30 Relationship Names in Newari Language and Their Intriguing Pronunciation

What do you think Mama means as a relationship?

You might think – well, that’s simple. It means the brother of your mother. Well, you are right and wrong. How? If you take this in the context of the Nepali Language, then you are right. However, if you take what Mama means in Newari, then oh boy! -you are in for some complicated and surprising revelation. It means the wife of your uncle.

Confused?

Well, welcome to the world of Relationship Names in Newari Language.

If you do not know the Newari language or are not even familiar with some common Newari words, be ready to get surprised. However, you might be familiar with the Newari language or you might have heard someone speak it in your circle. Then, be ready to get confused.

Because Nepalinames brings to you this article with 30 Relationship Names in Newari Language, first to confuse you with the words and then clarify your confusion with its meaning.

But before we proceeding any further, let’s acknowledge the difficulty of Newari language as a whole. These relationship names in Newari Language are as hard as the language itself, be it to read, write or speak. Also, it has to be noted that the core Newari culture, language, and traditions are the tight-knit Newari society and communities that are made of individual families.

About Newari Relationships and Families

Newari families are close-knit and for the most part, joint families.
“We are a family”
Core Values

These are blood relationships where some form through marriage. While variations may occur, they are not all too different from any other typical Nepali family. The Grandfather is the head of the house, the grandmother is in charge of the economy, the father is responsible for earnings, and the mother manages inventories and food. This is how roles are divided in a general Newari Family.

If there are siblings, then the aunty shares the burden of inventory management and food with mother and uncles share the burden with father.

Now we understand that it can be a bit confusing to remember all related terms and names in Newari. So without any delay, let’s look at 30 Relationship Names in Newari Language and how they are pronounced.

30 Relationship Names in Newari Language

Before heading into the names of relationships, we do have to remind you that punctuation matters. Furthermore, the smallest of phonetics and half letters are what make up this language. So small differences such as these make a huge difference in both spelling and punctuation in Newari Language.

Now let’s move on to the relationships terms.

1. Abu (अबु) : Pronounced as: A – Bu / अ – बु

Meaning: Father

Nepali equivalent: Baa/ Buba/ Baba.

He is the man who gave birth to you.

2. Aji (अजि) : Pronounced as : A – g / अ – जि

Meaning: Gradmother

Nepali equivalent:

She is the Grandmother of your Grandmother. You probably have never met her. If she is still alive, then she is likely to be very old. This is often confused with grandmother but grandmother has its own term.

3. Bajya (बाज्या) :Pronounced as : Baa – j – yaa / बा – ज् – या

Meaning: Grandfather

Nepali equivalent:

He is your Grandfather or your fathers’ father. He is likely the person who told you stories back when you were still a kid.

4. Bhanja (भान्जा) : Pronounced as: Bhaa – n – jaa/ भा न् जा

Meaning: Niece and Nephew

Nepali equivalent: Bhanja (male) and Bhanji (female)

This relationship name in Newari means Son/Daughter of Sister. So if you have a sister and she gives birth, then you have a bhanja.

5. Bhau (भौ) : Pronounced as: Bha – u

Meaning: Daughter-In-Law

Nepali equivalent: Buhari

So you are a parent now and have a son. If he gets married, then his wife is called Bhau.

6. Bhinja (भिन्जा)Pronounced as: Bhi – n – jaa/ भी न् जा

Meaning: Niece (daughter) and Nephew (son)

Nepali equivalent: Bhatij (male) and Bhatiji (female)

If your brother has a child, that child becomes Bhinja. It means the son or a daughter of your brother.

7. Bhowta (भोव्त) :Pronounced as: Bh – wo- ta / भ् – वो – त

Meaning: Sister-In-Law

Nepali equivalent: Bhauju ( wife of older brother) / Buhari( wife of younger brother)

This relationship means the wife of your brother. She is likely to be in charge of your mother and father along with your elder brother.

8. Bwaju (ब्वाजु) : Pronounced as: b – wa – ju / ब् – वा – जु

Meaning: Step- Father

Nepali equivalent: Sauteni Buba (सौतेनी बुवा)

This is a rather complicated relationship in terms of emotions. However, in terms of status, this relationship term means Step Father. Stepfathers are those people who marry your mother after your father either passes away or is divorced from your mother.

9. Chhae (छे) : Pronounced as : chh – ae / च्छ ए

Meaning: GrandSon

Nepali Equivalent: Nati

He is likely to be the youngest person of the family and you are likely to be this person.

10. Chi Maa (चि मा): Pronounced as : Chi – maa / चि – मा

Meaning: Aunt

Nepali Equivalent: Sanima

This term is the short form Chiri ma maa. Chi maa means someone who is younger than someone and maa means mother. So this term as a whole means Younger Aunty.

11. Chiri Maa (चिरी मा): Pronounced as : Chi – ri – maa / चि – री – मा

Meaning: StepMom

Nepali Equivalent: Sauteni Aama ()

She is the person your father marries after your mother either passes away or gets divorced with your father and gets your custody. This is also a touchy subject to talk about in Newari Culture.

12. Chui (छुइ) : Pronounced as : chhu – i / छु – इ

Meaning: GrandDaughter

Nepali Equivalent: Natini

This is the female version of Chhae. She is the daughter of your son or daughter.

13. Daju (दाजु) : Pronounced as : daa- ju / दा – जु

Meaning: Elder Brother

Nepali Equivalent: Daju/ Dai

He is the son who is born before you, also known as your Elder Brother. This is one of those few cases where Nepali and Newari words for a relationship are exactly the same.

14. Jiju Bhaju (जिजु भाजु) : Pronounced as : Ji – ju – bha – ju / जि – जु – भा – जु

Meaning: Son-In-Law/ Brother-In-Law

Nepali Equivalent: Jwai

This term two meaning that has no relation with each other. The first meaning is Sister Husband. Meanwhile, another meaning is Husband of Daughter. So when you hear this term, you have to know the context as well.

15. Kae (के) : Pronounced as : k – ae / क् – ए

Meaning: Son

Nepali Equivalent: Chhora

This term means Son. You are probably this person.

16. Kaen (कें) : Pronounced as : ke – n -./ कें

Meaning: Younger Sister

Nepali Equivalent: Bahini

This word has a few meanings. It means the vegetables for Supper, Younger, Copper, and younger sister all at the same time. So once again, when you hear this word, context matters. You could be confused if you just considerer the meaning of this term as a simply younger sister.

17. Kakaa (कका) : Pronounced as : ka kaa/ क – का

Meaning: Paternal Uncle

Nepali Equivalent: Kaka

While this sounds like reading Nepali Barnamala, this has a meaning. It means Uncle in the Newari language or the brother of your father.

18. Kalaa: Pronounced as : Maa – मा

Meaning: Wife

Nepali Equivalent: Budi

This world while may sound the same as the Nepali word that means art, is a relationship name in Newari language used for a wife.

19. Kija (किजा): Pronounced as : Ki – jaa/ कि – जा

Meaning: Younger Brother

Nepali Equivalent: Bhai

This Relationship Names in Newari Language means Younger Brother.

20. Maaju (माजु) : Pronounced as : Maa – ju / मा -जु

Meaning: Mother-In-Law

Nepali Equivalent: SasuAama

This is the relationship term given to the Mother of your Husband and the only in-law relationship that does not have Sasa attached to it.

21. Mama (मामा) : Pronounced as: maa – maa / मा – मा

Meaning: Aunty

Nepali Equivalent: Kaaki

It means wife of your Uncle. In the Nepali Language, it means Brother of your mother. So, if someone is using mama, you should take what language that person is speaking into consideration.

22. Mhae (म्हए): Pronounced as : m – h – a – e/ म् – ह् – ए – इ

Meaning: Daughter

Nepali Equivalent: Chhori

This Relationship Name in Newari Language means daughter. The Nepali equivalent to this term is Chhori.

23. NiNi (निनि): Pronounced as : Ni – Ni / नि – नि

Meaning: Aunt

Nepali Equivalent: Phupu

This word sounds cute and it means Sister of Father. This is one of those words that sounds like it is taken from Nepali Varnamala, similar to like Kaka.

24. Nini Paju : Pronounced as: ni – ni paa – ju / नि – नि – पा – जु

Meaning: Uncle

Nepali Equivalent: Phupaju

This relationship term is made from two existing terms. Nini means the sister of your father and Paju means the brother of your mother. When these two combine, it means Husband of Fathers Sister.

25. Paju (पजु) : Pronounced as : paa – ju/ प – जु

Meaning: Uncle

Nepali Equivalent: Mama/ Phupaju

This is one of those terms that represent two relationships. While on one hand, it means your mother’s brother, it also means your aunt’s husband.

26. Sasa Baa (सस बा): Pronounced as sa – sa- baa /स – स – बा

Meaning: Father-In-Law

Nepali Equivalent: SauraBuba

He is the father of your wife. Also on the side note, the term “sasa” is used in Newari similar to the term “In-Laws” in English.

27. Sasa Maa (सस मा): Pronounced as : sa – sa – maa / स – स – मा

Meaning: Mother-In-Law

Nepali Equivalent: SasuAama

Similar to Sasa baa, this term means Mother-in-Law. She is the mother of your wife. Unlike its counterpart, however. this term is only used by males. Females used the term Maaju.

28. Ta Maa (त: मा): Pronounced as : Ta – a- ma / a त: – अ – मा

Meaning: Elder Aunty

Nepali Equivalent: ThuliAama

This term is the short form of tarkama maa, meaning elder mother. This short-form suits as this term mean Elder Aunty.

29. Tari Maa (तरी मा) : Pronounced as: Ta – ri – maa/ त – री – मा

Meaning: Grandmother

Nepali Equivalent:

This term is the short form for Tari ma maa, meaning the elder mother. While both tari maa and Ta Maa sound similar, they do not mean the same, This term means Grandmother.

30. Tata (तता) : Pronounced as : ta – taa/ त – ता

Meaning: Elder Sister

Nepali Equivalent:

This is another term that sounds like it is just the letter from Nepali Varnamala. This is a Newari name for the relationship of Elder Sister.

In the End

By now some of you might be confused or even shocked (just like the picture above) and are not able to understand quite a few Relationship Names in Newari Language. Some may be smiling at the number of terms that just sound like random letters from Nepali Varnamala and some of you might finally have your doubts cleared.

If you are among those who are smiling at how some of these Relationship Names in Newari Language sound like they are straight from Nepali Varnamala, Newari has an internal joke about how almost every sound in the Kha line means something.

But hey, that is just how the Newari language is. Now let us know, what is your favorite Relationship Names in Newari Language. And if you still have any confusion, comment below.