Kerala families tease each other constantly, and most of it is love in disguise. A grandmother calls a toddler a little rascal; an aunty calls a nephew a sleepyhead; a cousin says someone "made him drink water". If you take these words literally, you will be confused or even hurt. In this episode: • Pet names and sweet words • Teasing nicknames • Trouble and hard times • Praise, moods and overdoing it • Affection or rudeness? how to tell • An invented scene: sunday morning • Language bridge • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: ചക്കരേ (chakkare) = sweetie. From ചക്കര (chakkara) = jaggery, a sweet brown sugar. എന്റെ ചക്കര മോളേ (ente chakkara mole) = My sweet little girl. വാവേ (vaave) = baby. Used for the smallest child in the house. കുഞ്ഞേ (kunje) = little one. മുത്തേ (muthe) = my gem, darling. Used for children and loved ones. പാവം (paavam) = poor thing; also a sweet, harmless person. അവൾ ഒരു പാവമാണ് (aval oru paavamaanu) = She's such a sweet, gentle soul. കളിയാക്കുക (kaliyaakkuka) = to tease, make fun of. എന്നെ കളിയാക്കല്ലേ (enne kaliyaakkalle) = Don't tease me. ഉറക്കംതൂങ്ങി (urakkamthoongi) = sleepyhead. Literally "one who droops with sleep". മടിയൻ (madiyan) = lazybones. From മടി (madi) = laziness. വായാടി (vaayaadi) = chatterbox. Used for anyone who never stops talking. പൊങ്ങച്ചം (pongacham) = showing off. പൊങ്ങച്ചം പറയല്ലേ (pongacham parayalle) = Stop showing off. പണി കിട്ടി! (pani kitti!) = I'm in trouble now! Oops, I've had it! Learn Spoken Malayalam at Home: a complete course in everyday spoken Malayalam for English speakers. Native Malayalam pronunciation, every phrase in Malayalam script, Manglish and English, plus a language bridge comparing Malayalam with other world languages. Listen, repeat out loud, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair.