A1 Possessives 1 min read سهل

Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

In Gujarati, possession is shown by adding 'no', 'ni', 'nu', or 'na' to the owner based on the gender/number of the object.

  • Use 'no' for masculine singular objects: 'Maro bhai' (My brother).
  • Use 'ni' for feminine singular objects: 'Mari behen' (My sister).
  • Use 'nu' for neuter singular objects: 'Maru ghar' (My house).
Owner + (no/ni/nu/na) + Object

Meanings

The genitive particle indicates a relationship of possession or association between two nouns.

1

Direct Possession

Indicating ownership of an object or relationship.

“Mari pen (My pen)”

“Ram nu ghar (Ram's house)”

Possessive Particle Agreement

Object Gender/Number Particle Example
Masculine Singular no Ram no bhai
Feminine Singular ni Ram ni behen
Neuter Singular nu Ram nu ghar
Plural (All genders) na Ram na mitro

Pronoun Possessives

Pronoun Masc Fem Neut Plural
I maro mari maru mara
You taro tari taru tara

Reference Table

Reference table for Expressing Possession with 'Pase'
Form Structure Example
Affirmative Owner + Particle + Object Ram no bhai
Negative Owner + Particle + Object + nathi Ram no bhai nathi
Question Owner + Particle + Object + che? Ram no bhai che?
Plural Owner + na + Objects Ram na bhaiyo
Pronoun maro + Object maro bhai
Formal Tamaro + Object Tamaro bhai

طيف الرسمية

رسمي
Aa maru ghar che.

Aa maru ghar che. (Home)

محايد
Aa maru ghar che.

Aa maru ghar che. (Home)

غير رسمي
Aa maru ghar.

Aa maru ghar. (Home)

عامية
Aa maru ghar che.

Aa maru ghar che. (Home)

Possession Logic

Possession

Masc

  • no masculine

Fem

  • ni feminine

Neut

  • nu neuter

Plural

  • na plural

أمثلة حسب المستوى

1

Maro bhai

My brother

2

Mari pen

My pen

3

Maru ghar

My house

4

Mara mitro

My friends

1

Ram ni car

Ram's car

2

Sita nu pustak

Sita's book

3

Taro bhai

Your brother

4

Tari mata

Your mother

1

Aam ni mithas

The sweetness of the mango

2

Ghar na badha loko

All the people of the house

3

School ni chutti

School holiday

4

Office nu kaam

Office work

1

Gujarat na logo

The people of Gujarat

2

Bharat ni sanskruti

India's culture

3

Temno vichar

Their idea

4

Amari team na khiladi

The players of our team

1

Sahitya ni sundarta

The beauty of literature

2

Jivan na sangharsho

The struggles of life

3

Vichar ni spashtata

Clarity of thought

4

Samay nu mahatva

Importance of time

1

Itihas na panna

Pages of history

2

Manavta ni seva

Service of humanity

3

Kala nu pradarshan

Exhibition of art

4

Anubhav na moti

Pearls of experience

سهل الخلط

Expressing Possession with 'Pase' مقابل Adjective vs Possessive

Learners mix up 'maro' (my) with adjectives.

Expressing Possession with 'Pase' مقابل Hindi vs Gujarati

Hindi uses 'ka/ki/ke'.

Expressing Possession with 'Pase' مقابل Singular vs Plural

Using 'no' for plural.

أخطاء شائعة

Ram no behen

Ram ni behen

Behen is feminine.

Ram ni ghar

Ram nu ghar

Ghar is neuter.

Maro behen

Mari behen

Behen is feminine.

Ram na bhai

Ram no bhai

Bhai is singular.

Mari mitro

Mara mitro

Mitro is plural.

Taro mata

Tari mata

Mata is feminine.

Eno ghar

Enu ghar

Ghar is neuter.

Mari bhai na ghar

Mara bhai nu ghar

Bhai is singular, but the particle must agree with the object (ghar).

Ram nu mitro

Ram na mitro

Mitro is plural.

Tari pustak

Taru pustak

Pustak is neuter.

Sita no pustak

Sita nu pustak

Pustak is neuter.

Ghar ni darwajo

Ghar no darwajo

Darwajo is masculine.

Ram ni mitra

Ram no mitra

Mitra is masculine.

أنماط الجُمل

___ no/ni/nu/na ___ che.

Aa ___ che, ___ ___ che.

___ na ___ bahu sara che.

___ nu ___ mane game che.

Real World Usage

Social Media constant

Mara mitro sathe.

Texting constant

Taro bhai kya che?

Job Interview common

Mari skill...

Travel common

Mari ticket.

Food Delivery common

Maru order.

Family Meeting very common

Mara dada.

💡

Focus on the Object

Ignore the owner's gender. Look only at the noun that follows.
⚠️

Plural Trap

Always use 'na' for plural, even if the object is feminine.
🎯

Pronoun Shortcuts

Learn 'maro/mari/maru/mara' as a set.
💬

Respect

Use 'Tamaro' for elders.

Smart Tips

Identify its gender first.

Ram no behen Ram ni behen

Always use 'na'.

Ram no mitro Ram na mitro

Use 'nu'.

Ram no ghar Ram nu ghar

Use 'ni'.

Ram no behen Ram ni behen

النطق

no (no), ni (nee), nu (noo), na (naa)

Particle Vowels

The 'o', 'i', 'u', 'a' sounds are pure vowels.

Question

Ram no bhai che? ↑

Rising intonation for questions.

احفظها

وسيلة تذكّر

No, Ni, Nu, Na — The Gujarati possessive four-pack.

ربط بصري

Imagine a giant label maker. You stick 'no' on boys, 'ni' on girls, 'nu' on boxes, and 'na' on groups.

Rhyme

No for boy, Ni for girl, Nu for box, Na for the world.

Story

Ram has a brother (bhai - no). He has a sister (behen - ni). He lives in a house (ghar - nu). He has many friends (mitro - na).

Word Web

noninunamarotaroeno

تحدٍّ

Label 5 items in your room using 'Maro/Mari/Maru' in 5 minutes.

ملاحظات ثقافية

Respect is shown by using plural forms even for singular people.

Derived from Sanskrit genitive markers.

بدايات محادثة

Tamaru ghar kya che?

Taro bhai kya kare che?

Tamari pasand nu pustak kyu che?

Tamara jivan nu lakshya shu che?

مواضيع للكتابة اليومية

Write about your family.
Describe your favorite room.
What are your friends like?
Describe your goals.

Test Yourself

Fill in the correct particle.

Ram ___ bhai.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: no
Bhai is masculine singular.
Choose the correct form. اختيار متعدد

Sita ___ behen.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ni
Behen is feminine singular.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Ram ni ghar.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ram nu ghar
Ghar is neuter.
Arrange the words. Sentence Building

bhai / Ram / no

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ram no bhai
Correct order.
Match the particle. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: no/ni/nu/na
Correct order.
Fill in the correct particle.

Mara ___ mitro.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: na
Mitro is plural.
Choose the correct form. اختيار متعدد

Tari ___ mata.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ni
Mata is feminine.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Maro behen.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Mari behen
Behen is feminine.

Score: /8

تمارين تطبيقية

8 exercises
Fill in the correct particle.

Ram ___ bhai.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: no
Bhai is masculine singular.
Choose the correct form. اختيار متعدد

Sita ___ behen.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ni
Behen is feminine singular.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Ram ni ghar.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ram nu ghar
Ghar is neuter.
Arrange the words. Sentence Building

bhai / Ram / no

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ram no bhai
Correct order.
Match the particle. Match Pairs

Masc / Fem / Neut / Plural

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: no/ni/nu/na
Correct order.
Fill in the correct particle.

Mara ___ mitro.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: na
Mitro is plural.
Choose the correct form. اختيار متعدد

Tari ___ mata.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ni
Mata is feminine.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Maro behen.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Mari behen
Behen is feminine.

Score: /8

الأسئلة الشائعة (8)

It agrees with the object's gender and number.

The particle still agrees with the object.

Yes, for singular masculine objects.

Only if the object is feminine.

Use 'maro/mari/maru/mara'.

Yes, it is standard.

Use 'nu'.

Very few, mostly loanwords.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

In Other Languages

Spanish partial

de

Gujarati changes for gender/number.

French partial

de

Gujarati is a single particle.

German moderate

Genitive case

Gujarati is simpler.

Japanese high

no

Gujarati 'no' changes.

Arabic low

Idafa

Gujarati uses particles.

Chinese moderate

de

Gujarati changes for gender.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

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