How to say 阿嬤

  • Traditional characters: 阿嬤
  • Pinyin (Taiwan standard): ā mà
  • Zhuyin (bopomofo): ㄚ ㄇㄚˋ
  • Meaning: grandma (casual)

Hear it in a Taiwan accent:

阿嬤 in example sentences

Real lines from CiaoSpeak’s graded stories, each with pinyin, an English translation and Taiwan-accent audio.

端午節的時候，我跟家人一起回阿嬤家過節。

Duān wǔ jié de shí hòu wǒ gēn jiā rén yì qǐ huí ā mà jiā guò jié

At Dragon Boat Festival, my family and I go back to Grandma's to celebrate.

From the story 粽子大戰 (The Zongzi War)

阿嬤是台南人，她說粽子一定要用水煮，米才會軟。

ā mà shì Tái nán rén tā shuō zòng zi yí dìng yào yòng shuǐ zhǔ mǐ cái huì ruǎn

Grandma is from Tainan. She says zongzi must be boiled — that's the only way the rice gets soft.

From the story 粽子大戰 (The Zongzi War)

阿嬤問我：「你覺得哪一種好吃？」全家都看著我。

ā mà wèn wǒ nǐ jué de nǎ yì zhǒng hǎo chī quán jiā dōu kàn zhe wǒ

Grandma asked me, 'Which kind do you think is better?' The whole family turned to look at me.

From the story 粽子大戰 (The Zongzi War)

我說：「都好吃。」阿嬤跟爸爸同時搖頭，說我最不誠實。端午節真的很熱鬧。

wǒ shuō dōu hǎo chī ā mà gēn bà ba tóng shí yáo tóu shuō wǒ zuì bù chéng shí Duān wǔ jié zhēn de hěn rè nào

I said, 'Both.' Grandma and Dad shook their heads in unison and called me the least honest person at the table. Dragon Boat Festival really is lively.

From the story 粽子大戰 (The Zongzi War)

我有弟弟，還有阿公阿嬤。喔，還有我先生——他也是工程師，跟你一樣。

wǒ yǒu dì di hái yǒu ā gōng ā mà o hái yǒu wǒ xiān sheng tā yě shì gōng chéng shī gēn nǐ yí yàng

I have a younger brother, and also a grandpa and grandma. Oh — and my husband. He's an engineer too, same as you.

From the story 去買菜 (Grocery Run)

Where 阿嬤 is taught

  • Unit level: TOCFL Novice 1 (CiaoSpeak’s placement, not the official TOCFL word list)
  • Unit: Everyday Words
  • Lesson: Family
  • Taught just before: 阿公
  • Taught just after: 飯