Key takeaways
- Wiktionary ranks the three words for 'you': तू (least formal), तुम्ही (mid-level) and आपण (highest formality).
- Marathi has two words for 'we': आम्ही excludes the listener and आपण includes them.
- Third-person pronouns are तो (he), ती (she) and ते (it), with हा, ही, हे for nearer 'this' forms.
- Before case endings pronouns change: मी becomes मला, 'to me', and तू becomes तुला.
- Possessives such as माझा, माझी, माझे ('my') agree with the thing owned, not the owner.
Marathi pronouns carry more social information than English ones. There are three words for "you", ranked by formality, and two words for "we", depending on whether the listener is included. The third person splits by gender and by distance. This reference sets out the full set from Wikipedia's article on Marathi grammar and Wiktionary's entries, then the forms pronouns take before case endings and the possessives. Romanisations follow the sources' loose macron style; Marathi romanisation is not standardised, so treat the Devanagari as the reliable form.
The full set
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | मी mī, I | आम्ही āmhī, we (exclusive); आपण āpaṇa, we (inclusive) |
| 2nd | तू tū, you | तुम्ही tumhī, you (formal, or plural); आपण āpaṇa, you (extremely formal) |
| 3rd | तो to, he; ती tī, she; ते te, it | ते te, they (masculine); त्या tyā, they (feminine); ती tī, they (neuter) |
Two features of the table need explaining. Some forms appear twice: ते is both "it" and masculine "they", and ती is both "she" and neuter "they". And आपण appears in two different rows.
Wikipedia adds that Marathi shows gender in the first and second persons on the verb, not on the pronoun itself. So मी is "I" for anyone, but the verb that follows changes for a male or female speaker, as covered in Marathi verb basics.
तू, तुम्ही or आपण
Wiktionary's entries rank the three ways to say "you" to one person.
| Pronoun | Formality | Grammatical number |
|---|---|---|
| तू tū | least formal | singular |
| तुम्ही tumhī | mid-level | plural |
| आपण āpaṇ | highest | plural |
तू is grammatically singular; तुम्ही and आपण are grammatically plural even when they address one person, so the verb takes plural agreement. तुम्ही also simply means "you all". Wiktionary's examples: तू येशील का माझ्यासोबत?, "will you come with me?", with informal तू; and आपण कोण?, "who are you?", with the most formal आपण.
Wikipedia's grammar table glosses तुम्ही as "formal" and आपण as "extremely formal", which matches Wiktionary's ranking.
Two kinds of "we"
Marathi distinguishes exclusive and inclusive "we".
- आम्ही āmhī: "we, not including you". Wiktionary lists it as the exclusive we.
- आपण āpaṇ: "we, including you". Wiktionary's example is आपण जाऊयात का?, "shall we go?", an invitation that includes the listener.
So the same word आपण means either the most polite "you" or the inclusive "we". Context and the verb decide which.
He, she, this and that
Wiktionary glosses तो as "he (distal)", the farther "he", and points to हा as the proximal "he; this". Wikipedia's grammar article lists the matching demonstratives, which agree with the noun that follows:
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| this (singular) | हा | ही | हे |
| that (singular) | तो | ती | ते |
| these (plural) | हे | ह्या | ही |
| those (plural) | ते | त्या | ती |
Wiktionary's examples show both uses of तो: as a pronoun, तो सुरेश आहे, "he is Suresh", and as "that" before a masculine noun, तो खोका खूप मोठा आहे, "that box is very big".
Forms before case endings
Like nouns, pronouns change before case endings and postpositions, explained in Marathi postpositions. Wiktionary's declension of मी gives:
| Case | Singular (मी) | Plural (आम्ही) |
|---|---|---|
| Accusative / dative | मला malā | आम्हाला āmhālā |
| Instrumental | माझ्याने, माझ्याशी | आमच्याने, आमच्याशी |
| Ablative | माझ्याहून, माझ्यापासून | आम्हांहून, आम्हांपासून |
| Benefactive ("for") | माझ्यासाठी | आमच्यासाठी |
| Locative | माझ्यात | आमच्यात |
It also lists मज and माझ्यास as alternative accusative or dative forms. For तू, Wiktionary gives तुला tulā as both accusative and dative: "you", "to you".
Possessives agree with the thing owned
Wikipedia explains that possessive adjectives are built from the pronouns with the genitive markers, and that they agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.
| Masculine noun | Feminine noun | Neuter noun | |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | माझा | माझी | माझे |
| our | आमचा | आमची | आमचे |
| your (तू) | तुझा | तुझी | तुझे |
| your (तुम्ही) | तुमचा | तुमची | तुमचे |
| his | त्याचा | त्याची | त्याचे |
| her | तिचा | तिची | तिचे |
Take three nouns from Wikipedia's case examples: दरवाजा (door, masculine), तब्येत (health, feminine) and पत्रक (report, neuter). "My door" is माझा दरवाजा, "my health" is माझी तब्येत, "my report" is माझे पत्रक. The owner stayed the same in all three; only the noun's gender changed the ending. With six possessors and three genders in the singular, that table has 6 × 3 = 18 forms, all built from one pattern.
Practising pronouns
Choosing between तू, तुम्ही and आपण is a matter of the situation as much as grammar, which is where roleplay helps. Learn Marathi Language Fast includes roleplay conversations and speaking activities, with cultural notes and etiquette alongside the vocabulary. It is one of our language-learning apps. For pronouns in everyday sentences, see Marathi phrases with meaning.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
What are the personal pronouns in Marathi?
When do you use tu, tumhi or aapan in Marathi?
What is the difference between आम्ही and आपण?
What does मला mean in Marathi?
Sources
- Marathi grammar (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
- तू (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- आपण (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- तुम्ही (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- मी (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- तुला (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
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