In English you call your brother "Tom" and your aunt "Aunt Sue", and almost everyone older is just "you". In a Kerala home, what you call someone shows where they sit in the family: older or younger, mother's side or father's side. Calling an older sibling-in-law by first name, or saying "you" without a kinship word, can sound cold or even rude. In this episode: • The core family • Grandparents, uncles and aunts • Calling someone: the vocative • Name plus etta and echi • Kinship for strangers • An invented scene: a family visit • Language bridge • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: അച്ഛൻ (achan) = father അമ്മ (amma) = mother ചേട്ടൻ (chettan) = older brother ചേച്ചി (chechi) = older sister അനിയൻ (aniyan) = younger brother അനിയത്തി (aniyathi) = younger sister മകൻ (makan) = son, spoken as മോൻ (mon) മകൾ (makal) = daughter, spoken as മോൾ (mol) മക്കൾ (makkal) = children, sons and daughters അപ്പൂപ്പൻ (appooppan) = grandfather അമ്മാവൻ (ammaavan) = uncle, the mother's brother വല്യച്ഛൻ (valyachan) = father's older brother ചെറിയച്ഛൻ (cheriyachan) = father's younger brother വല്യമ്മ (valyamma) = mother's older sister, or the wife of valyachan കുഞ്ഞമ്മ (kunjamma) = mother's younger sister അമ്മേ (amme) = Mum! (calling) അച്ഛാ (achaa) = Dad! (calling) ചേട്ടാ (chettaa) = Hey, older brother! ചേച്ചീ (chechee) = Hey, older sister! മോനേ (mone) = son, dear boy മോളേ (mole) = daughter, dear girl അമ്മേ, ചായ റെഡിയാണോ? (amme, chaaya readyaano?) = Mum, is the tea ready? 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.