देवरानीDevraniHusband's Younger Brother's Wife
Devrani (देवरानी) is your husband's younger brother's wife — the bride your devar brings home. Like jethani, the word is spoken between daughters-in-law: only the elder brother's wife calls anyone devrani.
Who is your Devrani?
The devrani is the junior daughter-in-law, and the fascinating detail is what makes her junior: not her age but her husband's. A woman of forty who marries the youngest brother is still devrani to a twenty-five-year-old jethani, because in the joint family the wives inherit their husbands' places in the birth order. The devrani-jethani pair — two women from different families sharing one kitchen — has powered a century of family lore, from festival cooperation to gently simmering competition over whose side of the household shines.
How it's used
The jethani refers to her as devrani and usually calls her by name, since she is the junior. For example: "मेरी देवरानी के हाथ की मिठाई की सब तारीफ करते हैं" — "Everyone praises the sweets my devrani (husband's younger brother's wife) makes."
Devrani vs similar terms
Devrani and jethani are two views of one relationship between brothers' wives — junior and senior. Do not confuse the devrani with the nanad: the nanad is the husband's own sister, born in the family, while the devrani married into it just as you did. Men married to sisters, by contrast, are sadhu to each other with no ranking at all.
Frequently asked questions
What does Devrani mean in Hindi?
Devrani (देवरानी) means your husband's younger brother's wife — the wife of your devar. The term is used by the elder brother's wife, who is in turn the devrani's jethani.
Can a Devrani be older than her Jethani?
Yes. The titles follow the husbands' birth order, not the women's ages. Whoever marries the younger brother is the devrani, even if she is older in years than the elder brother's wife.
Related terms
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