चचेरी बहन (chacherii bahan)
noun
A kinship phrase meaning 'paternal cousin sister' -- the daughter of one's father's brother (chaachaa or kaakaa). The adjective चचेरी (chacherii) agrees in gender with बहन (bahan, sister); the parallel masculine form is चचेरा भाई (chacheraa bhaaii, paternal male cousin).
Sense
1
:
paternal cousin sister (father's brother's daughter)
noun, feminine
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: In North Indian families, a चचेरी बहन (chacherii bahan) growing up in a joint household is often addressed and treated exactly like a real sister (bahan) -- there is no sense of 'lesser' closeness the way 'cousin' can feel in English. This reflects the wider Hindi kinship system, which is far more precise than English: every relative's exact relationship (paternal vs. maternal, elder vs. younger) typically gets its own dedicated term rather than one catch-all word.
Common Mistakes: 1) English 'cousin' does not map onto one Hindi word -- you must specify both the side of the family and the gender: चचेरी बहन (chacherii bahan) is specifically the daughter of your father's brother, while a maternal-side female cousin is मौसेरी बहन (mauserii bahan) or ममेरी बहन (mamerii bahan) depending on which parent's sibling. 2) Learners often just say 'cousin' as a loanword in casual speech, but in a family context Hindi speakers almost always specify the relationship type, since the joint-family structure treats these cousins socially like siblings.
Sample Sentences:
मेरी चचेरी बहन दिल्ली में रहती है।
My cousin (paternal uncle's daughter) lives in Delhi.
(merii chacherii bahan dillii men rahtii hai।)
कल मेरी चचेरी बहन की शादी है।
Tomorrow is my cousin's wedding.
(kal merii chacherii bahan kii shaadii hai।)
बचपन में मैं और मेरी चचेरी बहन साथ खेला करते थे।
In childhood, my cousin and I used to play together.
(bachpan men main aur merii chacherii bahan saath khelaa karte the।)
अगर मेरी कोई चचेरी बहन होती, तो घर में इतना सन्नाटा न होता।
If I had a cousin sister, the house wouldn't be this quiet.
(agar merii koii chacherii bahan hotii, to ghar men itnaa sannaataa n hotaa।)
मेरी चचेरी बहन ने पिछले साल एम.बी.ए. पूरा किया।
My cousin completed her MBA last year.
(merii chacherii bahan ne pichhle saal em.bii.e. pooraa kiyaa।)
मैं चाहता हूँ कि मेरी चचेरी बहन इस दिवाली हमारे साथ रहे।
I want my cousin to stay with us this Diwali.
(main chaahtaa hoon ki merii chacherii bahan is divaalii hamaare saath rahe।)
मेरी चचेरी बहन को अपनी सगी बहन की तरह ही समझा जाता है।
My cousin is regarded exactly like a real (birth) sister.
(merii chacherii bahan ko apnii sagii bahan kii tarah hii samjhaa jaataa hai।)
अपनी चचेरी बहन का ख्याल रखना, वह अकेली रहती है।
Take care of your cousin, she lives alone.
(apnii chacherii bahan kaa khyaal rakhnaa, vah akelii rahtii hai।)
श्रीमान शर्मा की चचेरी बहन इस समारोह में मुख्य अतिथि होंगी।
Mr. Sharma's cousin sister will be the chief guest at this ceremony.
(shriimaan sharmaa kii chacherii bahan is samaaroh men mukhy atithi hongii।)
मेरी चचेरी बहन राखी बाँधने हर साल हमारे घर आती है।
My cousin comes to our house every year to tie rakhi.
(merii chacherii bahan raakhii baandhne har saal hamaare ghar aatii hai।)
क्या तुम्हारी कोई चचेरी बहन भी इसी स्कूल में पढ़ती है?
Does any cousin sister of yours also study in this same school?
(kyaa tumhaarii koii chacherii bahan bhii isii skool men padhtii hai?)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct):
चचेरी बहन
(chacherii bahan)
(sg.f.oblique):
चचेरी बहन
(chacherii bahan)
(pl.f.direct):
चचेरी बहनें
(chacherii bahnen)
(pl.f.oblique):
चचेरी बहनों
(chacherii bahnon)