ਚਾਚੀ

Chachi (ਚਾਚੀ) is the Punjabi word for your father's younger brother's wife: the aunt who marries your chacha and joins your father's household. In a joint family she often lives under the same roof, and children address her with respect as Chachi Ji. English calls her simply aunt, the same word it uses for every aunt.

What does chachi mean in Punjabi?

Chachi names one exact person: the wife of your chacha, your father's younger brother. The title only exists because Punjabi separates your father's brothers by age. Your father's older brother is your taya and his wife is your tai, while his younger brother is your chacha and his wife is your chachi.

She is the feminine partner of chacha, as the kinship lists pair them: chacha and chachi, taya and tai. Her children are your chacher cousins, counted as close as brothers and sisters in a joint family, and in the father's house she ranks by her husband's place among the brothers.

How is a chachi different from a tai?

The difference sits with their husbands, not with the women themselves. A tai is married to your taya, your father's older brother, and a chachi is married to your chacha, his younger brother. In the order of the house the tai is the elder aunt and the chachi the younger, and each title tells you which brother she married.

How is a chachi different from a mami?

The two titles put the aunt on opposite sides of the family. Your chachi is on your father's side, the wife of his younger brother, while your mami is on your mother's side, the wife of her brother. A Punjabi child hearing either word knows at once which house the aunt belongs to.