Shrimati, also spelt Srimati, Shreemati, Shrimathi, and Shrimatty (, ; abbreviated as Smt.) is a traditional
Indian honorific used to address or refer to married women. It is equivalent to the English title "
Mrs." and is commonly prefixed to the name of a married woman in many Indian languages including
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
,
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
,
Bengali,
Marathi,
Tamil.
Etymology
The word Shrimati originates from Sanskrit, in which
Shri means "wealth," "prosperity," or is used as a respectful title, and -mati is a suffix meaning "possessing" or "having." Together, Shrimati conveys a respectful address to a woman.
Usage
Shrimati is traditionally used before the name of a married woman in formal, social, and official contexts in India and among Indian diaspora communities worldwide. It serves as a mark of respect and is often abbreviated as Smt. in written communication.
Kumari
Kumari (; ) is a traditional honorific used in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
, and other South Asian countries to address or refer to an unmarried woman.
It is similar to the English title "
Miss
Miss (pronounced ) is an English-language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as " Doctor" or "Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century ...
" and is usually placed before a woman's name to indicate her unmarried status.
Unlike Shrimati, which is used for married women, Kumari explicitly denotes unmarried women, reflecting cultural and social distinctions in many South Asian communities. It is commonly used in formal settings such as official documents, invitations, and spoken communication.
In some cultural and religious contexts, Kumari also refers to a
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...
worshipped as a symbol of purity and divine femininity.
Although modern usage is evolving, Kumari remains an important and widely recognized honorific in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
.
References
Titles in India
Women's social titles
History of women in India
Honorifics
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