भाभीBhabhiBrother's Wife
Bhabhi (भाभी) is your brother's wife — the sister-in-law who joins your family when your brother marries. It is one of the warmest words in the Hindi kinship set, used by the brother's siblings, cousins, and often the whole neighbourhood.
How your Bhabhi connects to you
Who is your Bhabhi?
A bhabhi arrives as a bride and, in the traditional telling, becomes the heart of her new household — confidante to her husband's younger siblings and, in the case of an eldest brother's wife, a figure family proverbs rank alongside a mother. The devar-bhabhi and nanad-bhabhi relationships supply North Indian folk culture with endless songs of teasing and affection. The word has also escaped the family entirely: friends' wives and neighbours are cheerfully called bhabhi across India.
How it's used
Unlike most terms on this list, bhabhi works in direct address — younger siblings actually call her Bhabhi or Bhabhiji to her face, while elders may use her name. For example: "भाभी, आज की चाय आपके हाथ की होनी चाहिए" — "Bhabhi, today's tea has to be made by you."
Where Bhabhi comes from
Bhabhi grows out of bhai (Sanskrit bhrātṛ, 'brother') — she is the brother's wife. It is one of the warmest kinship words in Hindi, used well beyond the literal relative.
Bhabhi vs similar terms
Bhabhi is what a husband's siblings call his wife. Between the wives of two brothers the terms shift: they are jethani and devrani to each other, ranked by their husbands' ages. And the mirror of bhabhi across a marriage is the jija — your sister's husband.
Did you know?
The bhabhi–devar bond (a wife and her husband's younger brother) is one of the few Hindi relationships where open teasing and joking are traditionally welcome — and by custom it's the bhabhi who finds her devar a bride.
Frequently asked questions
What does Bhabhi mean in Hindi?
Bhabhi (भाभी) means your brother's wife. Her husband's brothers and sisters address her as Bhabhi or Bhabhiji, and the word is also used socially for friends' and neighbours' wives.
What is the difference between Bhabhi and Jethani?
Bhabhi is used by a husband's siblings for his wife. Jethani is used specifically by another daughter-in-law: it means the wife of the husband's elder brother. The same woman can be bhabhi to one person and jethani to another.
Related terms
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