nipote
/niˈpo.te/feminine
The Italian word for granddaughter is nipote.
nipote is used to refer to the daughter of someone's child. Note that this term is ambiguous and can also mean niece or nephew, so you must rely on the surrounding context to understand the specific relationship.
Meaning: daughter of someone’s child (noun)
Which one should you use?
An informal and endearing alternative is nipotina.
How does it change in a sentence?
Since nipote is a common-gender noun, you must use the feminine article la (as in la nipote) to specify that the person is a granddaughter. For plural forms, use le nipoti to refer exclusively to a group of granddaughters or nieces and use the masculine plural i nipoti to refer to a mixed-gender group of grandchildren or a group of nephews and nieces.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 3 syllables, with the stress on the 2nd syllable: /niˈpo.te/.
Did you know?
- The Persian word for grandchild, نوه, is a distant linguistic relative of the Italian nipote, both tracing back to the same ancient Indo-European root.
- Because nipote is ambiguous, Italians often use the phrase figlia di mio figlio or figlia di mia figlia to be absolutely clear they mean 'granddaughter'.
- In some regional dialects, different words are used to distinguish between the child of a sibling and the child of a child, though nipote remains the standard across Italy.
Examples in context
- Dov'è la tua nipote?Where's your granddaughter?This sentence is useful for asking about someone's granddaughter using nipote.Tatoeba #7478621 by Guybrush88, translation #7467273 by CK
- Mary è la nipote di Tom.Mary is Tom's granddaughter.This sentence is useful for identifying someone as Tom's granddaughter using nipote.Tatoeba #3838479 by Guybrush88, translation #1030067 by CK
- La vecchietta sorrise alla nipote.The old lady smiled at her granddaughter.This sentence is useful for describing an old lady smiling at her granddaughter using nipote.Tatoeba #3251489 by Pharamp, translation #43322 by CK
- La mia nipotina è la mia gioiaMy granddaughter is my joy
- 14 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lorenzo and Martina are talking about their families at a cafe.
- MartinaLorenzo, hai una nipote?Lorenzo, do you have a granddaughter?
- LorenzoSì, la mia nipote ha cinque anni.Yes, my granddaughter is five years old.
- MartinaChe bella età!What a lovely age!
- LorenzoSì, è davvero speciale.Yes, she is truly special.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “granddaughter” translations and entries nipote, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries nipote, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
