Kannada Family Relationship Terms

Father's father

Ajja

Kannada commonly uses the same word for paternal and maternal grandparents, like Tamil and Telugu.

Father's mother

Ajji

Mother's father

Ajja

Mother's mother

Ajji

Father

Appa

Mother

Amma

Father's older brother

Doddappa

Literally 'big father,' treated almost like a second father.

Father's younger brother

Chikkappa

Literally 'small father.'

Father's sister

Atte

Mother's older brother

Mava

Mother's younger brother

Mava

Mother's sister

Doddamma (if older than your mother) / Chikkamma (if younger)

Treated like a second mother, the same way doddappa/chikkappa are treated like a second father.

Father's older brother's wife

Doddamma

Same word as 'mother's older sister': Kannada groups relatives by parent-equivalent role rather than by side of the family, the same pattern as Tamil and Telugu.

Father's younger brother's wife

Chikkamma

Mother's brother's wife

Maami

Father's sister's husband

Mava (regional variation, sometimes a descriptive term instead)

Reflects the traditional overlap between 'father's sister's husband' and 'mother's brother' as the same marriage-alliance category.

Mother's sister's husband

Doddappa / Chikkappa

Mirrors the doddamma/chikkamma pattern above.

Older brother

Anna

Younger brother

Tamma

Older sister

Akka

Younger sister

Tangi

Father's brother's son

Anna / Tamma

Children of your doddappa/chikkappa are treated as siblings, not cousins.

Father's brother's daughter

Akka / Tangi

Father's sister's son

Bhava

A cross-cousin, traditionally a potential marriage partner in Kannada culture, mirroring Tamil's machaan and Telugu's bava.

Father's sister's daughter

Nadini

Mother's brother's son

Bhava

Mother's brother's daughter

Nadini

Mother's sister's son

Anna / Tamma

Mother's sister's children are parallel cousins too, treated as siblings.

Mother's sister's daughter

Akka / Tangi

Son

Maga

Daughter

Magalu

Grandson

Mommaga

Granddaughter

Mommagalu

Son-in-law

Aliya

Daughter-in-law

Sose

Brother's son

Anna Maga

Descriptive ('brother's son') rather than one dedicated word.

Sister's son

Aliya

Also literally means 'son-in-law,' reflecting the tradition of a sister's son marrying into the family, the same overlap as Tamil's marumagan.

Brother's daughter

Anna Magalu

Sister's daughter

Sose

Husband

Ganda

Wife

Hendati

Spouse's father

Mava

The same word as 'mother's brother': in traditional Kannada cross-cousin marriage culture, your father-in-law and maternal uncle are often literally the same relationship.

Spouse's mother

Atte

Same word as 'father's sister,' mirroring the father-in-law/maternal-uncle overlap above.

Husband's older brother

Bhava

Husband's younger brother

Maiduna

Husband's sister

Nadini

Wife's brother

Bhava

Wife's sister

Nadini

Brother's wife

Attige

Sister's husband

Bhava