באָבע
bobe/ˈbɔbə/feminine
The Yiddish word for grandmother is באָבע (bobe).
באָבע is a noun used to refer to the mother of one's parent.
Meaning: mother of someone's parent (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
באָבע is a feminine noun.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is bobe. The IPA is /ˈbɔbə/.
Did you know?
- The word באָבע shares its roots with the Slavic word for an 'old woman' or a 'witch', meaning it can sometimes carry a slightly more-than-affectionate connotation depending on the context.
- In traditional Ashkenazi Jewish culture, the באָבע was often the primary keeper of oral family histories and folk remedies.
- While באָבע is the standard term, some families use the more formal גרוסמאָטער, which is a direct loan from the German 'Großmutter'.
Examples in context
- זי איז מײַן באָבע.She is my grandmother.This sentence is useful for identifying a person as your באָבע.Tatoeba #11484863 by shekitten, translation #6008216 by CannedBread
- מערי איז טאָמס באָבע.Mary is Tom's grandmother.This sentence shows how to state that Mary is the באָבע of Tom.Tatoeba #8616696 by shekitten, translation #1030066 by CK
- דו וועסט זײַן אַ באָבע.You're going to be a grandmother.This sentence is useful for saying that someone is going to become a באָבע.Tatoeba #11525825 by shekitten, translation #11525567 by maaster
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Menachem and Sarah are looking at an old family photograph.
- מנחם Menahemווער איז דאָס אויפֿן פֿאָטאָ?ver iz dos afn foto?Who is this in the photo?
- שרה Saraדאָס איז מײַן באָבע.dos iz mayn bobe.This is my grandmother.
- מנחם Menahemזי זעט זייער פֿריילעך אויס.zi zet zeyer fraylekh oys.She looks very happy.
- שרה Saraיאָ, מײַן באָבע איז אַ גוטער מענטש.yo, mayn bobe iz a guter mentsh.Yes, my grandmother is a good person.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “grandmother” translations and entries באָבע, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
