Grogu's First Word Was Actually 'Patu' – But What Does It Mean?
Warning: This article contains major spoilers for the second episode of "The Mandalorian" season 3.
Our little Grogu is growing up! In the latest episode of "The Mandalorian" season 3, he arrives at Peli Motto's (Amy Sedaris) repair shop and says the word "Patu." She thinks it's his first word, and while it very well may be the first one we've heard, it isn't the first time we've heard it. In fact, the cutest little thing this side of a baby Ewok has been saying "Patu" since season 2 started. It's not written out in the closed captioning, so you — like me — might have originally thought it was just one of the adorable little noises he makes. Still, after rewatching the places where he says it in the second season (via a YouTube video from Janani R) and where he says it for the first time to Peli in "The Book of Boba Fett" (via another video from Simpy69), it's clearly a distinct word.
What does "Patu" mean in Grogu's language? We don't even know the name of his species, so it's speculation, of course. Still, we can look at the times he's said it and draw a few conclusions.
All the times Grogu says 'Patu'
Here's a collection of instances where our little friend utters his single word:
- He says it in season 2 when Mando catches him eating Frog Lady's eggs.
- He says it while poking his moving soup with a spoon.
- After he steals a blue macaron cookie sleeve at school. He says it when he sees the kid he stole them from looking at him.
- When Mando and Grogu are walking away from the bounty hunter Lang (Michael Biehn) as they set off to find Ahsoka.
- In "The Book of Boba Fett" when he sees Peli Motto from the X-wing fighter.
- In "The Mandalorian" season 3, episode 2 when Mando shows him the map of the planet Mandalore and its moons.
- Later in the same episode, he says it in response to Mando telling him, "We're on our own from here."
Before I dive into an examination of what "Patu" could mean, I do want to at least mention the possibility that this could be sort of like the word "Groot" that the Marvel character of the same name uses for everything. It could also be just a nonsense word that he responds with ... sort of an acknowledgment of something with a noise that sounds like speech. Some cats, for instance, will answer any question asked of them with a series of meows. It sounds like they're "talking," but obviously it's just a cat sound.
The possibilities I came up with are, "I'm hungry" (or "Hungry, I am," if we're going with his species' odd syntax), "Papa," "sorry," and a sort of combo of "hello" and "goodbye," the way the Hawaiian word "aloha" can mean both.
What does it mean, buddy?
Let's start with "I'm hungry." That one does seem to fit because, hey, a snack attack can happen at any time, especially when you're tiny. It could be his explanation for eating Frog Lady eggs since Papa Mando clearly doesn't want him to have those. It certainly works when he's about to eat something living in that soup bowl. Like, "Sorry, soup monster. I'm hungry, and you're in a bowl, so I don't have a choice here." It would be the right explanation for when he steals cookies from his classmate.
It doesn't really fit when they're walking away from Lang, but hey, negotiations could make the little guy hungry, so it's not entirely out. They are pretty far away by the time he says it. He could be hungry when his ship gets to Peli's place. However, unless Grogu is another form of Galactus, he's not asking to eat a few planets when Mando shows him Mandalore and its moons. It could still work if it's a non-sequitur, but he does seem to be paying close attention.
"Sorry" might work in a few places. He could be sorry he ate the Frog Lady eggs, sorry he's going to eat a soup monster (though he wasn't sorry when he ate the frogs in season 1), and sorry for stealing the cookies. However, it doesn't make sense when they're walking away from Lang, showing up at Peli's place, or learning about navigation. I think that one is out.
What's that, Grogu? Is Mando in the well?
The next up on the list of possibilities is "Papa." It works when Papa is the one scolding him for eating eggs. He could be calling for Papa to explain why his freaking soup is moving. The cookies might be a stretch, but it could be, "Papa, he wants his cookies back, but I want to eat them," or "Papa says I can eat whatever I want." It could even be, "Papa, come get me because, oops, I stole these cookies with my Force powers." That one is a little light on meaning, but moving on.
When they leave Lang, he could be turning to Papa to ask something else, or wondering why Papa just said he was there for luck. He could certainly be asking for Papa's location when he gets to Peli in "The Book of Boba Fett." He could be saying it because he's getting navigation lessons, and Mando just started saying "we" in reference to the two of them as Mandalorians.
Excuse me. I have something in my eye.
Hi, Papa Mando!
Last on that list is a combo of hi and goodbye. With the eggs, it could have been, "Hi, Papa! Eggs are yummy!" Creepy as it is, he could be greeting or bidding farewell to the soup monster before he eats it. (I mean, he does eat eggs with frog embryos in them and live frogs as well.) He could be saying hi to the kid he took the cookies from because he doesn't realize it's wrong. Saying goodbye to Lang is a given, and hello to Peli. It's only the last one that I'm not sure about. When he's learning about Mandalore and the moons — including Concordia, where Mando tells Grogu he grew up — he could be saying hi to Papa's homeworld.
That one might be a stretch, but having spent a bunch of time around my niece and nephew when they were little, it could work. They would say hello to a flower if I pointed one out, a door we were about to go into, or a book I picked out to read to them.
When he learns to call Mando 'Papa,' I'll be dead of cute
You know, all of this said, he could have learned a single word in his language before he was given away to the Jedi Temple, where other languages were spoken. His language likely wasn't — we don't even know the name of his species (though we do know some things about Grogu's secret origin). We've only seen Yoda and Yaddle before this, neither of them speaking anything but whatever language the film is being shown in. He could also be doing a common thing with babies where they learn a single word and use it for everything. You know, how once they learn to say "Mama," Dad is Mama, siblings are Mama, the dog is Mama, and lunch is Mama.
Whatever it is, it's a good way to break in before the little guy actually learns the word "Papa" (or the equivalent in Mando'a, which is Buir, meaning both mother and father). Hearing him call Din that is going to turn me into a puddle of goo, so maybe it's best to just stick to "Patu" for now.
"The Mandalorian" season 3 is currently streaming on Disney+ with new episodes each Wednesday.