The Family

Let's look at members of the family in Kiswahili

📚 Theory: The family [Familia/Jamaa]

The Kiswahili word for family is 'Familia' or 'Jamaa'. Here are the various members of the family

Kiswahili	English	Notes
Babu	Grandfather
Nyanya	Grandmother	The synonym for 'nyanya' is 'bibi'. Both mean 'grandmother'. But 'nyanya' also means 'a tomato'. The same word has two different meanings depending on the context.
Mzazi	Parent
Mke	Wife
Mume	Husband
Baba	Father
Mama	Mother
Baba mdogo	Your uncle	But this is specifically used for your father's younger brother. In Swahili culture, as in many other African cultures, your father's brother was simply your father, and your mother's sister was simply your mother. The word 'mdogo' here means 'small or young'. So this literally translates to 'Small father'
Baba mkubwa	Uncle	Specifically your father's older brother. 'Mkubwa' here means 'bigger' or 'elder'.
Mama mdogo	Aunt	But specifically your mother's younger sister
Mama mkubwa	Aunt	But specifically your mother's older sister.
Shangazi	Aunt	But specifically your father's sister.
Mjomba	Uncle	But specifically your mother's brother. Another name for this is 'Amu'.
Kaka	Brother.
Dada	Sister
Ndugu	Sibling
Binamu	Male cousin	Derived from the Arabic word 'bin' which means 'son of' together with the word 'amu' which means 'uncle'.
Bintiamu	Female cousin	Deriveed from the Arabic word 'binti' which means 'daughter of' together with the word 'aunty' meaning 'uncle'.
Mjukuu	Grandchild
Kitukuu	Great grandchild

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