Nipote mia, sei unica!
Granddaughter of mine, you’re one of a kind!
Here is your one-stop shop to learn all about how to say granddaughter, or nipote, in Italian, how to pronounce it and examples of how to use it. Find out about the term of endearment nipotina, which means little granddaughter, and other related granddaughter words, like granddaughters (nipoti), youngest granddaughter (nipote più piccola), and great granddaughter (bisnipote). I’ll also explain how to use possessives correctly with family member names. Since the words nipote and nipoti (granddaughter and granddaughters) have many other meanings too, I’ll teach you some handy tricks for telling them all apart.
Table of Contents
GRANDDAUGHTER IN ITALIAN – NIPOTE
Nipote means granddaughter in Italian. Una nipote is a granddaughter, while la nipote means the granddaughter.
The pronunciation of una nipote and la nipote is: OOH-nah nee-POH-teh, lah nee-POH-teh
Listen to how to pronounce nipote here:
La nipote di Stefano adora i cani.
Stefano’s granddaughter loves dogs.
The word nipote has many meanings in Italian in addition to granddaughter. It also means grandson, grandchild, niece and nephew as well. Mamma mia, how to know what’s what? Stay tuned for tips on how to tell all these nipotes apart.
NIPOTINA – A TERM OF ENDEARMENT
Nipotina, or little granddaughter, is a term of endearment, and an especially affectionate way to say granddaughter in Italian.
The pronunciation of nipotina is: nee-poh-TEE-nah
Listen to how to pronounce nipotina here:
Nipotina quanto ti voglio bene!
(Little) granddaughter I love you so much!
GRANDDAUGHTERS IN ITALIAN
Nipoti means granddaughters in Italian. Nipoti is the plural of nipote.
Nipotine means little granddaughters in Italian, and it is the plural of nipotina.
The pronunciation of nipoti and nipotine of is: nee-POH-tee and nee-poh-TEE-neh
Listen to how to pronounce nipoti and nipotine here:
Le nipoti di Vincenzo abitano in Sicilia.
Vincenzo’s granddaughters live in Sicily.
Nipoti doesn’t just mean granddaughters: it also means grandsons, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Keep reading for tips on keeping them all straight!
GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER IN ITALIAN
Pronipote and bisnipote both mean great granddaughter in Italian, and can be used interchangeably.
The pronunciation of pronipote and bisnipote is: proh-nee-POH-teh and beez-nee-POH-teh
Listen to how to pronounce pronipote and bisnipote here:
È appena nata la bisnipote di Carla!
Carla’s great granddaughter was just born!
MY GRANDDAUGHTER: ITALIAN POSSESSIVES
To say my granddaughter, use mia nipote. Usually possessives in Italian also require the direct article (the). For example: la mia amica means my (female) friend. However, family members are a big exception.
Do not use the direct article with the SINGULAR, unaltered nouns of most family members. If there is an adjective before or after the family member, use the article. Also, use the article with the possessive loro.
So:
| mia nipote is my granddaughter tua nipote is your granddaughter (informal you) sua nipote is his/her/your granddaughter (formal you) | nostra nipote is our granddaughter vostra nipote your granddaughter (plural you) |
But:
La loro nipote is their granddaughter
La mia nipote più piccola is my youngest granddaughter
La mia nipotina is my little granddaughter
ITALIAN PET NAMES FOR GRANDDAUGHTERS
Here are some terms of endearment that grandparents use when talking to their granddaughters:
Piccola means little one
Piccola mia means my little one
Piccina means little one
Principessa means princess
Tesoro means treasure
Amore means love
Amore della nonna, amore del nonno means grandma’s sweetheart, grandpa’s sweetheart
Cucciola means pup, or cub
Stellina means little star
Cara means dear
Vieni principessa, mettiamo il giubottino e andiamo al parco.
Come princess, let’s put your jacket on and go to the park.
When grandparents say I love you to their granddaughters, they use the phrase Ti voglio bene.
Tesoro mio ti voglio bene.
I love you my treasure.
In Italian there are two ways to say I love you, so make sure you use the right one to avoid a super awkward exchange! Ti voglio bene (literally, I want you well), is reserved for friends and family. Ti amo is for telling a special someone that you love them in a romantic way.
WHAT DO ITALIAN GIRLS CALL THEIR GRANDPA? GRANDMA? GRANDPARENTS?
Italians call their grandfathers nonno or nonnino. Read all about How to Say Grandpa in Italian.
Italians call their grandmothers nonna or nonnina. Here’s more about How to say Grandma in Italian.
Nonni is the word for grandparents in Italian.
You may want to read more about Relatives in Italian.
GRANDSON IN ITALIAN
As mentioned earlier, nipote also means grandson in Italian.
Un nipote means a grandson, and il nipote means the grandson.
WHICH NIPOTE IS IT?
If nipote is the same exact word for granddaughter and grandson, how is it possible to tell who is being talked about?
The key is in the article that precedes nipote. If the article is masculine (un or il), nipote means grandson. If the article is feminine (una or la), nipote means granddaughter.
Or, you can use possessive pronouns to help you figure out the gender: mio nipote is my grandson, and mia nipote is my granddaughter.
Ho una nipote e un nipote.
I have a granddaughter and a grandson.
Mio nipote abita a Londra, e mia nipote abita a Ravenna.
My grandson lives in London and my granddaughter lives in Ravenna.
In a general context, the masculine form of nipote means grandchild. For example:
Figlio mio, quando ci darai un nipote?
My son, when will you give us a grandchild?
Nipote also means niece and nephew. Use the article or possessive pronoun that precedes nipote to narrow down the person’s gender . . . .but then you must rely on context to figure out if it’s a grandson v. nephew, or a granddaughter v niece! And don’t worry, sometimes it’s impossible to know for sure.
Silvia ha sessant’anni. È appena nata sua prima nipote.
Silvia is sixty years old. Her first granddaughter was just born.
Mirco ha venticinque anni. Ha un nipote.
Mirco is twenty-five years old. He has a nephew.
GRANDSONS, GRANDDAUGHTERS and GRANDCHILDREN
Nipoti means grandchildren, in Italian. As we noted before it also means granddaughters. And to make things more confusing, nipoti also means grandsons!
The trick is to make sure you pay attention to the article and/or possessive pronoun in front of nipoti. I nipoti are the grandsons or the grandchildren in general, and i miei nipoti are my grandsons or my grandchildren. . . .Le nipoti are the granddaughters, and le mie nipoti are my granddaughters.
Le nipoti di Paolo sono bionde, mentre i miei nipoti sono tutti mori.
Paolo’s granddaughters are blond, while my grandsons/grandchildren all have brown hair.
Nipoti also means nieces and/or nephews. Use the article or possessive pronoun that precedes nipoti to narrow down the person’s gender . . . .but then you must rely on context to figure out if it’s grandsons or grandchildren v. nephews, or granddaughters v nieces! Fear not, if you just can’t figure it out, it may be impossible to tell.
Sono troppo giovane per avere nipoti, ho solo ventidue anni!
I’m too young to have grandchildren, I’m only twenty two!