ماما

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mama"

Arabic

Etymology

From baby talk.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maː.maː/

Noun

مَامَا • (māmā) f

1. (childish, familiar) mum, mummy, mama

   تُحَضِّرُ مَامَا أَفْضَلَ كَعْكَةٍ بِٱلشُّوكُولَاتَةِ.

   tuḥaḍḍiru māmā ʔafḍala kaʕkatin bi-š-šukulātati.

   Mom prepares the best chocolate cake.

Declension

Declension of noun مَامَا (māmā)

Singular	singular invariable
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	مَامَا māmā	الْمَامَا al-māmā	مَامَا māmā
Nominative	مَامَا māmā	الْمَامَا al-māmā	مَامَا māmā
Accusative	مَامَا māmā	الْمَامَا al-māmā	مَامَا māmā
Genitive	مَامَا māmā	الْمَامَا al-māmā	مَامَا māmā

See also

• أُمّ (ʔumm)
• وَالِدَة (wālida)

 

Baluchi

Etymology

Borrowed from Urdu مَامَا (māmā), ultimately Derived from Proto-Dravidian *māma.

Noun

ماما • (mámá)

1. maternal uncle (some dialects)

See also

• ناکو (náko)
• کاکہ (káka)

Brahui

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Dravidian *māma.

Noun

مَامَا (māmā)

1. maternal uncle

Hijazi Arabic

Etymology

From baby talk.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaː.ma/, [ˈmɑː.mɑ]

Noun

ماما • (māma) f

1. mum, mom

   Synonyms: أم (umm), والدة (wālda)

Pashto

Etymology

Borrowed from Urdu مَامَا (māmā), ultimately Derived from Proto-Dravidian *māma.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɑˈmɑ/

Noun

ماما • (mâmâ) m

1. maternal uncle

Declension

declension of ماما

	singular		plural
direct	ماما (mâmâ)		ماماګان (mâmâgān)
oblique	ماما (mâmâ)		ماماګانو (mâmâgāno)
vocative	ماما (mâmâ)		ماماګانو (mâmâgāno)

Persian

Etymology 1

Akin to Pashto, Baluchi, and Urdu ماما (māmā), as well as Sanskrit and Hindi मामा (māmā). All with the same meaning. Ultimately derived from Proto-Dravidian *māma.

Pronunciation

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [mɑː.mɑ́ː(j)]

Readings
Dari reading?	māmā(y)

Noun

Dari	ماما
Iranian Persian	دایی
Tajik	тағо

ماما • (māmā) (plural ماما‌ها (māmā-hā)) (Dari)

1. (chiefly Dari) maternal uncle

   Synonym: دایی (dâyi)

   Coordinate terms: عمو ('amu), کاکا (kâkâ), کاکو (kâko), (archaic) افدر (afdar)

Inflection

Basic forms of ماما (māmā) (Classical and Dari Persian)
	singular	plural
bare	ماما (māmā́) مامای △ (māmā́y)	ماماها (māmā-hā́) مامایا △ (māmāy-yā́)
definitive direct object	مامارا (māmā́ rā) مامای‌ره △ (māmā́y ra)	ماماها را (māmā-hā́ rā) مامایاره △ (māmāy-yā́ ra)
izāfa	مامای (māmā́-yi)	ماماهای (māmā-hā́-yi) مامایای △ (māmāy-yā́-yi)
marked indefinite / relative definite	مامایی (māmā́-yē)	ماماهایی (māmā-hā́-yē) مامایایی △ (māmāy-yā́-yē)
△ Colloquial Dari.

Possessive forms of ماما (māmā)
	singular	plural
1st person singular (“my”)	مامایم (māmā́yam)	ماماهایم (māmā-hā́yam) مامایام △ (māmāy-yā́-am)
2nd person singular (“your”)	مامایت (māmā́yat)	ماماهایت (māmā-hā́yat) مامایات △ (māmāy-yā́t)
3rd person singular (“his, her, its”)	مامایش (māmā́yaš) مامایْشِی △ (māmā́yšī)	ماماهایش (māmā-hā́yaš) مامایاش △ (māmāy-yā́š)
1st plural (“our”)	مامایمان (māmā́yimān)	ماماهایمان (māmā-hā́yimān) مامایامان △ (māmāy-yā́mān)
2nd plural (“your”)	مامایتان (māmā́yitān)	ماماهایتان (māmā-hā́yitān) مامایاتان △ (māmāy-yā́tān)
3rd plural (“their”)	مامایشان (māmā́yišān)	ماماهایشان (māmā-hā́yišān) مامایاشان △ (māmāy-yā́šān)
△ Colloquial.

See also

1. عمه ('amma) (paternal aunt)
2. خاله (xâla) (maternal aunt)

Etymology 2

Noun

ماما • (mâmâ)

1. (Iran) midwife

South Levantine Arabic

Alternative forms

• یامّا (yāmma)

Etymology

From baby talk.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mˤaː.mˤa/, [ˈmɑˤː.mˤɑ]

• Audio (Ramallah):

  (file)

Noun

ماما • (ṃāṃa) f

1. (childish) mom, mum, mama
2. an affectionate form of address used by a mother to her child

See also

• إم (umm, “mother”)
• بابا (ḅāḅa, “dad”)

Urdu

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /mɑː.mɑː/
• Rhymes: -ɑː
• Hyphenation: ما‧ما

Etymology 1

Inherited from Sanskrit माम (māma), from Proto-Dravidian *māma.

Alternative forms

• مامُوں (māmū̃), مامُو (māmū)

Noun

ماما • (māmā) m (feminine مامی (māmī) or مُمانی (mumānī), Hindi spelling मामा)

1. (mildly vulgar, colloquial, Hindu speech) maternal uncle

Usage notes

ماما (māmā) is considered colloquial, perhaps even impolite. It is often used by Urdu-speaking Hindus, although the term might be associated with Hindi due to it being highly colloquial. مامُوں (māmū̃) is more commonly used in Urdu.

Declension

Declension of ماما
	singular	plural
direct	ماما (māmā)	مامے (māme)
oblique	مامے (māme)	ماموں (māmõ)
vocative	مامے (māme)	مامو (māmo)

References

• “ماما”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “māma”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 578

Etymology 2

From ماں (mā̃), from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀫𑀸𑀤𑀸 (mādā), from Sanskrit मातृ (mātṛ, “mother”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *máHtā, from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr.

Alternative forms

• مَمّا (mammā), مَمّاں (mammā̃)

Noun

ماما • (māmā) f (Hindi spelling मामा)

1. (endearing) mum

   Synonyms: ماں (mā̃), اَمّاں (ammā̃), اَمّی (ammī)

2. (childish) mummy
3. a household female servant

Declension

Declension of ماما
	singular	plural
direct	ماما (māmā)	مامائیں (māmāẽ)
oblique	ماما (māmā)	ماماؤں (māmāõ)
vocative	ماما (māmā)	ماماؤ (māmāo)

Further reading

• “ماما”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “ماما”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2024.
• Fallon, Platts, Qureshi, Shakespear (2024) “ماما”, in Digital Dictionaries of South Asia [Combined Urdu Dictionaries]

Ushojo

Etymology

Borrowed from Pashto ماما (māmā), ultimately Derived from Proto-Dravidian *māma.

Noun

ماما (māmā)

1. maternal uncle