Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
In Marathi, most living beings follow their natural gender, while inanimate objects require memorization of endings.
- Males are masculine: 'mulga' (boy) is masculine.
- Females are feminine: 'mulgi' (girl) is feminine.
- Inanimate objects vary: 'ghar' (house) is neuter, 'pustak' (book) is neuter.
Gendered Pronouns and Adjectives
| Gender | Pronoun (That) | Adjective Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Masculine
|
To
|
-a
|
To motha mulga
|
|
Feminine
|
Ti
|
-i
|
Ti mothi mulgi
|
|
Neuter
|
Te
|
-e
|
Te mothe ghar
|
Meanings
Marathi nouns are categorized into three genders: Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter. Semantic gender applies primarily to living beings.
Natural Gender
Gender based on biological sex of humans and animals.
“तो वाघ आहे (He is a tiger).”
“ती गाय आहे (She is a cow).”
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Affirmative
|
Noun + ahe
|
To mulga ahe
|
|
Negative
|
Noun + nahi
|
To mulga nahi
|
|
Question
|
Ka + Noun + ahe?
|
To mulga ahe ka?
|
|
Adjective
|
Adj + Noun
|
Motha mulga
|
|
Plural M
|
Te + Noun
|
Te mulge
|
|
Plural F
|
Tya + Noun
|
Tya mulgi
|
격식 수준 스펙트럼
ते मोठे घर आहे. (Describing property)
ते मोठं घर आहे. (Describing property)
ते मोठं घर हाय. (Describing property)
ते मोठं घरच आहे. (Describing property)
Marathi Gender Map
Masculine
- mulga boy
Feminine
- mulgi girl
Neuter
- ghar house
수준별 예문
तो मुलगा आहे.
He is a boy.
ती मुलगी आहे.
She is a girl.
ते पुस्तक आहे.
It is a book.
तो कुत्रा आहे.
It is a dog.
तो मोठा मुलगा आहे.
He is a big boy.
ती मोठी मुलगी आहे.
She is a big girl.
ते मोठे पुस्तक आहे.
It is a big book.
ती सुंदर गाडी आहे.
It is a beautiful car.
त्याने पुस्तक वाचले.
He read the book.
तिने आंबा खाल्ला.
She ate a mango.
ते घर जुने आहे.
That house is old.
तो रस्ता लांब आहे.
That road is long.
त्यांनी लिहिलेली पत्रे खूप महत्त्वाची आहेत.
The letters written by them are very important.
तिने घेतलेला निर्णय योग्य होता.
The decision she took was correct.
ते काम पूर्ण झाले आहे.
That work is completed.
तो माणूस खूप हुशार आहे.
That man is very intelligent.
तिची वागणूक अत्यंत सभ्य आहे.
Her behavior is extremely polite.
हे पुस्तक वाचताना मला खूप आनंद झाला.
I felt very happy while reading this book.
त्यांच्या विचारांची दिशा स्पष्ट आहे.
The direction of their thoughts is clear.
ही समस्या सोडवणे कठीण आहे.
Solving this problem is difficult.
भाषेतील लिंगभेद हा एक गुंतागुंतीचा विषय आहे.
Gender in language is a complex subject.
साहित्यातील पात्रांचे लिंग त्यांच्या स्वभावावर परिणाम करते.
The gender of characters in literature affects their nature.
ऐतिहासिक संदर्भात या शब्दाचा अर्थ बदलला आहे.
The meaning of this word has changed in historical context.
तिच्या बोलण्यात एक वेगळाच गोडवा आहे.
There is a unique sweetness in her speech.
혼동하기 쉬운
Learners often default to masculine for all non-human objects.
Forgetting to change the adjective ending.
Mixing up 'to' (pronoun) and 'motha' (adjective).
자주 하는 실수
To mulgi
Ti mulgi
Te mulga
To mulga
Ti pustak
Te pustak
To pustak
Te pustak
Mothi mulga
Motha mulga
Mothe mulgi
Mothi mulgi
Motha ghar
Mothe ghar
Ti pani
Te pani
To gadi
Ti gadi
Te rasta
To rasta
Incorrect honorific gender
Correct honorific gender
문장 패턴
तो ___ आहे.
ती ___ आहे.
ते ___ आहे.
___ खूप मोठा आहे.
Real World Usage
ती माझी बेस्ट फ्रेंड आहे.
ते जेवण गरम आहे.
तो माझा अनुभव आहे.
ती गाडी कधी येईल?
ते काम झालं का?
ते पुस्तक उघडा.
Learn with the article
Don't guess
Look at the ending
Respectful speech
Smart Tips
Learn the article with the noun.
Check the ending vowel.
Use plural forms.
Review your adjective endings.
발음
Gendered endings
Ensure the final vowel is clear to indicate gender.
Statement
To mulga ahe ↘
Falling intonation for facts.
암기하기
기억법
Remember: 'A' for Adam (Masculine), 'I' for Ivy (Feminine), 'E' for Everything else (Neuter).
시각적 연상
Imagine a boy wearing an 'A' shirt, a girl wearing an 'I' shirt, and a house wearing an 'E' hat.
Rhyme
Masculine ends in A, Feminine ends in I, Neuter ends in E, that's the Marathi way!
Story
A boy (mulga) walks to his house (ghar). He sees a girl (mulgi) reading a book (pustak). He says 'To mulga', she says 'Ti mulgi', they both look at the book and say 'Te pustak'.
Word Web
챌린지
Label 5 items in your room with their gender today.
문화 노트
Gender is deeply embedded in social address.
Derived from Sanskrit gender systems.
대화 시작하기
तो मुलगा कोण आहे?
हे पुस्तक कोणाचे आहे?
ती गाडी तुमची आहे का?
तुम्हाला कोणते फळ आवडते?
일기 주제
자주 하는 실수
Test Yourself
___ मुलगा आहे.
What is the gender of 'ghar'?
Find and fix the mistake:
Ti mulga आहे.
मुलगी / ती / आहे / चांगली
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
To ___ (motha) mulga.
All inanimate objects are neuter.
A: ती गाडी कोणाची आहे? B: ___ माझी गाडी आहे.
Score: /8
연습 문제
8 exercises___ मुलगा आहे.
What is the gender of 'ghar'?
Find and fix the mistake:
Ti mulga आहे.
मुलगी / ती / आहे / चांगली
Match: mulga, mulgi, pustak
To ___ (motha) mulga.
All inanimate objects are neuter.
A: ती गाडी कोणाची आहे? B: ___ माझी गाडी आहे.
Score: /8
자주 묻는 질문 (8)
It's a grammatical feature of Indo-Aryan languages to categorize nouns.
Yes, always check the dictionary for inanimate objects.
Often they end in -e or -a (in specific cases).
Yes, based on their biological sex.
Mostly, but there are differences in specific nouns.
No, that will sound very incorrect.
Yes, plural forms have their own gendered endings.
It takes practice, but the patterns become natural.
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
El/La
Marathi includes a neuter category.
Le/La
Marathi's neuter is distinct.
Der/Die/Das
German gender is often arbitrary; Marathi is slightly more predictable.
None
Japanese has no gender agreement.
Al-
Arabic gender is strictly binary.
None
Chinese lacks gendered pronouns.
