Vocabulary 2: The family in Quechua

In this section we will see the nouns that refer to people and family members.

Family: Ayllu

Note that after centuries of living with the Spanish language, there are many Spanish words that are used daily in Quechua, this free course is not the place to discuss whether this is right or wrong; I only inform you to take it into account.

I am in favor of a language evolving and enriching itself by acquiring words and concepts from other languages that do not exist in Quechua (for example, what is related to technology, science and other modern things), but I don’t like what words that are perfectly understandable in Quechua are Spanishized.

First let’s look at the Quechua words that are used daily among Quechua-speakers:

Noun	Meaning
Qhari	Man, male
Warmi	Woman
Wiraqocha	Mister, gentleman
Wayna	Boy
Sipas	Girl
Tayta	Father, dad. It is very common to use the Spanish word ‘papa’ instead of tayta.
Mama	Mother, mom
Wayqe	Brother of a man.
Tura	Brother of a woman.
Pana	Sister of a man.
Ñaña	Sister of a woman.
Qosa	Husband
Churi	Son
Ususi	Daughter
Wawa	Baby | Son or daughter.
Qatay	Son in law
Qhachun	Daughter in law

Now I show you other words that are used little, very little or even almost nothing in everyday speech, because by force of habit many Quechua-speakers use Spanish to refer to the following concepts:

Quechua	Spanishized	English
Qoya	Señora	Mrs.
Warmi, qoya	Esposa	Wife
Apucha, machula	Abuelo	Grandfather
Hatucha, mamaku	Abuela	Grandmother
Yaya, kaka	Tío	Uncle
Ipa	Tía	Aunt
Mulla	Sobrino, sobrina	Nephew, niece
Sispa wayqe	Primo, prima	Cousin
Haway	Nieto, nieta	Grandson, granddaughter
Kisma	Suegra (del varón)	Mother-in-law (of man)
Aqe, kiwachi	Suegra (de la mujer)	Mother-in-law (of woman)