दादाजीDadajiPaternal Grandfather
Dadaji (दादाजी) is your paternal grandfather in Hindi — your father's father. The base word is dada, with the honorific -ji attached as standard respect for an elder of his standing. Hindi never lumps grandfathers together: the father's father is always dada, distinct from the mother's father.
Who is your Dadaji?
In the joint families of North India, dadaji is traditionally the patriarch under whose roof his sons raise their own children, making him a daily presence in his grandchildren's lives rather than an occasional visitor. He is the family's living archive — the one who remembers who married whom three generations back — and often the softest touch in the house, indulging grandchildren in ways he never indulged his own sons. Lineage, surname, and ancestral property all flow through his line, which is why Hindi keeps his side of the family grammatically distinct.
How it's used
Grandchildren address him as Dadaji with the formal aap, and refer to someone else's paternal grandfather the same way. For example: "Dadaji, humein apne bachpan ka kissa sunaiye." — "Grandfather, tell us a story from your childhood."
Dadaji vs similar terms
Dada is strictly your father's father; your mother's father is nana. English collapses both into grandfather, but a Hindi speaker never confuses them — dadaji belongs to your paternal home, nanaji to your nanihal. Note also that in Marathi and Bengali, dada means elder brother, a frequent source of cross-language confusion.
Frequently asked questions
What does Dadaji mean in Hindi?
Dadaji means paternal grandfather in Hindi — your father's father. It combines dada with the respect suffix -ji, and it applies only to the father's side of the family.
What is the difference between Dada and Nana?
Dada is your father's father; nana is your mother's father. Hindi assigns every grandparent a side-specific term — dada-dadi on the paternal side, nana-nani on the maternal — so the single English word grandfather always splits in two.
Related terms
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