Emhoff and his kids are Jewish, and "mamaleh" is a Yiddish word that means "little mama" (but is often used as a term of endearment for kids).

How do you say mom in Yiddish?

Mishpacha is family, Ima is mom, Abba is dad, Savta is grandma, and Saba is grandpa.

What's the Hebrew word for grandmother?

The Hebrew word for grandmother is savta. Since Hebrew uses a different alphabet from English, making transliteration necessary, words often exist in several different spellings. In the case of savta, variations are safta, savah or sabta.