Telugu kinship terms, explained
English has a handful of family words — uncle, aunt, cousin, in-law — and lets context fill in the rest. Telugu does the opposite: it has a precise, separate word for almost every relative, and the word changes depending on which side of the family you mean and who is older. This guide lists the everyday terms, how to say them, and exactly who each one refers to.
Why so many words?
Telugu kinship is relational, not generic. A single English word like “uncle” covers four very different people — your father's elder brother, your father's younger brother, your mother's brother, and your aunt's husband. Telugu gives each of them their own name, because in family life they are not interchangeable: they have different roles at weddings, funerals, and festivals, and you address and treat them differently.
Three ideas decide which word to use:
- Which side — is the relative on your father's side or your mother's side?
- Relative age — is this person older or younger than the parent they're connected through (or than you)?
- Cross vs. parallel — Telugu treats your father's brothers and mother's sisters almost like extra parents, while your mother's brother and father's sister are a distinct, “marriageable” line. This is why their children are addressed differently.
Parents and grandparents
| Telugu | Romanized | Who it means |
|---|---|---|
| నాన్న | nānna | Father (తండ్రి, tandri, is the formal word) |
| అమ్మ | amma | Mother (తల్లి, talli, is the formal word) |
| తాతయ్య | tātayya | Grandfather (both sides) |
| నాన్నమ్మ | nānnamma | Paternal grandmother (father's mother) |
| అమ్మమ్మ | ammamma | Maternal grandmother (mother's mother) |
Your father's side
Your father's brothers are treated as “big” and “small” fathers, and their wives as “big” and “small” mothers — a sign of how close that side is held.
| Telugu | Romanized | Who it means |
|---|---|---|
| పెదనాన్న | peda-nānna | Father's elder brother (“big father”) |
| పెద్దమ్మ | peddamma | Wife of father's elder brother (“big mother”) |
| చిన్నాన్న / బాబాయ్ | chinnānna / bābāi | Father's younger brother (“small father”) |
| పిన్ని | pinni | Wife of father's younger brother (“small mother”) |
| అత్త | atta | Father's sister (paternal aunt) |
| మామయ్య | māmayya | Husband of father's sister |
Your mother's side
Your mother's sisters mirror your father's brothers — elder and younger “mothers.” But your mother's brother, మామయ్య, is special: he is one of the most important figures in a Telugu child's life, and traditionally his children and his sister's children are seen as natural marriage matches.
| Telugu | Romanized | Who it means |
|---|---|---|
| మామయ్య | māmayya | Mother's brother (maternal uncle) |
| అత్త | atta | Wife of mother's brother |
| పెద్దమ్మ | peddamma | Mother's elder sister (“big mother”) |
| పిన్ని | pinni | Mother's younger sister (“small mother”) |
Notice that అత్త means both “father's sister” and “mother's brother's wife,” and మామయ్య means both “mother's brother” and “father's sister's husband.” That is not a coincidence — in the traditional system those are the same married pair, which is why the words line up.
Brothers and sisters
| Telugu | Romanized | Who it means |
|---|---|---|
| అన్నయ్య | annayya | Elder brother |
| తమ్ముడు | tammuḍu | Younger brother |
| అక్క | akka | Elder sister |
| చెల్లి / చెల్లెలు | chelli / chellelu | Younger sister |
Telugu almost never says a bare “brother” or “sister.” You name the age relationship every time — and Telugu speakers use these same words warmly for cousins and close family friends, not only for blood siblings.
Cousins, in-laws and the marriageable line
This is the set of words English struggles with most, because they carry a hint of marriage. A few depend on whether the speaker is male or female.
| Telugu | Romanized | Who it means |
|---|---|---|
| బావ | bāva | Sister's husband; a male cross-cousin; (for a woman) an elder male cross-cousin / brother-in-law |
| వదిన | vadina | Elder brother's wife; (for a man) an elder female cross-cousin |
| మరదలు | maradalu | (For a man) a younger female cross-cousin / younger sister-in-law |
| బావమరిది | bāva-maridi | Wife's brother; younger sister's husband |
| మామగారు | māma-gāru | Father-in-law |
| అత్తగారు | atta-gāru | Mother-in-law |
The suffix -గారు (-gāru) is an honorific, like adding “respected.” You'll hear it attached to many of these terms when speaking about or to elders.
Spouse and children
| Telugu | Romanized | Who it means |
|---|---|---|
| భర్త | bharta | Husband |
| భార్య | bhārya | Wife |
| కొడుకు / అబ్బాయి | koḍuku / abbāyi | Son |
| కూతురు / అమ్మాయి | kūturu / ammāyi | Daughter |
| అల్లుడు | alluḍu | Son-in-law |
| కోడలు | kōḍalu | Daughter-in-law |
| మనవడు | manavaḍu | Grandson |
| మనవరాలు | manavarālu | Granddaughter |
A note on regional variation
Telugu is spoken across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and beyond, and the exact word can shift from district to district and family to family — బాబాయ్ vs. చిన్నాన్న, తాత vs. తాతయ్య, and colloquial forms like మొగుడు and పెళ్ళాం for husband and wife. The terms above are the most widely understood. When in doubt, the safest move is to ask an elder in your own family which word they grew up using — those choices are part of your family's story too.
See these terms on your own family
Kinidhi's free tree maker computes the correct Telugu kinship term for any two people in your tree automatically — no need to look anything up. Build a tree in your browser, no sign-up required.
Open the free tree maker →Frequently asked questions
What do you call your mother's brother in Telugu?
Your mother's brother (maternal uncle) is మామయ్య (māmayya). The same word is also used for your father's sister's husband, because in the traditional system they are the same person.
What is the difference between పెదనాన్న and చిన్నాన్న?
పెదనాన్న (peda-nānna, “big father”) is your father's elder brother, and చిన్నాన్న (chinnānna, “small father”), also called బాబాయ్ (bābāi), is your father's younger brother. Telugu always marks whether the relative is older or younger than your father.
What does వదిన (vadina) mean?
వదిన (vadina) is your elder brother's wife. For a man, it can also mean an elder female cross-cousin — a relationship that traditionally carried the sense of being marriageable.
What is the Telugu word for father's sister?
Your father's sister (paternal aunt) is అత్త (atta). The same word also means your mother's brother's wife.
Who is బావ (bava) in Telugu?
బావ (bāva) is your sister's husband, and also a male cross-cousin — your maternal uncle's son or paternal aunt's son. In many families a bāva was considered a natural marriage match.
Why do మామయ్య and అత్త each have two meanings?
మామయ్య means both “mother's brother” and “father's sister's husband,” while అత్త means both “father's sister” and “mother's brother's wife.” In the traditional cross-cousin system those are the same married couple, so the words line up.