Who you are
🎯 Introduce yourself and say what you do.
🗣️ Say these out loud
- আমার নাম রিয়া — amar naam Riya 🔊 AA-maar naam REE-ya My name is Riya. আমার = my. তোমার = your. তার = his/her — Bengali has no gender in pronouns at all.
- আমি ছাত্র / ছাত্রী — ami chhatro / chhatri 🔊 AA-mee CHHA-tro / CHHA-tree I am a student. (male / female) Only some nouns change for gender; the verb never does.
- আমি কলকাতায় থাকি — ami Kolkatay thaki 🔊 AA-mee kol-ka-TAAY THA-kee I live in Kolkata. -য় / -তে is the ending for 'in'. থাকা = to stay, to live.
- আমি বাংলা শিখছি — ami Bangla shikhchhi 🔊 AA-mee BAANG-la SHIKH-chhee I am learning Bengali. -ছি marks 'right now'.
- আমি একটু একটু বুঝি — ami ektu ektu bujhi 🔊 AA-mee EK-too EK-too BOO-jhee I understand a little. একটু ektu = a little. Doubling it softens it further.
- আপনি কোথা থেকে? — apni kotha theke? 🔊 AAP-nee KO-tha THEH-kay Where are you from? কোথায় kothay = where; থেকে theke = from.
Read every line aloud twice before moving on. The mouth learns a language, not the eye.
🔍 Bengali has no gender at all in its grammar
This is the great gift of Bengali to a learner. There is no masculine or feminine verb, no agreeing adjective, no separate word for he and she. সে se covers both. After Hindi or Marathi, this feels like putting down a heavy bag.
- সে যায় = he goes AND she goes
- ভালো ছেলে, ভালো মেয়ে — the adjective ভালো never changes
- The verb changes only for the person and the level of respect, never for gender.
🌍 Among the people
Bengali is the only language for which people have died defending the right to speak it — the Language Movement of 1952 in Dhaka, remembered every 21 February, which UNESCO now marks as International Mother Language Day.
🔁 Practise today
- Write five sentences about yourself; notice that nothing changes for gender.
- Learn আমার, তোমার, আপনার, তার.
- Say where you live with the -য় ending.
