The first exchange
🎯 Greet, ask how someone is, and thank them.
🗣️ Say these out loud
- नमस्कार — namaskaar 🔊 na-mas-KAAR Hello / greetings Marathi prefers नमस्कार to नमस्ते. Used morning to night, to anyone.
- कसे आहात? — kase aahaat? 🔊 KA-say aa-HAAT How are you? (respectful) To a friend: कसा आहेस? (to a boy) / कशी आहेस? (to a girl). The ending changes with who you are speaking to.
- मी ठीक आहे — mi theek aahe 🔊 mee TEEK aa-hay I am fine. आहे aahe = am/is. मी mee = I.
- धन्यवाद — dhanyavaad 🔊 dhan-ya-VAAD Thank you In everyday Marathi, thanks is often shown by tone rather than by a word.
- तुमचं नाव काय? — tumcha naav kaay? 🔊 TOOM-cha naav KYE What is your name? काय kaay = what — the Marathi word every Mumbaikar knows.
- माझं नाव सई आहे — maajha naav Sai aahe 🔊 MAA-jha naav sa-EE aa-hay My name is Sai. माझं is the neuter form, because नाव (name) is neuter — see the pattern below.
Read every line aloud twice before moving on. The mouth learns a language, not the eye.
🔍 Marathi has three genders, not two
Hindi and Gujarati have masculine and feminine. Marathi keeps Sanskrit's third gender — neuter — and it changes the words around the noun. This is the first thing a Hindi speaker must unlearn.
- मुलगा (boy) is masculine → माझा मुलगा
- मुलगी (girl) is feminine → माझी मुलगी
- मूल (child) is neuter → माझं मूल
- नाव (name), घर (house), पाणी (water) are all neuter — माझं नाव, माझं घर.
🌍 Among the people
In Maharashtra a younger person greets an elder with नमस्कार and folded hands; on festivals and before an exam, by touching the feet. Shopkeepers answer a Marathi greeting with visible warmth.
🔁 Practise today
- Say नमस्कार to five people this week.
- Sort into three genders: मुलगा, घर, मुलगी, पाणी, शाळा, पुस्तक.
- Practise ळ in वेळ, शाळा, डोळा until it stops sounding like a plain l.
