అమ్మమ్మ
ammamma/amːamːa/
The Telugu word for grandmother is అమ్మమ్మ (ammamma).
అమ్మమ్మ is used to refer to a person's maternal grandmother.
Meaning: mother of someone's parent (noun)
Which one should you use?
Telugu uses different terms to distinguish between the maternal and paternal sides of the family. While అమ్మమ్మ specifically refers to the maternal grandmother, the term నాయనమ్మ is used to refer to the paternal grandmother.
How do you pronounce it?
ammamma is pronounced /amːamːa/.
Did you know?
- In many South Indian cultures, including Telugu-speaking regions, using a person's actual name is often considered disrespectful, so a title like అమ్మమ్మ is used even if the person is not your biological relative.
- The structure of అమ్మమ్మ makes it a close relative of the word for grandmother in Malayalam and Tamil, reflecting a shared linguistic heritage in South India.
- The phonetic structure of అమ్మమ్మ utilizes a geminate consonant, meaning the 'm' sound is held longer than in English, which is a key feature of Telugu pronunciation.
Example conversation
Venkat and Pallavi are looking at an old family photograph.
- వెంకట్ Venkatఈ ఫోటోలో ఎవరు ఉన్నారు?ī phōṭōlō evaru unnāru?Who is in this photo?
- పల్లవి Pallaviఆమె నా అమ్మమ్మ.āme nā ammamma.She is my grandmother.
- వెంకట్ Venkatఆమె చాలా అందంగా ఉన్నారు.āme chālā andangā unnāru.She looks very beautiful.
- పల్లవి Pallaviఅవును, అమ్మమ్మ చాలా స్నేహపూర్వకంగా ఉంటారు.avunu, ammamma chālā snēhapūrvakangā uṇṭāru.Yes, grandmother is very friendly.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry అమ్మమ్మ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries అమ్మమ్మ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
