Week 6: Family, People & Kinship Terms

1. Immediate & Extended Family Terms

Where English says "grandfather" for both sides of the family, Kannada — like most Indian languages — distinguishes maternal from paternal relatives, and older from younger siblings. It looks like a lot to learn at once, but the specificity actually removes ambiguity you'd otherwise have to explain with extra words.

immediate family

ಅಪ್ಪ / ತಂದೆ    Appa / Tande     Father
ಅಮ್ಮ / ತಾಯಿ    Amma / Tāyi      Mother
ಅಣ್ಣ           Aṇṇa             Older brother
ತಮ್ಮ           Tamma            Younger brother
ಅಕ್ಕ            Akka             Older sister
ತಂಗಿ           Taṅgi            Younger sister
ಮಗ             Maga             Son
ಮಗಳು           Magaḷu           Daughter
ಗಂಡ            Gaṇḍa            Husband
ಹೆಂಡತಿ         Heṇḍati          Wife

extended family

ಅಜ್ಜ           Ajja             Grandfather
ಅಜ್ಜಿ          Ajji             Grandmother
ಚಿಕ್ಕಪ್ಪ       Chikkappa        Uncle (father's younger brother)
ದೊಡ್ಡಪ್ಪ       Doḍḍappa         Uncle (father's older brother)
ಚಿಕ್ಕಮ್ಮ       Chikkamma        Aunt (mother's younger sister)
ಸೋದರ ಮಾವ      Sōdara māva      Maternal uncle
ಸೋದರ ಸಂಬಂಧಿ    Sōdara sambandhi Cousin

Notice that "older brother" and "younger brother" are two entirely different words (Aṇṇa vs. Tamma), not one word plus "older/younger" — the same pattern repeats for sisters. Once you know someone's relative age, the correct word is unambiguous.

Aṇṇa and Akka as everyday titles

Kannada speakers commonly use "Aṇṇa" (older brother) and "Akka" (older sister) as respectful, friendly titles for people who aren't actually your siblings — a shopkeeper, a stranger who helped you, anyone slightly older. It signals warmth without full formality.

2. Describing People & Relationships

Combine last week's noun-noun sentences with this week's family words to introduce anyone.

describing a relationship

ಇವನು ನನ್ನ ಅಣ್ಣ           Ivanu nanna aṇṇa          This is my older brother
ಇವಳು ನನ್ನ ತಂಗಿ           Ivaḷu nanna taṅgi          This is my younger sister
ಅವರು ನನ್ನ ಅಪ್ಪ-ಅಮ್ಮ       Avaru nanna appa-amma      They are my parents
ಅವನು ನನ್ನ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತ         Avanu nanna snēhita        He is my friend

"ಇವನು/ಇವಳು" (ivanu/ivaḷu) are the "this is..." versions of ಅವನು/ಅವಳು, used when the person is right in front of you (near) rather than being talked about from a distance (far) — a near/far distinction Kannada pronouns make that English doesn't.

3. Possessives: "My," "Your," "His/Her"

Possessive pronouns are built directly from the personal pronouns you already learned in Week 4 — mostly by a small, predictable change to the ending.

possessives

ನನ್ನ     Nanna     My              (from ನಾನು, Nānu — I)
ನಿನ್ನ     Ninna     Your (inf.)     (from ನೀನು, Nīnu — you)
ನಿಮ್ಮ     Nimma     Your (formal)   (from ನೀವು, Nīvu — you)
ಅವನ      Avana     His             (from ಅವನು, Avanu — he)
ಅವಳ      Avaḷa     Her             (from ಅವಳು, Avaḷu — she)
ನಮ್ಮ      Namma     Our             (from ನಾವು, Nāvu — we)
ಅವರ      Avara     Their           (from ಅವರು, Avaru — they)

You've already used two of these — "nanna hesaru" (my name) back in Week 1, and "nimma hesarēnu" (your name) in Week 2 — without knowing yet that they were built from a general pattern. Now you can apply the same pattern to anything: "nanna aṇṇa" (my older brother), "avana mane" (his house), and so on.

4. Hands-on Exercise

Hands-on

Introduce your real family

Using real people in your own life, build a short set of introductions.

List three real family members and write down the correct Kannada kinship word for each (older/younger siblings especially — check the age carefully).
Write one full sentence per person using "Ivanu/Ivaḷu nanna ___" (This is my ___).
Rewrite one of those sentences replacing "nanna" (my) with "avana" or "avaḷa" (his/her), describing that person as someone else's relative instead of yours.

Using real people beats invented examples

Attaching new vocabulary to people you actually know makes it stick far better than practicing with generic placeholder names — you're far more likely to naturally reach for "nanna akka" again later if it's tied to your real older sister.

5. Practice Quiz

Five questions covering kinship terms and possessives. Attempt each before expanding the answer.

Which word specifically means "younger sister" (not just "sister")?

A) ಅಕ್ಕ (Akka)
B) ತಂಗಿ (Taṅgi)
C) ಅಣ್ಣ (Aṇṇa)
D) ಅಜ್ಜಿ (Ajji)

Correct answer: B) ತಂಗಿ (Taṅgi). Akka is "older sister"; Taṅgi is specifically "younger sister."

What does "ಅವನ" (Avana) mean?

A) He
B) His
C) Him (object form)
D) They

Correct answer: B) His. "Avana" is the possessive form built from "avanu" (he).

Beyond its literal meaning, how is "Aṇṇa" commonly used in everyday speech?

A) Only ever for a biological older brother
B) As a friendly, respectful title for any older man, even a stranger
C) As an insult
D) Only used by women

Correct answer: B) A friendly, respectful title. It's commonly extended to non-siblings, like a shopkeeper or a helpful stranger, to signal warmth without full formality.

"Ivanu nanna aṇṇa" means:

A) He is my younger brother
B) This is my older brother
C) That is his older brother
D) They are my brothers

Correct answer: B) This is my older brother. "Ivanu" (this, near) plus "nanna aṇṇa" (my older brother).

When would you use "ivanu" instead of "avanu" for "he"?

A) When the person is far away or being talked about from a distance
B) When the person is right in front of you, nearby
C) Only for family members
D) They're fully interchangeable, no difference at all

Correct answer: B) When the person is nearby. Kannada distinguishes "near" (ivanu/ivaḷu) from "far" (avanu/avaḷu) pronouns — a distinction English's single "he/she" doesn't make.