Marathi Pronouns and the Two Words for We

Marathi pronouns show respect and, uniquely, distinguish two kinds of "we".

The pronouns

English	Marathi	Roman
I	मी	mī
you (informal)	तू	tū
you (respectful, plural)	तुम्ही	tumhī
he	तो	to
she	ती	tī
it	ते	te
we (excluding you)	आम्ही	āmhī
we (including you)	आपण	āpaṇ
they	ते / त्या / ती	te / tyā / tī

Two kinds of we

Marathi splits "we" into two:

• आम्ही = we, not including the listener.
• आपण = we, including the listener.

Examples:

• आम्ही पुण्याला जातो. — We (not you) go to Pune.
• आपण चहा घेऊ या. — Let's have tea (you and I).

Respect: तू and तुम्ही

• तू is informal: close friends, family, children.
• तुम्ही is respectful and also plural "you". Use it with strangers, elders and in formal settings.

आपण also serves as a very respectful "you": आपण कसे आहात? — How are you? (very respectful).

Gender in the third person

• तो — he
• ती — she
• ते — it, or the neuter form for things and small children

The verb agrees with the subject's gender, as the next articles explain.

Examples

• मी विद्यार्थी आहे. — I am a student.
• तू कुठे जातोस? — Where are you going? (informal)
• तुम्ही कुठे राहता? — Where do you live?
• ती डॉक्टर आहे. — She is a doctor.

Tips

1. Use तुम्ही with anyone you don't know well.
2. Learn आम्ही versus आपण.
3. Use the dictionary to check forms.

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