Bengali Immediate Family: Transliteration for Mother, Father, Sister and Brother
For immediate family in Bengali transliteration, use the forms for your mother, father, sister and brother. The shorter expressions mean “my” plus a family relationship. When you specifically identify someone, the examples add “this is” for your mother, father or brother.
Start with these expressions
| English | Transliteration | Native script |
|---|---|---|
| My mother | amar ma | আমার মা |
| My father | amar baba | আমার বাবা |
| My sister | amar bon | আমার বোন |
| My brother | amar bhai | আমার ভাই |
| This is my mother | eta amar ma | এটা আমার মা |
| This is my father | eta amar baba | এটা আমার বাবা |
| This is my brother | eta amar bhai | এটা আমার ভাই |
Choose a relationship phrase or an identification
The four shorter examples are useful noun phrases: they express “my mother,” “my father,” “my sister,” and “my brother.” Use one when the relationship itself is the information you want to give, or when the surrounding conversation already makes the person clear. The phrase list is the basis for these complete meanings.
A different situation is identifying a particular person. The examples for mother, father and brother add the meaning “this is,” making them suitable when you are indicating someone in a photograph or introducing who a person is. This is a practical contrast, not a rule that makes the shorter forms unusable: a short phrase can still answer a question in context.
The dictionary evidence separately supports the possession term as “my” or “mine,” and records the mother and father terms with familiar meanings [1][2][3]. It does not independently establish every complete sentence or every family term in the selected examples. The list includes a sister relationship phrase, but no complete sister-identification example.
[1] Source: dsal.uchicago.edu.
[2] Source: dsal.uchicago.edu.
[3] Source: dsal.uchicago.edu.
Try it
You are showing a family photograph and want to identify your mother. Which example fits the situation?
Choose your answer before reading on.
Check your answer:
Use expression 5 in the table above.
This example is the complete identification for your mother, so it adds the meaning “this is” rather than giving only the relationship phrase. Choose it when your immediate purpose is to point out or identify that person.
Look at one family photo and decide whether you are naming a relationship or identifying a person. Select a shorter phrase for the first purpose and a supplied complete identification for the second.
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