Elder in Malayalam
Elder, as in elder brother or elder sister, is മൂത്ത (moottha) in Malayalam, an adjective placed before the relation. It is about age among people; an older object takes a different word. Both the long oo and the double tt need their full length.
Most common translation
Older, elder, greater in age; used especially of an elder brother or sister. For an older thing Malayalam says pazhaya.
അവൻ എന്റെ മൂത്ത സഹോദരനാണ്.
avan ente moottha sahodaranaanu.
He is my older brother.
All Malayalam words for “elder”
- മൂത്ത (moottha) — Older, elder, greater in age; used especially of an elder brother or sister. For an older thing Malayalam says pazhaya.
- അക്കന് (akkan) — Elder sister, wife of elder brother.
- അഗ്രജന് (agrajan) — The first-born son, elder brother.
- സഹോദരി (sahodari) — Sister, a female sibling, called chechi when elder and anujathi when younger.
- സഹോദരൻ (sahodaran) — Brother, a male sibling, called chettan when elder and aniyan when younger.
മൂത്ത is the general adjective. അക്കന് names an elder sister outright and അഗ്രജന് an elder brother or first-born son, both narrower and more formal than the adjective.
Common questions
How do you say elder in Malayalam?
മൂത്ത (moottha).
Is there a single word for elder sister?
Yes, അക്കന്, which in some families also covers the wife of an elder brother.