māmā rūʻau
The Tahitian phrase for grandma is māmā rūʻau.
māmā rūʻau is used to refer to a grandmother in an informal context.
Meaning: grandmother (informal) (noun)
Did you know?
- The sound of māmā is similar to many other Austronesian languages, where 'ma' is a common root for mother. This connects the Tahitian word to languages spoken as far away as Madagascar.
- Tahitian uses a glottal stop, represented by the symbol ʻ, in rūʻau. This is not a punctuation mark but a distinct consonant sound produced by closing the vocal cords.
- While māmā rūʻau is informal, formal Tahitian may use more complex kinship terms that specify whether the grandmother is from the father's side or the mother's side.
Example conversation
Hiro is introducing his grandmother to Vairupe.
- HiroVairupe, e māmā rūʻau nōʻau tēnei.Vairupe, this is my grandma.
- VairupeIa ora na, māmā rūʻau!Hello, grandma!
- HiroʻE mākā māmā rūʻau i tō vārua.Grandma is happy to meet you.
- VairupeʻE au tēnei, māmā rūʻau.I am happy too, grandma.
