Real Marathi conversation
मी, तुम्ही, हो, नाही — hold your first real Marathi conversations.
🔊 Tap any speaker button to hear Marathi spoken. Too fast or slow? Use the speed button at the bottom-right of the page.
People anchor talk: मी (I), तुम्ही (you formal), तो (he), ती (she), ते (they). मी मराठी शिकतो/शिकते (I'm learning Marathi) — gender shows on verbs, proudly. Introduce yourself; conversations ignite.
Questions drive dialogue: काय? (what?), कुठे? (where?), कधी? (when?), का? (why?), कसं? (how?). तुम्ही कुठे राहता? (where do you live?) — one question word plus any verb equals conversation.
Politeness oils everything: Marathi says प्लीज (please) and माफ करा (sorry/excuse me). माफ करा, हळू बोला (sorry, speak slowly) — apologies plus requests, the learner's armour.
Repair keeps talk alive: मला समजलं नाही (I didn't understand), पुन्हा सांगा (please say again), याचा अर्थ काय? (what does this mean?). Broken Marathi beats silent perfection — stumble forward daily.
Words and phrases for this topic
| English | Marathi | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| I | मी | mi |
| You (formal) | तुम्ही | tumhi |
| Yes | हो | ho |
| No / not | नाही | naahi |
| What? | काय? | kaay |
| Where? | कुठे? | kuthe |
| What is your name? | तुमचं नाव काय? | tumchan naav kaay |
| My name is... | माझं नाव... आहे | maazhan naav aahe |
| I didn't understand | मला समजलं नाही | malaa samajlan naahi |
| Please speak slowly | हळू बोला | halu bolaa |
| Sorry / excuse me | माफ करा | maaph karaa |
| Please | प्लीज | please |
| Nice! / great! | छान! | chhaan |
Language, culture, and common traps
Practice: recall, then use
Use this quick recall drill for Real Marathi conversation. Hide the script and romanisation columns; say the Marathi form for each cue before revealing its row, then check spelling and sound. The phrase-table speaker buttons provide a model when a matching browser voice is available.
- I
- What is your name?
- Nice! / great!
Transfer practice. Turn two rows into a brief exchange: open, answer, and add one follow-up question of your own. Keep the turns short enough to say without reading. In a real conversation, listen for the other person’s pace and leave room for a reply rather than delivering a memorised speech. Start from मी (mi) and decide whether it fits the situation before using it elsewhere.
Context check. For Real Marathi conversation, “Nice! / great!” belongs to a particular setting. A common mistake is to treat an English gloss as universal; read the language-specific note above and ask a fluent speaker when local usage differs.
Check your recall: answer key
- मी mi — I
- तुमचं नाव काय? tumchan naav kaay — What is your name?
- छान! chhaan — Nice! / great!
Questions learners ask
तुमचं नाव काय? (what's your name?) — answer माझं नाव... आहे (my name is...). Names first, friendship follows.
हो (yes), नाही (no) — short, clear, universal. होय adds formality; नको means don't-want. Yes-no fluency first.
मला समजलं नाही (I didn't understand) and हळू बोला (please speak slowly). Honesty tunes every speaker to your level.