fbpx

Hebrew word of the week: abba, imma

In many languages, the words for father and mother — being the first words a baby utters — are quite similar, and they include the labial consonants b, p, m; or dental d, t, n; as papa, dad, (Czech) tata, mam(m)a, mommy, nanny; similar words are used in Chinese, French, Italian, Persian, Turkish (in which anne means “mother”), Yiddish and more.*
[additional-authors]
June 25, 2015

In many languages, the words for father and mother — being the first words a baby utters — are quite similar, and they include the labial consonants b, p, m; or dental d, t, n; as papa, dad, (Czech) tata, mam(m)a, mommy, nanny; similar words are used in Chinese, French, Italian, Persian, Turkish (in which anne means “mother”), Yiddish and more.* 

The Hebrew words abba and imma end with an Aramaic suffix, to indicate a vocative form (used when calling someone, as in English, Mom! Dad!) The Hebrew cognates are av for “father,” and em for “mother.”

*So are the word “baby” and other “baby words”: bubba, puppet, mama (“breast, baby food” in other languages; including  mammal, which is a “breast-feeding animal”).


Yona Sabar is a professor of Hebrew and Aramaic in the department of Near Eastern Languages & Cultures at UCLA.

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

Print Issue: The Year Everything Changed | March 13, 2026

Crazy as it might sound, it all started with the Dodgers, and how they won back-to- back World Series in 2024 and 2025. That year, with those two championships on either end, is the exact same year l became a practicing Jew. And I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

Rabbi Jerry Cutler, 91

In 1973, he founded Synagogue for the Performing Arts, drawing the likes of Walter Matthau, Ed Asner and Joan Rivers.

Pies for Pi Day

March 14, or 3/14 is Pi Day in celebration of the mathematical constant, 3.14159 etc. Any excuse to enjoy a classic or creative pie.

It Didn’t Start with Auschwitz

Jews today do have a voice. For the moment. But we have not used it where it counts – in the mainstream media, the halls of power, on campuses, on school boards, in the public square.

Regime Humiliation: No, You Won’t Destroy Israel

After years of terrorizing Israelis with existential threats, the Islamic regime is now worried about its own existence. In a region where the projection of power is everything, that is humiliation.

The War in Iran and the Long-Term Relationship with America

There is a golden opportunity to expose the intellectual bankruptcy of antisemitism based on current identity politics discourse, and to credibly argue that the current struggle is a global confrontation between the forces of terror and oppression and the Free World.

Ladino Shabbat at Sinai

On a recent Shabbat, Sinai celebrated the Ladino tradition and invited me to tell my story.

A Short Fuse

At 73, I know I am on a slippery slope that’s getting slipperier.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.