encode three facts: which side of the family, who links you, and who was born first.
परिवार के रिश्तों के नाम: चाचा, ताऊ, मामा, फूफा, मौसा और बाकी सभी रिश्ते, पिता और माता के पक्ष के अनुसार।
Grandparents and great-grandparents
| Hindi | Roman | In English |
|---|---|---|
| दादा | dada | father’s father |
| दादी | dadi | father’s mother |
| नाना | nana | mother’s father |
| नानी | nani | mother’s mother |
| परदादा | pardada | father’s grandfather |
| परदादी | pardadi | father’s grandmother |
| परनाना | parnana | mother’s grandfather |
| परनानी | parnani | mother’s grandmother |
Your father’s side
| Hindi | Roman | In English |
|---|---|---|
| ताऊ | tau | father’s elder brother |
| चाचा | chacha | father’s younger brother |
| ताई | tai | father’s elder brother’s wife |
| चाची | chachi | father’s younger brother’s wife |
| बुआ | bua | father’s sister |
| फूफा | phupha | father’s sister’s husband |
Your mother’s side
| Hindi | Roman | In English |
|---|---|---|
| मामा | mama | mother’s brother |
| मामी | mami | mother’s brother’s wife |
| मौसी | mausi | mother’s sister |
| मौसा | mausa | mother’s sister’s husband |
Cousins
| Hindi | Roman | In English |
|---|---|---|
| चचेरा भाई / चचेरी बहन | chachera bhai / chacheri behen | father’s brother’s son / daughter |
| फुफेरा भाई / फुफेरी बहन | phuphera bhai / phupheri behen | father’s sister’s son / daughter |
| ममेरा भाई / ममेरी बहन | mamera bhai / mameri behen | mother’s brother’s son / daughter |
| मौसेरा भाई / मौसेरी बहन | mausera bhai / mauseri behen | mother’s sister’s son / daughter |
Brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces
| Hindi | Roman | In English |
|---|---|---|
| भाई | bhai | brother |
| बहन | behen | sister |
| भतीजा | bhatija | brother’s son |
| भतीजी | bhatiji | brother’s daughter |
| भांजा | bhanja | sister’s son |
| भांजी | bhanji | sister’s daughter |
Children and grandchildren
| Hindi | Roman | In English |
|---|---|---|
| बेटा | beta | son |
| बेटी | beti | daughter |
| पोता | pota | son’s son |
| पोती | poti | son’s daughter |
| नाती | nati | daughter’s son |
| नातिन | natin | daughter’s daughter |
After marriage
| Hindi | Roman | In English |
|---|---|---|
| पति | pati | husband |
| पत्नी | patni | wife |
| ससुर | sasur | father-in-law |
| सास | saas | mother-in-law |
| जीजा | jija | sister’s husband |
| भाभी | bhabhi | brother’s wife |
| जेठ | jeth | husband’s elder brother |
| देवर | devar | husband’s younger brother |
| ननद | nanad | husband’s sister |
| साला | sala | wife’s brother |
| साली | sali | wife’s sister |
| बहू | bahu | son’s wife |
| दामाद | damad | daughter’s husband |
How f-tree chooses the right word
Choosing correctly needs three facts that f-tree keeps alongside every relationship: which side of the family the line goes up through, who links the two people, and who was born first. That is why भतीजा (a brother’s son) and भांजा (a sister’s son) come out differently even though English calls both “nephew”.
When the record can’t say
Only one distinction depends on a birth year: a father’s brother. With no years to compare, f-tree says पिता के भाई (father’s brother), which is true, rather than guessing between चाचा and ताऊ. Guessing would be wrong about half the time, in a way your family would notice immediately.
Where Hindi stops
Second cousins, cousins once removed and great-uncles have no everyday Hindi word, so f-tree uses the English one rather than inventing a compound nobody says. It’s what Hindi speakers do themselves.
The chart on this page is a selection. The full vocabulary of 65 terms is published in the repository, so a Hindi speaker can check every word.
Name every relative in the right word
Switch Family words to हिन्दी in settings and f-tree does the rest. Free, and works offline.