दादीजीDadijiPaternal Grandmother
Dadiji (दादीजी) is your paternal grandmother in Hindi — your father's mother and the wife of your dada. The -ji suffix marks the respect due to her, and the word applies exclusively to the father's side; the mother's mother carries a different name entirely.
Who is your Dadiji?
The dadi of a joint household is often its true power center: keeper of the kitchen's secret recipes, arbiter of festival rituals, and dispenser of dadi maa ke nuskhe — grandmother's home remedies of turmeric milk, ajwain, and ginger that generations swear by. Having raised her sons under one roof, she typically helps raise their children too, so a dadi is many North Indians' first storyteller and first refuge from parental scolding. Her approval, families joke, is harder to win than anyone else's — and worth more.
How it's used
Grandchildren call her Dadiji or the affectionate Dadi Maa, always speaking to her with aap. For example: "Dadiji har raat sone se pehle hamein kahani sunati hain." — "Grandmother tells us a story every night before bed."
Dadiji vs similar terms
Dadi is your father's mother; nani is your mother's mother. The distinction matters in daily life: you belong to your dadi's household through your father, while trips to nani's house are holidays into your mother's childhood world.
Frequently asked questions
What does Dadiji mean in Hindi?
Dadiji means paternal grandmother in Hindi — your father's mother. The respectful -ji is added to dadi, and the term is never used for the maternal grandmother, who is called nani.
What is the difference between Dadi and Nani?
Both are grandmothers, but dadi is on your father's side and nani on your mother's side. Hindi speakers grow up with the difference baked in — dadi usually shares your surname and household, while nani belongs to your mother's family home.
Related terms
Build your family tree with Dadiji on it
Add real family members and see exactly how each kinship term maps to your relatives.
Start building — free