Grandmothers hold a special place in every culture. Whether you call her grandma, granny, nana, or something completely different, the meaning is always the same — love, care, and family.
In this guide, you’ll discover how to say “grandma” in other languages, including correct native words and simple English pronunciations. This helps travelers, language learners, writers, and anyone curious about family terms across cultures.
Below is a clean, mobile-friendly table showing “grandma in all languages” with native spellings and easy pronunciations.
Grandma in Other Languages — Translations Around the World
| Language / Flag | Native word | Pronunciation |
| English 🇬🇧 | Grandma | gran-mah |
| American English 🇺🇸 | Granny | gran-ee |
| Spanish 🇪🇸 | Abuela | ah-bweh-lah |
| French 🇫🇷 | Grand-mère | grahn-mehr |
| German 🇩🇪 | Oma | oh-mah |
| Italian 🇮🇹 | Nonna | non-nah |
| Portuguese 🇵🇹 | Avó | ah-voh |
| Dutch 🇳🇱 | Oma | oh-mah |
| Swedish 🇸🇪 | Mormor | mor-mor |
| Norwegian 🇳🇴 | Bestemor | bes-teh-mor |
| Danish 🇩🇰 | Bedstemor | bes-teh-mor |
| Finnish 🇫🇮 | Isoäiti | ee-soh-eye-tee |
| Russian 🇷🇺 | Бабушка | bah-boosh-kah |
| Ukrainian 🇺🇦 | Бабуся | bah-boo-sya |
| Polish 🇵🇱 | Babcia | bahb-chah |
| Czech 🇨🇿 | Babička | bah-beech-kah |
| Slovak 🇸🇰 | Babička | bah-beech-kah |
| Hungarian 🇭🇺 | Nagymama | nodj-mah-mah |
| Romanian 🇷🇴 | Bunica | boo-nee-kah |
| Bulgarian 🇧🇬 | Баба | bah-bah |
| Serbian 🇷🇸 | Baka | bah-kah |
| Croatian 🇭🇷 | Baka | bah-kah |
| Slovenian 🇸🇮 | Babica | bah-bee-tsah |
| Greek 🇬🇷 | Γιαγιά | yah-yah |
| Turkish 🇹🇷 | Büyükanne | byoo-yook-ahn-neh |
| Arabic 🇸🇦 | جدة | jid-dah |
| Hebrew 🇮🇱 | סבתא | sav-tah |
| Persian 🇮🇷 | مادربزرگ | mah-dar-bozorg |
| Urdu 🇵🇰 | دادی / نانی | dah-dee / nah-nee |
| Hindi 🇮🇳 | दादी | dah-dee |
| Bengali 🇧🇩 | দিদিমা | dee-dee-mah |
| Tamil 🇮🇳 | பாட்டி | pah-tee |
| Telugu 🇮🇳 | అవ్వ | av-vah |
| Kannada 🇮🇳 | ಅಜ್ಜಿ | aj-jee |
| Malayalam 🇮🇳 | അമ്മുമ്മ | am-oom-mah |
| Thai 🇹🇭 | ยาย | yai |
| Vietnamese 🇻🇳 | Bà | bah |
| Chinese 🇨🇳 | 奶奶 | nai-nai |
| Cantonese 🇭🇰 | 嫲嫲 | mah-mah |
| Japanese 🇯🇵 | おばあちゃん | oh-bah-chan |
| Korean 🇰🇷 | 할머니 | hal-muh-nee |
| Mongolian 🇲🇳 | Эмээ | eh-meh |
| Indonesian 🇮🇩 | Nenek | neh-nek |
| Malay 🇲🇾 | Nenek | neh-nek |
| Filipino 🇵🇭 | Lola | loh-lah |
| Khmer 🇰🇭 | យាយ | yai |
| Lao 🇱🇦 | ຍ່າ | yah |
| Burmese 🇲🇲 | အဖွား | ah-fwah |
| Nepali 🇳🇵 | हजुरआमा | ha-joor-ah-mah |
| Sinhala 🇱🇰 | ආච්චි | ah-chee |
| Swahili 🇰🇪 | Bibi | bee-bee |
| Zulu 🇿🇦 | Ugogo | oo-go-go |
| Xhosa 🇿🇦 | Umakhulu | oo-mah-koo-loo |
| Afrikaans 🇿🇦 | Ouma | oh-mah |
| Amharic 🇪🇹 | አያት | ah-yaht |
| Somali 🇸🇴 | Ayeeyo | eye-yo |
| Yoruba 🇳🇬 | Iya-agba | ee-yah ahg-bah |
| Igbo 🇳🇬 | Nne-ochie | neh oh-chee-eh |
| Hausa 🇳🇬 | Kaka | kah-kah |
| Berber 🇲🇦 | Taddart | tah-dart |
| Basque 🇪🇸 | Amona | ah-mo-nah |
| Catalan 🇪🇸 | Àvia | ah-vee-ah |
| Galician 🇪🇸 | Avoa | ah-voh-ah |
| Welsh 🏴 | Nain | nayn |
| Irish 🇮🇪 | Seanmháthair | shan-wah-her |
| Scottish Gaelic 🏴 | Seanmhair | shan-var |
| Icelandic 🇮🇸 | Amma | am-mah |
| Latvian 🇱🇻 | Vecmāmiņa | vets-mah-mee-nyah |
| Lithuanian 🇱🇹 | Močiutė | moh-choo-teh |
| Estonian 🇪🇪 | Vanaema | vah-nah-eh-mah |
| Albanian 🇦🇱 | Gjyshja | jish-yah |
| Georgian 🇬🇪 | ბებია | bee-eh |
| Armenian 🇦🇲 | Տատիկ | tah-tik |
| Kazakh 🇰🇿 | Әже | eh-zheh |
| Uzbek 🇺🇿 | Buvi | boo-vee |
| Azerbaijani 🇦🇿 | Nənə | neh-neh |
Why Learning “Grandma” in Different Languages Is Useful
Knowing how to say grandma in different languages helps you:
- Connect with family traditions
- Travel respectfully
- Understand multicultural stories
- Learn languages faster through familiar words
Grandma Translations by Region
European languages often use forms similar to Oma, Nonna, or Babcia.
Asian languages tend to have specific words for maternal and paternal grandmothers.
African languages often use respectful family-title forms.
Conclusion
“Grandma” is one of the most universal and meaningful family words. Learning how to say grandma in other languages helps you appreciate cultures and communicate warmly around the world.
FAQs
What is “grandma” in all languages?
It refers to the word used for grandmother in each language, such as abuela in Spanish and nonna in Italian.
How do you say grandma in different languages?
Each language has its own translation based on culture and grammar.
Why are there multiple grandma words in some languages?
Some languages separate maternal and paternal grandmothers with different words.
What is the most common grandma word worldwide?
Forms like Oma, Nonna, and Babcia appear in many cultures.Is grandma the same as grandmother in translations?
Yes, grandma is the informal version of grandmother in most languages.
