خاله
xāla/xaː.ˈla/
To say aunt in Persian, meaning your mother's sister, use خاله (xāla).
خاله (xāla) means the sister of your mother. Persian has a separate word for your father's sister, so the right word depends on which side of the family she is on.
Meaning: a parent's sister or sister-in-law (noun)
Which one should you use?
خاله is only the maternal aunt. The paternal aunt and the wives of your uncles each have their own kinship words.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is xāla and the IPA is /xaː.ˈla/. The x is a rough sound at the back of the throat like the ch in Scottish loch, the first a is long and the stress falls on the second syllable. In Iran the final vowel is often heard closer to e.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use خاله for your father's sister.
When do people say it?
Children in Iran often use خاله as a friendly title for their mother's female friends and for kind older women, not only for real aunts.
Did you know?
- The word خاله is actually a loanword from Arabic.
- While خاله refers to the mother's sister, Persian also has distinct words for the wives of your uncles, treating them as a separate category of 'aunt'.
- While it means 'maternal aunt', calling a woman خاله is a common way to show warmth and respect to an older woman who is not related to you.
Examples in context
- خاله شیرین دنبالت میگرده.Aunt Shirin is looking for you.خاله comes before the name, as in خاله شیرین, "Aunt Shirin".
- خاله وانگ، این منم.This is me, Aunt Wong.خاله is used here as a title before a name when speaking to her.Tatoeba #785643 by EsperantoFarsi_Robot, translation #7783997 by shayan
Example conversation
Mohammad is introducing his aunt to Sara.
- محمد Mohammadسارا، این خاله من است.Sara, in khale man ast.Sara, this is my aunt.
- سارا Saraاز دیدن شما خوشحالم خاله.Az didane shoma khoshhalam khale.I am glad to meet you, aunt.
- محمد Mohammadاو از شهر دیگری آمده است.Oo az shahre digari amade ast.She has come from another city.
- سارا Saraچه عالی! خوش آمدید.Che ali! Khosh amadid.How great! Welcome.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry خاله, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries خاله, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0, Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
