Saying who you are
🎯 Introduce yourself, your home and your study.
🗣️ Say these out loud
- હું અમદાવાદમાં રહું છું — hun Amdavaadmaan rahun chhun 🔊 hoon am-da-VAAD-maan RA-hoon chhoon I live in Ahmedabad. -માં maan = in, glued to the end of the word.
- હું વિદ્યાર્થી છું — hun vidyaarthi chhun 🔊 hoon vid-YAAR-thee chhoon I am a student. વિદ્યાર્થિની for a female student, though વિદ્યાર્થી is widely used for both.
- મને ગુજરાતી આવડે છે — mane Gujarati aavde chhe 🔊 MA-nay goo-ja-RAA-tee AAV-day chhay I know Gujarati. આવડવું = to know how to. Literally 'to me Gujarati comes'.
- થોડું થોડું — thodun thodun 🔊 THO-doon THO-doon a little મને થોડું થોડું આવડે છે — the phrase that invites help.
- તમે ક્યાંથી છો? — tame kyanthi chho? 🔊 ta-MAY KYAAN-thee chho Where are you from? ક્યાં kyaan = where; -થી = from.
- હું ભણું છું — hun bhanun chhun 🔊 hoon BHA-noon chhoon I study. ભણવું bhanvun = to study — a word Hindi does not share.
Read every line aloud twice before moving on. The mouth learns a language, not the eye.
🔍 Three genders, like Marathi
Gujarati keeps masculine, feminine and neuter, and the words around a noun change with it. Neuter usually ends in -ું.
- છોકરો (boy) masculine → મારો છોકરો
- છોકરી (girl) feminine → મારી છોકરી
- છોકરું (child) neuter → મારું છોકરું
- નામ, ઘર, પાણી are neuter — મારું નામ, મારું ઘર.
🌍 Among the people
Gujarati families abroad have kept the language alive for four generations, largely at home and in weekend classes. If your family speaks it but you never learnt to read it, this course closes a real gap.
🔁 Practise today
- Introduce yourself in five sentences, each ending in છે or છું.
- Sort ten nouns into the three genders by their endings.
- Practise -માં and -થી on five place names.
