Marathi (मराठी) is one of the official languages of India, and the main language of the state of Maharashtra. Marathi is written in the Devanagari script, like Hindi and some other Indian languages. It is the 4th most widely-spoken language in India, after Hindi, Bengali and Telugu. Regional literature in Marathi dates back to around 1000 AD.

Marathi grammar is largely based on Sanskrit and Pali. Around 60% or more of the nouns in Marathi are derived directly from Sanskrit. Also, Marathi shares many words with Hindi. Unlike Hindi but like Sanskrit, Marathi has not 2 but 3 genders: masculine, feminine and neutral. Figuring out the gender of a word can sometimes be difficult, especially for English speakers.

Goa was a Portuguese colony from the 16th to the 20th century, as a result of which Marathi has had influence from the Portuguese language. बटाटा (ba-tA-tA, potato) is a common example used in everyday speech.

See Learning Devanagari for detailed information on the subject. Marathi is nearly 100% phonetic, so pronunciation is not as much of a problem as it may seem at first glance. Anglophones tend to pronounce आ as in cat or bat. This sound is non-existent in Marathi, and you will not be easily understood if you pronounce it this way. Vowels are added to consonants, similar to other Devanagari languages, but picking up the Devanagari script is not that essential. You will manage fine with the romanization used in this phrasebook.

I: Mi

You: Tu

We: Aamhi

He: To

She: Tee

It: Te

This: Ha, Hee, He

That: To, Tee, Te

Details: Mahiti

Amount: Rakkam

Bill : bil

Rate: Kimmat

Quantity: Nag

Why: Ka

How: Kasa, Kashee, kiti

Where: Kuthe

Who: Kon

i love you ( maza tujhya-var prem ahe)

May i have your attention please

( "Krupaya-laksha-dya)

Hello.

नमस्कार ( na-ma-skA-r )

How are you? (to a male)

तू कसा आहेस? ( thU ka-sA A-he-s )

How are you? (to a female)

तू कशी आहेस? ( thU ka-shI A-he-s )

How are you? (formal)

आपण कसे आहात? ( A-pa-N ka-she A-hA-th )

I am fine.

मी ठीक आहे ( mI TI-k A-he )

What is your name?

तुझं नाव काय आहे? ( thu-jha nA-v kA-y A-he )

What is your name? (formal)

आपले नाव काय आहे? ( A-pa-le nA-v kA-y A-he )

My name is XYZ.

माझं नाव XYZ आहे ( mA-zha nA-v XYZ A-he ) (!uses "z" in transliteration, but it is undefined!)

Nice to meet you.

तुम्हाला भेटून आनंद झाला ( thu-mhA-lA bhe-tU-n A-na-ndha jhA-lA )

Please.

कृपया ( ktR-pa-yA )

Thank you.

धन्यवाद ( Dha-nya-vA-dh )

You're welcome.

आपले स्वागत आहे ( A-pa-le svA-ga-tha A-he )--it is a literal welcome and not something you would say in response to "thank you"

Yes.

हो ( ho )

No.

नाही ( nA-hI )

Excuse me.

Excuse me/'Ek minute' (one minute)/कृपया (please)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)

. ( )

Please forgive me.

मला माफ करा ( ma-lA mA-f ka-rA )

Goodbye

(Accha/Tata) ("we'll meet again") पुन्हा भेटू ( pU-nhA bhe-tU )

I can't speak Marathi

मला मराठी बोलता येत नाही ( ma-lA ma-rA-TI bo-la-thA ye-th nA-hI )

Do you know English?

तुम्हाला इंग्रजी येते का? ( thu-mhA-lA I-ngra-jI ye-the kA? )

Is there someone here who speaks English?

इथे कुणाला इंग्रजी येते का? ( i-The ku-NA-lA I-ngra-jI ye-the kA )

Help

मदत ( ma-dha-th ), 'Vaachvaa' ('Save me')

Look out!

("careful!, steady!") ! (sA-va-kA-sh)

Good night.

शुभ रात्री ( shu-bha rA-thrI )

I don't understand.

मला समजत नाही ( ma-lA sa-ma-ja-tha nA-hI )

Say it again.

पुन्हा सांगा! (pu-nhA sA-nGA)

What should I do?

Mee kaay karu shakto?

Where should I go?

Mee kuthe gele paahije?

How many did you take?

Tu kiti ghetle?

How did you come?

Tu kasa aala?