🇺🇸
/ˈæ.jə/
🇺🇸
/ˈæ.jə/
🇬🇧
/ˈɑː.jə/
🇬🇧
/ˈɑː.jə/
Plural
ayahs
An 'ayah' is a traditional term—used especially in colonial-era India and Southeast Asia—for a female domestic worker who cares for children, often living with the family and serving as both nanny and trusted companion. Think of her as the warm, capable heart of a household: she soothes tantrums, teaches nursery rhymes in multiple languages, and knows exactly when your tea needs sugar—even before you ask.
The British family relied on their loyal ayah to raise their three children while stationed in Calcutta.
In 19th-century Singapore, many European households employed an ayah who spoke Tamil, Malay, and English.
Her grandmother often spoke fondly of the ayah who carried her on her hip and sang lullabies under the banyan tree.
The museum exhibit featured photographs, letters, and a recreated ayah's trunk filled with embroidered shawls and baby shoes.
Though the term is now rare in everyday use, 'ayah' appears frequently in postcolonial literature and historical memoirs.