Numbers, time and the market
🎯 Count, ask prices and bargain politely.
🗣️ Say these out loud
- एक, दोन, तीन, चार, पाच 🔊 ek, don, teen, chaar, paach 1 to 5 Close to Hindi but not identical — दोन, not दो.
- सहा, सात, आठ, नऊ, दहा 🔊 sa-HAA, saat, aath, na-OO, da-HAA 6 to 10 Marathi numbers above twenty are famously irregular; most speakers under forty use them freely in Marathi and switch to English for big figures.
- किती रुपये? — kiti rupaye? 🔊 KI-tee roo-PA-yay How much (in rupees)? किती = how much / how many.
- खूप महाग आहे — khoop mahaag aahe 🔊 khoop ma-HAAG aa-hay It is very expensive. खूप = very. स्वस्त = cheap.
- कमी करा ना — kami karaa na 🔊 KA-mee ka-RAA na Do reduce it, please. The ना at the end turns an order into a request. It is the whole art of bargaining.
- किती वाजले? — kiti vaajle? 🔊 KI-tee VAAJ-lay What time is it? Answer: तीन वाजले — it is three o'clock.
Read every line aloud twice before moving on. The mouth learns a language, not the eye.
🔍 The softener at the end of the sentence
Marathi adds small words at the end — ना, रे, ग, हं — that change tone without changing meaning. They are how the language carries affection and politeness.
- चल = go · चल ना = do come on, please
- ये रे = come (to a boy, affectionately) · ये ग = come (to a girl)
- हो ना? = isn't it so?
- Using ना correctly makes a beginner sound instantly less foreign.
🌍 Among the people
In a Maharashtrian market the price is the beginning of a conversation, not the end of one. कमी करा ना with a smile is expected and enjoyed by both sides.
🔁 Practise today
- Count one to twenty aloud each day this week.
- Ask किती रुपये for five household items.
- Add ना to five commands and hear how they soften.
