EkGuru › Learn Marathi › Marathi › Travel
Marathi for travel
Draft: not yet reviewed by a native speaker. Existing availability and indexing are preserved by owner instruction; that is not an editorial approval. Suggest a correction.
🔊 Tap any speaker button to hear the words on this page spoken. Too fast or slow? Use the speed button at the bottom-right of the page.
Stations, directions, fares and hotels — the Marathi phrases you will actually use.
Key words
| English | Hindi | Marathi | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| station | स्टेशन | स्टेशन | sṭeśan |
| train | ट्रेन | आगगाडी | āggāḍī |
| Literally 'fire-cart' — ट्रेन and रेल्वे work too | |||
| bus | बस | बस | bas |
| taxi | टैक्सी | टॅक्सी | ṭĕksī |
| ticket | टिकट | तिकीट | tikīṭ |
| hotel | होटल | हॉटेल | hoṭel |
| room | कमरा | खोली | kholī |
| left | बायाँ | डावीकडे | ḍāvīkaḍe |
| right | दायाँ | उजवीकडे | ujavīkaḍe |
| straight | सीधा | सरळ | saraḷ |
| near | पास | जवळ | javaḷ |
| far | दूर | लांब | lāmb |
Phrases
| English | Hindi | Marathi | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where is ...? | ... कहाँ है? | ... कुठे आहे? | ... kuṭhe āhe? |
| How do I go to ...? | ... कैसे जाऊँ? | ... ला कसे जायचे? | ... lā kase jāyce? |
| Stop here, please | यहाँ रोकिए | इथे थांबा | ithe thāmbā |
| How much is the fare? | किराया कितना है? | भाडे किती? | bhāḍe kitī? |
| I want to go to ... | मुझे ... जाना है | मला ... ला जायचे आहे | malā ... lā jāyce āhe |
| Is it far? | क्या दूर है? | लांब आहे का? | lāmb āhe kā? |
At the station
Buying a ticket
Travel conversations are short, repetitive and predictable — which makes them the best possible practice ground. The exchange below covers almost every ticket window; learn your half of it until it is automatic.
- You: ... कुठे आहे? (... kuṭhe āhe?) — Where is ...?
- You: say the destination, then the number of tickets using a number from the table below.
- Them: a number. You will hear it faster than you expect — listen for the tens.
- You: thank them. This is the moment the greeting table pays off.
At the hotel
Three phrases cover most of a check-in: that you have a booking, that you want a room, and what it costs. Everything else is numbers.
Say the price aloud back to them. It is polite, it confirms your listening, and it is the single most useful habit in a place where you are still counting slowly.
Fares, money and bargaining
Numbers are the vocabulary of travel, and markets are where you will use them most. हे कितीला? → खूप महाग! → थोडे कमी करा → ठीक आहे, घेतो. Smile through all four steps.
| # | Hindi | Marathi | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | एक | एक | ek |
| 2 | दो | दोन | don |
| 3 | तीन | तीन | tīn |
| 4 | चार | चार | cār |
| 5 | पाँच | पाच | pāc |
| 6 | छह | सहा | sahā |
| 7 | सात | सात | sāt |
| 8 | आठ | आठ | āṭh |
| 9 | नौ | नऊ | naū |
| 10 | दस | दहा | dahā |
| 11 | ग्यारह | अकरा | akarā |
| 12 | बारह | बारा | bārā |
Food on the road
Ordering is a script you can rehearse at home. Read the phrases below out loud, then order an imaginary meal three times.
| English | Hindi | Marathi | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| I am hungry | मुझे भूख लगी है | मला भूक लागली आहे | malā bhūk lāglī āhe |
| I am thirsty | मुझे प्यास लगी है | मला तहान लागली आहे | malā tahān lāglī āhe |
| The food is tasty | खाना मज़ेदार है | जेवण छान आहे | jevaṇ chān āhe |
| One tea, please | एक चाय दीजिए | एक चहा द्या | ek cahā dyā |
| The bill, please | बिल दीजिए | बिल द्या | bil dyā |
| Too spicy! | बहुत तीखा | खूप तिखट | khūp tikhaṭ |
| I don't eat meat | मैं मांस नहीं खाता | मी मटण खात नाही | mī maṭaṇ khāt nāhī |
Cultural context, briefly
- गणेशोत्सव (Gaṇeśotsav) — Mumbai's ten-day Ganpati festival (Aug–Sep) — drums, dancing processions and modaks. Shout गणपती बाप्पा मोरया with the crowd and you're family.
- गुढी पाडवा (Guḍhī Pāḍvā) — Marathi New Year in spring — a decorated gudhi flag flies outside every house, and the new almanac year begins.
- वारी (Wārī) — The barefoot pilgrimage to Pandharpur — lakhs walk for weeks singing abhangas. Maharashtra's moving heart; join even one day of it.
- लावणी (Lāvaṇī) — Fiery folk music and dance — fast drums, quicker wit. One live show teaches your ear more rhythm than a month of tapes.
- मिसळ पाव (misaḷ pāv) — Sprouted-bean curry crowned with farsan, mopped up with pav — Kolhapur's is famously incendiary. Order दही (curd) on the side if you're cautious.
Rehearse these three scenes before you go
- Buying a ticket, including saying the destination and asking the price.
- Checking into a room, including saying how many nights and asking what time breakfast is.
- Ordering food, including saying what you do not eat and asking for the bill.
When you get stuck mid-sentence
You will get stuck, and that is not a failure — it happens to everyone in the first week of using a language for real. What matters is having a way out that does not involve switching to English immediately.
Three moves cover almost every situation: repeat the last word you understood as a question, ask the person to say it again more slowly, and fall back on the survival trio you already know. If none of that works, point at the phrase on your screen — nobody minds, and you will have used the language anyway.
Then, afterwards, write down the sentence you could not finish. That one sentence is the most efficient vocabulary lesson you will get all week, because you will never forget the moment it failed you.
More guides in this course
- Beginner's guide — MarathiHow to learn from scratch, and the honest first 30 days.
- Alphabet, letter by letter — MarathiEvery letter with the sound it makes.
- Grammar basics — MarathiWord order, verbs and the sentence ladder.
- Numbers 1 to 100 — MarathiCounting, prices and time — with the counting pattern.
- Most common words — MarathiThe highest-frequency words, in eight groups, with pronunciation for each.
- Common mistakes — MarathiThe traps learners fall into in this language, and the fix for each one.
- How to read the script — MarathiA step-by-step path from letters to reading real sentences.
- vs Hindi — MarathiWhat Hindi speakers already know, and what trips everyone else up.
- Practise speaking alone — MarathiShadowing, self-talk and a routine you can keep without a tutor.