All Punjabi terms

ਪੜਦਾਦੀ ਜੀPardadijiPaternal Great-Grandmother

Pardadiji (ਪੜਦਾਦੀ ਜੀ) is your paternal great-grandmother — the mother of your Dada and wife of your Pardada, three generations above you on your father's side.

How your Pardadiji connects to you

Who is your Pardadiji?

A Pardadi is usually the oldest woman in the family, and Punjabi households treat her as a living archive: the keeper of names, feuds, recipes, and the stories of migration that shaped so many Punjabi families. In many homes her cot is the gathering point of the courtyard, where the youngest generation hears the oldest stories. Her blessing — a hand on the head of a new bride or a newborn Parpota — is sought precisely because so few families have four generations alive at once.

How it's used

Descendants call her Pardadi ji, though small children often blur her together with Dadi ji and no one minds. Example: "Pardadi ji sau saal de ho gaye ne" — "Great-grandmother has turned one hundred."

Where Pardadiji comes from

Pardadi is your dada's mother — the par- prefix stepping one generation further back.

Pardadiji vs similar terms

The Pardadi anchors the father's line; a great-grandmother on your mother's side is your Parnani instead. Keep her distinct from your Dadi as well — the Dadi is your father's mother, the Pardadi your father's grandmother.

Frequently asked questions

What does Pardadiji mean in Punjabi?

Pardadiji (ਪੜਦਾਦੀ ਜੀ) means paternal great-grandmother — your Dada's mother. She is one generation above your Dadi in the paternal line.

What is the difference between Pardadi and Parnani?

A Pardadi is a great-grandmother on your father's side of the family; a Parnani is on your mother's side. Punjabi keeps the two lines separate at every generation.

What is the difference between Dadi and Pardadi?

Your Dadi is your father's mother; your Pardadi is your father's grandmother. The prefix par- steps one more generation back.

Related terms

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