Chinese word

奶奶

Pronunciation

Pinyinnǎi nǎi

Meaning

  • noungrandma

Example

放学后我去看奶奶。fàng xué hòu wǒ qù kàn nái nǎi

After school, I go visit my grandma.

Illustration for 奶奶 (grandma)

More examples

我在奶奶家做作业。wǒ zài nái nǎi jiā zuò zuò yè

I do my homework at my grandma's house.

Core concept

The familiar older woman at the heart of a family, with the meaning extending to a respectful everyday address for an old woman.

Common phrases

  • 去奶奶家qù nái nǎi jiā

    go to grandma's house

  • 在奶奶家zài nái nǎi jiā

    be at grandma's house

Similar words

祖母zú mǔ: A formal name for one's father's mother, especially in writing or serious speech.
外婆wài pó: A common everyday name for one's mother's mother.

Definition in Chinese

对父亲的母亲的口语称呼，相当于书面语的祖母，多用于家庭内部和熟人之间。duì fù qīn de mǔ qīn de kóu yǔ chēng hū xiāng dāng yú shū miàn yǔ de zú mǔ duō yòng yú jiā tíng nèi bù hé shú rén zhī jiān

Word origin

奶奶 (nǎinǎi, "grandma") is a reduplicated colloquial kinship term, a common formation pattern for familiar family names in Chinese.

Usage tips

  • In Chinese, a child may use this word when speaking to the grandmother herself, so it works as a form of address rather than only as a label in a sentence.

Other meanings

  • old womannoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word