stage 2 · lesson 3 · 31 phrases
The family tree, with its two sides
Thirty family words, split the way Kannada splits them: mother's side and father's side are different words, and elder/younger is built into the noun.
Draft — these 31 phrases still need a native-speaker check before they count as correct.
by the end you can
- Name every member of your close family, mother's side and father's side.
- Use the elder/younger pairs (akka/tangi, aNNa/tamma, doDD-amma/chikk-amma).
- Say who someone is to you: X nanna <relation>.
- Notice where one word does two jobs (atte, maava).
say these out loud
ತಾಯಿ
taayi
mother
ತಂದೆ
tande
father
ಅಕ್ಕ
akka
elder sister
ತಂಗಿ
tangi
younger sister
ಅಣ್ಣ
aNNa
elder brother
ತಮ್ಮ
tamma
younger brother
ಅಜ್ಜಿ
ajji
grandmother
ತಾತ
taata
grandfather
ಮಾವ
maava
mother's brother (maternal uncle)
ದೊಡ್ಡಮ್ಮ
doDD-amma
mother's elder sister
ಚಿಕ್ಕಮ್ಮ
chikk-amma
mother's younger sister
ಅತ್ತೆ
atte
father's sister (paternal aunt)
ದೊಡ್ಡಪ್ಪ
doDD-appa
father's elder brother
ಚಿಕ್ಕಪ್ಪ
chikk-appa
father's younger brother
ಹೆಂಡತಿ
henDati
wife
ಗಂಡ
ganDa
husband
ಅತ್ತೆ
atte
mother-in-law
ಮಾವ
maava
father-in-law
ಮಕ್ಕಳು
makkaLu
child, children
ಮಗಳು
magaLu
daughter
ಮಗ
maga
son
ಅಳಿಯ
aLiya
son-in-law
ಸೊಸೆ
sose
daughter-in-law
ಮೊಮ್ಮಕ್ಕಳು
mommakkaLu
grandchildren
ಮೊಮ್ಮಗಳು
mommagaLu
granddaughter
ಮೊಮ್ಮಗ
mommaga
grandson
ಲಿಲ್ಲಿ ನನ್ನ ಚಿಕ್ಕಮ್ಮ.
Lilly nanna chikk-amma.
Lilly is my mother's younger sister.
ಪಾಲ್ ನನ್ನ ಮಾವ.
Paul nanna maava.
Paul is my mother's brother (or my father-in-law).
ಪೀಟರ್ ನನ್ನ ದೊಡ್ಡಪ್ಪ.
Peter nanna doDD-appa.
Peter is my father's elder brother.
ಬೆಟ್ಟಿ ನನ್ನ ಅತ್ತೆ.
Betty nanna atte.
Betty is my father's sister (or my mother-in-law).
ವಿಕ್ಟರ್ ನನ್ನ ಚಿಕ್ಕಪ್ಪ.
Victor nanna chikk-appa.
Victor is my father's younger brother.
This lesson is built from the course outline, not from a grammar book: every phrase below is one the operator’s own syllabus teaches at this point.
The one pattern
Kannada does not say ‘my aunt’. It says whose side and which age: doDD-amma (mother’s elder sister), chikk-amma (mother’s younger sister), atte (father’s sister). Age is part of the noun, not an adjective — akka is always an elder sister, tangi is always a younger one.
How to practise
Say each card out loud in Kannada before you look at the meaning, then check yourself against the English. The practice deck for this lesson builds itself from these 31 cards.