Medium–Hard: new script & agreement; grammar stabilizes quickly with patterns
Regular morphologyPredictable postpositions
Quick Overview
Marathi is a major Indo-Aryan language of western India. It uses Devanagari and favors clear, agglutinating endings on nouns and verbs.
Learners meet three big ideas early: the inherent vowel (a), postpositions (instead of prepositions), and agreement on the genitive.
If you’re searching for a compact, modern overview to learn Marathi—script, pronunciation, grammar, and useful phrases—this page is your friendly launchpad.
Script & Spelling Tips
Abugida logic: a bare consonant carries short a; a visible virāma ् deletes it for clusters.
Vowel signs (mātrā):ा ā, ि/ी i/ī, ु/ू u/ū, ृ r̥, े/ै e/ai, ो/ौ o/au, plus ॲ/ऑ for loans.
Special letters:ळ (ḷ) contrasts with ल (l); ऱ marks an alveolar r distinct in Marathi orthography.
Nasalization: anusvāra ं and chandrabindu ँ both appear; pronunciation depends on context.
Digits:० १ २ ३ ४ ५ ६ ७ ८ ९.
Grammar Snapshot
Postpositions:मध्ये (in), वर (on/at), पासून (from/since), साठी (for), पर्यंत (until).
Genitive agreement: suffix on possessor matches the possessed noun: -चा (M.SG), -ची (F.SG), -चे (N.SG/PL).
Dative:-ला (SG) / -ना (PL) → dative/accusative roles: मला “to me,” त्यांना “to them.”
Perfective agent: subject marked with ने in many perfective transitives; verb agreement tracks the object.
TAM patterns: progressive –त आहे, perfect –ले/–ली/–ले + आहे, habitual –तो/–ते/–ते.
Dialects & Register
Standard Marathi centers on the Pune–Mumbai corridor. Varhadi (Vidarbha) and Kolhapuri show phonological flair; Sanskritized
formal styles sit alongside crisp colloquial media Marathi. English and Hindi loans slot in smoothly—especially in tech and business.
History (Very Short)
Maharashtri Prakrit → Apabhraṁśa → Old Marathi → modern standard.
आज मी शाळेत जात आहे. Āj mī śāḷet jāt āhe. today I school-LOC go PROG.be
Dative-like “liking”: मला मराठी आवडते. — Malā Marāṭhī āvaḍate. — “I like Marathi.” (lit. “to me, Marathi is liked”)
Common Phrases
नमस्कार Namaskār (Hello)कसे आहात? Kase āhāt? (How are you? – polite)धन्यवाद Dhanyavād (Thank you)कृपया Kr̥payā (Please)हो/नाही Ho/Nāhī (Yes/No)भेटूया Bheṭūyā (See you)
Polite intro: माझं नाव … आहे.Mājhã nāv … āhe. — “My name is …”
Interesting Notes
a→e alternation: many –a endings surface as –e before suffixes: सीता → सीतेला, सीतेची.
Inclusive “we”:आपण is inclusive and can be a respectful “we/you” in some contexts.
Retroflex love:ट ठ ड ढ ण ळ contrast cleanly with dental त थ द ध न ल.
Genitive & Dative Helper
Type a possessor noun (e.g., राम, सीता) and choose a function. For the genitive, select the possessed noun’s gender/number
to get the right -चा/-ची/-चे. For the dative, pick singular or plural (-ला/-ना). This is a simple learner’s model—great for quick practice while you learn Marathi grammar.
Notes: This widget uses a common classroom heuristic. Plural genitives default to –चे. You’ll also see an oblique form –च्या before some postpositions. Vowel smoothing (like सीता → सीते-) is handled in a simple way here and may not cover every exception.
Learning Tips
Shadow native audio for –त आहे rhythm (progressive).
Drill genitive triplet with a single possessor: रामचा मुलगा / रामची मुलगी / रामचे घर.
Collect postpositions as phrases: घरी मध्ये (at home, in), कामासाठी (for work), आजपासून (from today).
Numbers (1–10)
एक, दोन, तीन, चार, पाच, सहा, सात, आठ, नऊ, दहा • Digits: ० १ २ ३ ४ ५ ६ ७ ८ ९
Handy Postpositions
मध्ये (in), वर (on/at), खाली (under), जवळ (near), पासून (from/since), साठी (for), पर्यंत (until), बद्दल (about).