Gender (लिंग)

Gender in Marathi grammar — called लिंग — is one of the most fundamental building blocks of the language. Every noun in Marathi belongs to one of three genders, and that gender determines how the noun behaves with adjectives, verbs, and other words in a sentence. Understanding gender is not optional: get it wrong and every sentence around that noun will sound unnatural to a native speaker.

Unlike English, which has largely abandoned grammatical gender, Marathi preserves a rich three-gender system inherited from Sanskrit. This means that a student must memorise the gender of each noun — but there are also patterns and rules that can reduce the memorisation burden significantly. This lesson walks you through all three genders, the patterns that reveal them, and the ways in which gender ripples through adjectives and verbs.

Before you continue, make sure you are comfortable with basic Marathi nouns and the idea of number (एकवचन/अनेकवचन), because gender interacts closely with both. You can also practise what you learn here with the Grammar Quiz Generator and verify your sentences with the Sentence Checker.

What Is लिंग (Gender)?

The word लिंग comes from Sanskrit and literally means "mark" or "sign." In grammar it refers to the classification of nouns into categories that affect agreement throughout a sentence. Every Marathi noun — whether it names a person, animal, object, concept, or place — belongs to exactly one of three genders.

Marathi has exactly three genders:

• पुल्लिंगी — Masculine (पुल्लिंग)
• स्त्रीलिंगी — Feminine (स्त्रीलिंग)
• नपुंसकलिंगी — Neuter (नपुंसकलिंग)

The gender is a property of the word itself, not of the thing it names. For example, दगड (stone) is masculine, वाळू (sand) is feminine, and पाणी (water) is neuter, even though none of these things has biological sex. The assignment is grammatical, not logical.

The Three Genders in Detail

पुल्लिंगी — Masculine

Masculine nouns are called पुल्लिंगी. This category includes all male animate beings and a large number of inanimate nouns. The most common masculine ending is -आ, as in मुलगा (boy), घोडा (horse), दादा (grandfather or elder brother). The majority of masculine nouns that students encounter early in their learning have this ending.

However, not all -आ nouns are masculine. Words like माया (affection) and छाया (shade) are feminine despite ending in -आ. And some masculine nouns end in consonants or other vowels: बाप (father), भाऊ (brother), शिक्षक (teacher, masculine). When in doubt, confirm in a reference like the Marathi Dictionary tool.

स्त्रीलिंगी — Feminine

Feminine nouns are called स्त्रीलिंगी. This category includes all female animate beings and a large group of inanimate nouns. The most reliable feminine markers are the endings -ई and -ी, as in मुलगी (girl) and नदी (river). Words ending in -आई are also feminine: आई (mother), आजी (grandmother).

Many abstract and collective nouns are feminine: शाळा (school), वेळ (time), बोली (dialect), भाषा (language). The ending -आ is feminine in words like माया, दया (mercy), छाया (shadow) — these must be memorised as exceptions to the usual masculine -आ pattern. The Grammar Quiz Generator includes gender-identification exercises that build this recognition skill over time.

नपुंसकलिंगी — Neuter

Neuter nouns are called नपुंसकलिंगी. Many inanimate objects, abstract nouns, and infinitive forms used as nouns fall into this category. The most common pattern is a noun ending in a short inherent अ sound that names an inanimate object: घर (house), झाड (tree), पुस्तक (book), डोके (head). Nouns ending in the long vowel -ई that name liquids or substances are also often neuter: पाणी (water), तेल (oil, but masculine — verify!). Many young animals are also neuter: मूल (child), वासरू (calf).

Gender Identification Table

How Gender Changes Adjectives

In Marathi, adjectives that end in -आ in the masculine singular form change their ending to match the gender and number of the noun they describe. This agreement is called विशेषण-साम्य (adjective agreement). If you learn one adjective form well, the other two follow the same pattern consistently.

The pattern for the common adjective ending -आ / -ई / -ए is as follows. Take the adjective चांगला (good) as the model:

Adjectives that do not end in -आ — such as सुंदर (beautiful), हुशार (intelligent), मोठा (big, which does change) — either follow the same pattern as चांगला if they end in -आ, or are invariable if they end in a consonant or another vowel. For a complete treatment see the Adjectives lesson.

How Gender Affects Verb Agreement

In Marathi, past-tense verbs also agree with the gender of the subject or object, depending on the construction (active or ergative). This is more fully covered in the Verbs lesson, but here is the essential pattern you need to know from the start.

Consider the verb जाणे (to go) in simple past tense. The verb root is गेल- and the ending changes exactly as adjective endings do:

• तो गेला — He went (masculine singular)
• ती गेली — She went (feminine singular)
• ते गेले — It went / They went (neuter singular or plural)
• त्या गेल्या — They (feminine) went (feminine plural)

The verb root गेल- takes the same endings as adjectives: -आ, -ई, -ए, -या. This is a deep structural feature of Marathi and shows why mastering gender from the very beginning pays dividends throughout your grammar journey. Every past-tense sentence you produce requires you to know the gender of the subject or, in ergative constructions, the gender of the object.

Worked Examples

Special Cases and Exceptions

Animate Nouns That Break the Pattern

Some animate nouns look like one gender but behave as another. For instance, माणूस (person/human) is masculine in most contexts even when referring to a woman informally. Similarly, मूल (child) is neuter regardless of the actual sex of the child being discussed. These must be memorised. A useful strategy is to link these exceptional nouns to example sentences that demonstrate their gender clearly, rather than trying to derive their gender from form alone.

Borrowed Words

English, Persian, and Arabic loanwords absorbed into Marathi have been assigned genders by convention and usage. टेबल (table) is neuter, खुर्ची (chair) is feminine, कॉम्प्युटर (computer) is masculine, and बस (bus) is feminine. There is no rule for predicting the gender of loanwords; you learn them through exposure and practice. Tools like the Vocabulary Builder store gender alongside every word, making it easy to learn both together.

The Word आजोबा

आजोबा (grandfather) ends in -आ and is clearly masculine — this is consistent with the pattern. However, आजी (grandmother) ends in -ई, which is the feminine pattern. The grandfather/grandmother pair illustrates that kinship terms are almost always naturally gendered in Marathi, making their gender easy to remember from the meaning alone.

Pairs of Words With Different Genders

Many Marathi nouns have naturally gendered pairs — one word for the male referent and another for the female. These are distinct lexical items, not derived forms. Here are the most common pairs:

• मुलगा (boy) / मुलगी (girl)
• बाप (father) / आई (mother)
• भाऊ (brother) / बहीण (sister)
• नवरा (husband) / बायको (wife)
• आजोबा (grandfather) / आजी (grandmother)
• बैल (bull/ox) / गाय (cow)
• कुत्रा (male dog) / कुत्री (female dog)
• राजा (king) / राणी (queen)
• शिक्षक (male teacher) / शिक्षिका (female teacher)
• विद्यार्थी (male student) / विद्यार्थिनी (female student)

Note that आजोबा ends in -आ but is clearly masculine. And गाय (cow, feminine) ends in a consonant य, another reminder that endings are a guide, not a guarantee. See the Nouns lesson for more on natural gender pairs and how kinship vocabulary is organised.

Gender and the Cases System

When a noun enters an oblique case (any case other than the nominative), its form changes — and the change depends partly on its gender. For example, masculine nouns ending in -आ shift to an oblique stem in -या-: मुलगा → मुलग्या-. Neuter nouns ending in a short vowel often have a slightly different oblique. Feminine nouns have their own oblique patterns. The full case and oblique system is detailed in the Cases (Vibhakti) lesson. Understanding gender is a prerequisite for understanding that lesson properly.

Gender and Pronouns

Marathi third-person pronouns encode gender in the singular. तो is masculine, ती is feminine, and ते is neuter (or used for plural). When replacing a noun with a pronoun, you must use the pronoun that matches the noun's grammatical gender, not necessarily the biological sex of the referent. For instance, पुस्तक (book, neuter) is referred to as ते. A शाळा (school, feminine) is referred to as ती. See the Pronouns lesson for the full pronoun chart.

Gender in Compound Words

When two nouns combine to form a compound, the gender of the compound is determined by the gender of the last (head) noun. This is a reliable rule that helps you handle unfamiliar compounds without needing to look them up.

• पाण्याची बाटली — बाटली (bottle) is feminine, so the compound phrase is feminine.
• पुस्तकाचे दुकान — दुकान (shop) is neuter, so the whole phrase is neuter.
• आंब्याचा रस — रस (juice) is masculine, so the genitive adjective takes the masculine form -चा.

Gender in Compound Verbs and Verb Phrases

Marathi frequently uses compound verbs where a main verb combines with a light verb or auxiliary. In these structures, the agreement follows the same gender rules as simple verbs — the gender marker appears on the main verb's participle or the auxiliary, not repeated on both. For example: ती बोलत राहिली (She kept speaking) — राहिली is the main agreeing element, taking the feminine -ई ending to match ती.

How to Study Gender Systematically

The most effective way to master Marathi gender is through deliberate, systematic practice rather than passive exposure. Here is a proven study method:

1. Learn new nouns in groups. When you encounter a new noun, immediately note its gender, an example sentence using it with an agreeing adjective, and the pronoun that replaces it.
2. Colour-code your notes. Use one colour for masculine nouns, another for feminine, and a third for neuter. The visual distinction reinforces the category.
3. Practice gender identification drills. Use the Grammar Quiz Generator to get randomised gender-identification questions every day. Even five minutes of daily drilling produces rapid improvement.
4. Write and check. Compose short descriptive paragraphs about familiar topics, then paste them into the Sentence Checker to identify any gender-agreement errors.
5. Read Marathi with gender awareness. When reading a Marathi text, actively notice the gender of each noun and check whether the adjectives and verb endings match. This builds unconscious competence over time.

Common Gender Errors and How to Avoid Them

The following errors appear most frequently in learner writing and speech:

• Using masculine adjective with feminine or neuter nouns: चांगला पाणी — should be चांगले पाणी.
• Using the wrong pronoun: Using तो (masculine) for a feminine noun like शाळा — should be ती शाळा.
• Masculine past verb with feminine subject: ती गेला — should be ती गेली.
• Masculine genitive suffix with feminine possessed noun: मुलाचा बहीण — should be मुलाची बहीण (because बहीण is feminine).

Each of these errors indicates a gap in gender knowledge for the specific noun involved. The solution is always the same: identify the gender, then fix all the agreeing elements around it.

Practice Questions

Tips for Remembering Gender

• Learn new nouns with their gender from the very first encounter. Write पु., स्त्री., or न. next to each word in your notes.
• Use coloured flashcards: one colour per gender. The Grammar Flashcards tool supports gender-based colour coding.
• Read Marathi sentences aloud, paying attention to how adjectives and verb endings shift with each gender. Your ear will begin to catch errors before your brain consciously identifies them.
• Practise with the Grammar Quiz Generator daily for short gender-identification drills.
• When you produce a written sentence, paste it into the Sentence Checker to catch gender-agreement errors automatically.

Summary

Marathi gender (लिंग) divides all nouns into three classes: पुल्लिंग (masculine), स्त्रीलिंग (feminine), and नपुंसकलिंग (neuter). Ending patterns provide useful hints — -आ is usually masculine, -ई/-ी is usually feminine, and an inherent अ on an inanimate noun usually signals neuter — but exceptions are common enough that dictionary confirmation is always wise. Gender agreement flows from the noun outward to adjectives, demonstratives, genitive suffixes, and past-tense verbs, making it essential knowledge for correct Marathi at every level. Use the Sentence Checker and Grammar Quiz Generator to build and test your skills. Next, move on to Number (वचन) to see how singular and plural interact with gender, and then to Adjectives to master agreement fully.

Frequently Asked Questions