What does "then" mean in Bengali?
English "then" does three different jobs, and Bengali gives each of them its own word. It can mean "at that time": "I was a child then." It can mean "after that": "first tea, then talk." And it can mean "in that case": "if you are going, then I am going too." The word of this lesson is the first of the three: তখন (tokhon), "then, at that time." It is an adverb of time (ক্রিয়াবিশেষণ, kriyabisheshon), the partner of এখন (ekhon) "now" from the last lesson. The other two "thens," তারপর (tarpor) "after that" and তাহলে (tahole) "in that case," are taught in Section D, because the first mistake an English speaker makes is to use one word for all three.
তখন points at a moment that is not the present: usually a moment in the past, sometimes one in the future. আমি তখন বাড়িতে ছিলাম (ami tokhon baṛite chhilam) is "I was at home then." The sentence is not about the speaker's habits or about the order of events; it fixes the moment. For that reason তখন nearly always has a partner in the sentence before it or beside it: a clause beginning with যখন (jokhon) "when," a date, or a remembered event. The pair যখন… তখন… (jokhon… tokhon…), "when… then…," is one of the commonest frames in Bengali storytelling, and it is the grammar of this lesson's citation from Tagore.
তখন belongs to the family of four time words ending in -খন that Lesson 51 introduced: এখন (ekhon) "now," তখন (tokhon) "then," কখন (kokhon) "when?" and যখন (jokhon) "when (relative)." The first letter chooses the meaning: এ- is "this, near," ত- is "that, far," ক- asks a question and য- relates one clause to another. In তখন the ত- is the same ত- as in তার (tar) "his, her," তারা (tara) "they" and তা (ta) "that." Like এখন, the word is traced to the Sanskrit ক্ষণ (kṣaṇa) "moment": তখন is at root "that moment." It never changes its form and takes no case endings.
The word is written with three letters, ত খ ন, and no conjuncts. The first letter ত is a dental t, said with the tongue-tip against the back of the upper teeth, and it must not be written or said as the retroflex ট. The middle letter খ is aspirated (kh), a k with a puff of breath, as in এখন. The first inherent vowel is said as a rounded o, and the last as a short o: TO-khon.
The main work of this lesson is to place তখন correctly in time and to learn the words made from it: তখনই "at that very moment," তখনও "even then, still then," তখনকার "of that time," and তখন থেকে "since then." Section D sets them out, and Common Mistakes shows what goes wrong when English "then" is carried over word for word.
- তখন (tokhon) = "then, at that time": an adverb of time that never changes its form - The family: এখন (ekhon) "now" · তখন (tokhon) "then" · কখন (kokhon) "when?" · যখন (jokhon) "when (relative)" - It stands most often after the subject: আমি তখন ছোট ছিলাম (ami tokhon chhoṭo chhilam), "I was small then" - The frame যখন… তখন… (jokhon… tokhon…) = "when… then…" - তখনই (tokhoni) = "at that very moment"; তখনও (tokhono) = "even then, still then" - তখনকার (tokhonkar) = "of that time"; তখন থেকে (tokhon theke) = "since then"; তখন পর্যন্ত (tokhon porjonto) = "until then" - Not every English "then" is তখন: "after that" is তারপর (tarpor), and "in that case" is তাহলে (tahole)
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52.1a তখন then বৃষ্টি rain হচ্ছিল was-happening
52.1b tokhon (TO-khon) then brishṭi (BRISH-ti) rain hochhilo (HOCH-chhi-lo) happen-PAST.CONT.3
52.2a তখন then গভীর deep রাত night ছিল was
52.2b tokhon (TO-khon) then gobhir (GO-bhir) deep rat (RAAT) night chhilo (CHHI-lo) be-PAST.3
52.3a আমি I তখন then বাড়িতে house-in ছিলাম was
52.3b ami (AA-mi) I-NOM tokhon (TO-khon) then baṛite (BAA-ri-te) house-LOC chhilam (CHHI-laam) be-PAST.1SG
52.4a সে he/she তখন then ঘুমাচ্ছিল was-sleeping
52.4b she (SHE) he/she-3SG tokhon (TO-khon) then ghumachhilo (GHU-maach-chhi-lo) sleep-PAST.CONT.3
52.5a তখন then তুমি you কোথায় where ছিলে were
52.5b tokhon (TO-khon) then tumi (TU-mi) you-2 kothay (KO-thay) where chhile (CHHI-le) be-PAST.2
52.6a তখন then আমার my বয়স age ছিল was দশ ten
52.6b tokhon (TO-khon) then amar (AA-mar) my-GEN boyosh (BO-yosh) age chhilo (CHHI-lo) be-PAST.3 dosh (DOSH) ten
52.7a তখন then আমরা we ঢাকায় Dhaka-in থাকতাম used-to-live
52.7b tokhon (TO-khon) then amra (AAM-ra) we-NOM Ḍhakay (DHAA-kay) Dhaka-LOC thaktam (THAAK-taam) live-PAST.HAB.1PL
52.8a তখন then কেউ anyone জানত knew না not
52.8b tokhon (TO-khon) then keu (KE-u) anyone janto (JAAN-to) know-PAST.HAB.3 na (NAA) not
52.9a তখন then বাবা father অফিসে office-in ছিলেন was
52.9b tokhon (TO-khon) then baba (BAA-baa) father ofishe (O-fi-she) office-LOC chhilen (CHHI-len) be-PAST.3.HON
52.10a তখন then কী what হল happened
52.10b tokhon (TO-khon) then ki (KEE) what holo (HO-lo) happen-PAST.3
52.11a তখন then আমি I ছোট small ছিলাম was এখন now বড় big হয়েছি have-become
52.11b tokhon (TO-khon) then ami (AA-mi) I-NOM chhoṭo (CHHO-to) small chhilam (CHHI-laam) be-PAST.1SG ekhon (EK-hon) now boṛo (BO-ro) big hoyechhi (HO-ye-chhi) become-PERF.1SG
52.12a যখন when তুমি you এলে came তখন then আমি I ঘুমাচ্ছিলাম was-sleeping
52.12b jokhon (JO-khon) when-REL tumi (TU-mi) you-2 ele (E-le) come-PAST.2 tokhon (TO-khon) then ami (AA-mi) I-NOM ghumachhilam (GHU-maach-chhi-laam) sleep-PAST.CONT.1SG
52.13a তখনই then-just সে he/she বুঝল understood
52.13b tokhoni (TO-kho-ni) then-EMPH she (SHE) he/she-3SG bujhlo (BUJH-lo) understand-PAST.3
52.14a তখনও then-also বৃষ্টি rain থামেনি has-not-stopped
52.14b tokhono (TO-kho-no) then-ADD brishṭi (BRISH-ti) rain thameni (THAA-me-ni) stop-PERF.NEG.3
52.15a তখনকার that-time-of দিনে day-in ফোন phone ছিল was না not
52.15b tokhonkar (TO-khon-kaar) then-GEN.ADJ dine (DI-ne) day-LOC phon (PHON) phone chhilo (CHHI-lo) be-PAST.3 na (NAA) not
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52.1 তখন বৃষ্টি হচ্ছিল। Tokhon brishṭi hochhilo. "It was raining then."
52.2 তখন গভীর রাত ছিল। Tokhon gobhir rat chhilo. "It was deep night then."
52.3 আমি তখন বাড়িতে ছিলাম। Ami tokhon baṛite chhilam. "I was at home then."
52.4 সে তখন ঘুমাচ্ছিল। She tokhon ghumachhilo. "He (or she) was sleeping then."
52.5 তখন তুমি কোথায় ছিলে? Tokhon tumi kothay chhile? "Where were you then?"
52.6 তখন আমার বয়স ছিল দশ। Tokhon amar boyosh chhilo dosh. "I was ten years old then."
52.7 তখন আমরা ঢাকায় থাকতাম। Tokhon amra Ḍhakay thaktam. "We used to live in Dhaka then."
52.8 তখন কেউ জানত না। Tokhon keu janto na. "Nobody knew then."
52.9 তখন বাবা অফিসে ছিলেন। Tokhon baba ofishe chhilen. "Father was at the office then."
52.10 তখন কী হল? Tokhon ki holo? "What happened then?"
52.11 তখন আমি ছোট ছিলাম, এখন বড় হয়েছি। Tokhon ami chhoṭo chhilam, ekhon boṛo hoyechhi. "I was small then; now I have grown up."
52.12 যখন তুমি এলে, তখন আমি ঘুমাচ্ছিলাম। Jokhon tumi ele, tokhon ami ghumachhilam. "When you came, I was sleeping."
52.13 তখনই সে বুঝল। Tokhoni she bujhlo. "At that very moment he (or she) understood."
52.14 তখনও বৃষ্টি থামেনি। Tokhono brishṭi thameni. "Even then the rain had not stopped."
52.15 তখনকার দিনে ফোন ছিল না। Tokhonkar dine phon chhilo na. "In those days there were no phones."
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52.1 তখন বৃষ্টি হচ্ছিল।
52.2 তখন গভীর রাত ছিল।
52.3 আমি তখন বাড়িতে ছিলাম।
52.4 সে তখন ঘুমাচ্ছিল।
52.5 তখন তুমি কোথায় ছিলে?
52.6 তখন আমার বয়স ছিল দশ।
52.7 তখন আমরা ঢাকায় থাকতাম।
52.8 তখন কেউ জানত না।
52.9 তখন বাবা অফিসে ছিলেন।
52.10 তখন কী হল?
52.11 তখন আমি ছোট ছিলাম, এখন বড় হয়েছি।
52.12 যখন তুমি এলে, তখন আমি ঘুমাচ্ছিলাম।
52.13 তখনই সে বুঝল।
52.14 তখনও বৃষ্টি থামেনি।
52.15 তখনকার দিনে ফোন ছিল না।
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1. What kind of word it is. তখন is an adverb of time. It is not inflected: it has no plural, no case endings and no gender. Where English would say "of then" or "until then," Bengali uses a derived or compound form (rule 6).
2. The family of -খন. Four time words are built on the same ending, and they are learnt as a set:
- এখন (ekhon): now - তখন (tokhon): then, at that time - কখন (kokhon): when? at what time? - যখন (jokhon): when, at the time that (it joins two clauses)
The family of place words is built the same way on -খানে: এখানে (ekhane) "here," সেখানে (shekhane) "there," কোথায় (kothay) "where?" and যেখানে (jekhane) "where (relative)."
3. The frame যখন… তখন…. The relative word যখন opens a clause that names a moment, and তখন stands in the main clause to pick that moment up again:
- যখন বৃষ্টি হচ্ছিল, তখন আমি বাড়িতে ছিলাম (jokhon brishṭi hochhilo, tokhon ami baṛite chhilam), "When it was raining, I was at home." - যখন তুমি এলে, তখন আমি ঘুমাচ্ছিলাম (jokhon tumi ele, tokhon ami ghumachhilam), "When you came, I was sleeping."
The two clauses stay in the same time. In speech তখন may be left out, and the sentence is still correct: যখন তুমি এলে, আমি ঘুমাচ্ছিলাম. For "whenever… at once," the pair takes the emphatic -ই: যখনই বৃষ্টি হয়, তখনই বিদ্যুৎ চলে যায় (jokhoni brishṭi hoy, tokhoni bidyut chole jay), "Whenever it rains, the electricity goes off at once."
4. Where it goes in the sentence. Bengali puts the verb last, and তখন has some freedom before it.
- After the subject, the usual place: আমি তখন ছোট ছিলাম (ami tokhon chhoṭo chhilam), "I was small then." - At the front, to fix the scene: তখন আমরা ঢাকায় থাকতাম (tokhon amra Ḍhakay thaktam), "Then we lived in Dhaka." - Past time with no "was" needs the past form of the verb: তখন গভীর রাত ছিল (tokhon gobhir rat chhilo), "It was deep night then." The verbless sentence that Lesson 51 used with এখন, এখন সকাল, is a present-time form, so for "then" the verb ছিল is not left out.
5. With the tenses. তখন most often goes with a past tense, and each past tense gives a different "then."
- The past continuous, for what was going on at that moment: সে তখন ঘুমাচ্ছিল (she tokhon ghumachhilo), "He was sleeping then." - The past habitual, for a state or a custom of that time: আমরা তখন ঢাকায় থাকতাম (amra tokhon Ḍhakay thaktam), "We used to live in Dhaka then." তখন কেউ জানত না (tokhon keu janto na), "Nobody knew then." - The simple past for an event that took place at that moment: তখনই সে বুঝল (tokhoni she bujhlo), "At that very moment he understood." - The past of "to be" for a plain fact of that time: তখন আমার বয়স ছিল দশ (tokhon amar boyosh chhilo dosh), "I was ten then." - The future, when "then" is a moment still to come: তুমি বড় হলে তখন বুঝবে (tumi boṛo hole tokhon bujhbe), "When you grow up, you will understand then." তখন দেখা যাবে (tokhon dekha jabe), "We shall see then."
The forms used in this lesson, written out:
- The past of ছিল (chhilo) "to be": আমি ছিলাম (ami chhilam), তুমি ছিলে (tumi chhile), আপনি ছিলেন (apni chhilen), সে ছিল (she chhilo), তুই ছিলি (tui chhili), তারা ছিল (tara chhilo). - The past continuous of ঘুমানো (ghumano) "to sleep": আমি ঘুমাচ্ছিলাম (ami ghumachhilam), তুমি ঘুমাচ্ছিলে (tumi ghumachhile), আপনি ঘুমাচ্ছিলেন (apni ghumachhilen), সে ঘুমাচ্ছিল (she ghumachhilo), তুই ঘুমাচ্ছিলি (tui ghumachhili). - The past habitual of থাকা (thaka) "to live, to stay": আমি থাকতাম (ami thaktam), তুমি থাকতে (tumi thakte), আপনি থাকতেন (apni thakten), সে থাকত (she thakto), তুই থাকতিস (tui thaktish). - The simple past of আসা (asha) "to come": আমি এলাম (ami elam), তুমি এলে (tumi ele), আপনি এলেন (apni elen), সে এল (she elo), তুই এলি (tui eli).
6. The words made from it.
- তখনই (tokhoni), with the emphatic -ই: "at that very moment, then and there." In speech it is often তক্ষুনি (tokkhuni). সে তখনই চলে গেল (she tokhoni chole gelo), "He went away at once." - তখনও (tokhono), with -ও "also, even": "even then, still at that time." With a negative verb: "not even then, not yet at that time." তখনও সে আসেনি (tokhono she aseni), "Even then he had not come." The spelling তখনো is also correct. - তখনকার (tokhonkar), with the adjectival ending -কার: "of that time." তখনকার দিন (tokhonkar din), "those days"; তখনকার মানুষ (tokhonkar manush), "the people of that time." - তখন থেকে (tokhon theke), with the postposition থেকে "from": "since then, from then on." তখন থেকে সে আর আসেনি (tokhon theke she ar aseni), "Since then he has not come again." - তখন পর্যন্ত (tokhon porjonto), "until then, up to that time." তখন পর্যন্ত কেউ জানত না (tokhon porjonto keu janto na), "Until then nobody knew." - The particle তো (to) often follows it, with the sense "but" or "after all": তখন তো আমি ছোট ছিলাম (tokhon to ami chhoṭo chhilam), "But I was small then."
7. The other two "thens." Here the English word splits.
- তারপর (tarpor), "after that, and then." It names what comes next in a series of events, and it is the word of every story told aloud. আমি ভাত খেলাম, তারপর ঘুমালাম (ami bhat khelam, tarpor ghumalam), "I ate rice, and then I slept." প্রথমে চা, তারপর কথা (prothome cha, tarpor kotha), "First tea, then talk." তারপর কী হল? (tarpor ki holo?), "And what happened then (next)?" The related এরপর (erpor) means "after this," and তারপরও (tarporo) means "even after that, nevertheless." - তাহলে (tahole), also written তা হলে, "in that case, then." It answers a condition that has been stated or is understood. তুমি যদি যাও, তাহলে আমিও যাব (tumi jodi jao, tahole amio jabo), "If you go, then I will go too." বৃষ্টি হচ্ছে? তাহলে ছাতা নাও (brishṭi hochhe? tahole chhata nao), "It is raining? Then take an umbrella." তাহলে চলো (tahole cholo), "Then let us go." - তবে (tobe), "well then, in that case, but." তবে আজ থাক (tobe aj thak), "Well then, let it be for today."
The three differ in what they ask of the sentence. তখন asks when? and is answered by a moment. তারপর asks what next? and is answered by an event. তাহলে asks what follows from that? and is answered by a consequence. Compare: সে যখন এল, তখন বৃষ্টি হচ্ছিল (she jokhon elo, tokhon brishṭi hochhilo), "When he came, it was raining" (the two happen together); সে এল, তারপর বৃষ্টি হল (she elo, tarpor brishṭi holo), "He came, and then it rained" (one after the other).
1. "If… then…" is not যদি… তখন. In a condition the English "then" is তাহলে. "If it rains, then I will stay at home" is বৃষ্টি হলে (or যদি বৃষ্টি হয়, তাহলে) আমি বাড়িতে থাকব. তখন would say "at that time," which is not what is meant. 2. "And then" is তারপর, not তখন. "I ate, and then I slept" is আমি খেলাম, তারপর ঘুমালাম. আমি খেলাম, তখন ঘুমালাম would mean "I ate; at that time I slept," and the order of events is lost. 3. Do not mix the -খন family. যখন (jokhon) joins two clauses and does not ask a question. "When did you come?" is তুমি কখন এসেছ? (tumi kokhon eshechho?), and "When you came, ..." is তুমি যখন এসেছিলে, ... (tumi jokhon eshechhile, ...). Also, do not confuse তখন (tokhon) "then" with এখন (ekhon) "now": the first letter is the whole difference. 4. Keep the two clauses in one time. The frame যখন… তখন… joins two moments that go together: যখন ছোট ছিলাম, তখন ঢাকায় থাকতাম. Do not put one clause in the past and the other in the present: "When I was small, now I live in Dhaka" is not that frame. 5. No case endings. There is no "তখনের" or "তখনকে." For "of then" use তখনকার, for "since then" তখন থেকে, for "until then" তখন পর্যন্ত. 6. No "was" left out. The present can do without a verb (এখন সকাল), but the past cannot: say তখন সকাল ছিল, not তখন সকাল. 7. Spell the dental. The first letter is ত (t), not ট (ṭ). তখন and টখন are not the same: only the first is a word.
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তখন is the opening word of memory. A grandparent begins with it: তখন আমরা গ্রামে থাকতাম (tokhon amra grame thaktam), "In those days we lived in the village." The words সেই তখন (shei tokhon), "that time, way back then," carry a soft sigh and a long look backward. Bengali families talk about the years of Partition, of the Language Movement and of 1971 in this way, and the word that opens such a story is very often তখন.
Notice what the English speaker may miss. In a story told aloud, the next sentence usually begins not with তখন but with তারপর, and a listener who wants the story to go on says তারপর? (tarpor?), "and then?" A child at bedtime says it again and again, and the whole of a night's storytelling is carried by that one word. তখন stays for the setting and the moment; তারপর drives the plot.
তখন has a polite use for the future. When a decision does not have to be made now, the usual answer is তখন দেখা যাবে (tokhon dekha jabe), "we shall see then," or তখন না হয় দেখা যাবে (tokhon na hoy dekha jabe), "we can see about it then." It sits beside the এখন না, পরে (ekhon na, pore), "not now, later," of the last lesson. The pair এখন… তখন… (ekhon… tokhon…) is much used to set the present against the past: তখন তারা গরিব ছিল, এখন তারা ধনী (tokhon tara gorib chhilo, ekhon tara dhoni), "They were poor then; now they are rich."
In ordinary modern prose the word is always তখন. In the older literary style, the sadhu bhasha, it is spelled the same, but the verbs round it end in -িলেন and -িয়া (উঠিলেন, ছাড়িয়া), where the everyday style has -লেন and -ে (উঠলেন, ছেড়ে). Section F is in that older style. Some eastern dialects of Bangladesh say the word as তহন (tohon), as they say এহন for এখন; the written form is the same everywhere.
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The citation comes from "Postmaster" (পোস্টমাস্টার, postmastar), a short story by Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), first published in the magazine Hitabadi in 1891 and collected in Galpaguchchha ("A Bunch of Stories"). The postmaster, a young man from Calcutta, is posted to a small village, and the orphan girl Ratan, who keeps house for him, becomes the nearest thing he has to a family. At the end of the story he leaves the village for good by boat. We quote from that last passage one sentence in two halves, the second beginning with তখন, and we leave out, with an ellipsis, a clause between them that describes the river. The wording follows the text on Bengali Wikisource (Galpaguchchha, first volume) and on Tagoreweb, whose texts agree on the quoted words. The language is the literary sadhu bhasha, so the verbs end in -িলেন and -িয়া and not in the everyday -লেন and -ে. The English is the Latinum Institute's own, kept close to the Bengali.
F.1a যখন when নৌকায় boat-in উঠিলেন climbed এবং and নৌকা boat ছাড়িয়া having-loosed দিল gave
F.1b jokhon (JO-khon) when-REL noukay (NOU-kay) boat-LOC uṭhilen (U-thi-len) climb-PAST.3.HON ebong (E-bong) and nouka (NOU-kaa) boat chhaṛiya (CHHAA-ri-yaa) loose-CONJ.PTCP dilo (DI-lo) give-PAST.3
F.2a তখন then হৃদয়ের heart-of মধ্যে in অত্যন্ত extreme একটা a বেদনা pain অনুভব feeling করিতে to-do লাগিলেন began
F.2b tokhon (TO-khon) then hridoyer (HRI-do-yer) heart-GEN moddhye (MOD-dhe) in otyonto (OT-ton-to) extreme ekṭa (EK-taa) a-CLF bedona (BE-do-naa) pain onubhob (O-nu-bhob) feeling korite (KO-ri-te) do-INF lagilen (LAA-gi-len) begin-PAST.3.HON
যখন নৌকায় উঠিলেন এবং নৌকা ছাড়িয়া দিল, … তখন হৃদয়ের মধ্যে অত্যন্ত একটা বেদনা অনুভব করিতে লাগিলেন …
Jokhon noukay uṭhilen ebong nouka chhaṛiya dilo, … tokhon hridoyer moddhye otyonto ekṭa bedona onubhob korite lagilen …
"When he had climbed into the boat and the boat had cast off, … then he began to feel, deep within his heart, an intense pain …"
— Rabindranath Tagore, "Postmaster" (পোস্টমাস্টার), Galpaguchchha; first published in Hitabadi, 1891; translation: Latinum Institute
যখন নৌকায় উঠিলেন এবং নৌকা ছাড়িয়া দিল, … তখন হৃদয়ের মধ্যে অত্যন্ত একটা বেদনা অনুভব করিতে লাগিলেন …
- যখন… তখন… (jokhon… tokhon…). The frame of Section D, rule 3. The first clause is the moment "when he climbed into the boat and it cast off," and তখন picks it up: "then." The two halves of the sentence are far apart on the page, with the clause about the river between them, and তখন is the word that brings the reader back to the start. - উঠিলেন (uṭhilen). The literary past of উঠা (uṭha) "to climb, to get up," in the honorific third person, which the narrator uses for the postmaster out of respect. The everyday form is উঠলেন. The word that stands for the boat, নৌকায় (noukay), is the locative: "in, into the boat." - ছাড়িয়া দিল (chhaṛiya dilo). ছাড়িয়া is the literary conjunctive participle, "having loosed," and দিল "gave"; together they mean "cast off, set off." The everyday forms are ছেড়ে দিল. - অনুভব করিতে লাগিলেন (onubhob korite lagilen). "Began to feel." The infinitive in -িতে with লাগা "to begin" is the literary pattern; the everyday form is অনুভব করতে লাগলেন. The honorific ending -েন agrees with the postmaster as the subject, and not with বেদনা. - অত্যন্ত একটা বেদনা (otyonto ekṭa bedona). "An intense pain." অত্যন্ত is "extremely," and একটা here is the weak article, "a (certain) pain." - হৃদয়ের মধ্যে (hridoyer moddhye). "Within the heart," the genitive and then a postposition, as in জানালার পাশে in Lesson 51.
The postmaster has fallen ill in the village, has been nursed by Ratan, and has been refused a transfer, so he resigns and goes home; Ratan is left behind. Earlier in the story তখন marks small moments in the daily life of the village, and here it marks the largest. The long first clause (the climbing in, the casting off, then the river) holds the reader at the waterside, and the যখন clause stays open until তখন at last closes it. The "then" of the sentence is not a point on a clock but the point at which a feeling, held back until the boat moves, is allowed to arrive.
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A short scene told in the past tense, as a storyteller would tell it. Every sentence carries তখন (or a word made from it), which here sets each moment of the crossing one after another.
52.16a তখন then বিকেল afternoon ছিল was
52.16b tokhon (TO-khon) then bikel (BI-kel) afternoon chhilo (CHHI-lo) be-PAST.3
52.17a রহিম Rahim তখন then নদীর river-of ঘাটে landing-at দাঁড়িয়ে having-stood ছিল was
52.17b Rohim (RO-him) Rahim tokhon (TO-khon) then nodir (NO-dir) river-GEN ghaṭe (GHAA-te) landing-LOC dãṛiye (DÃ-ri-ye) stand-CONJ.PTCP chhilo (CHHI-lo) be-PAST.3
52.18a তার his ছেলে son তখন then তার his হাত hand ধরে holding ছিল was
52.18b tar (TAR) 3-GEN chhele (CHHE-le) son tokhon (TO-khon) then tar (TAR) 3-GEN hat (HAAT) hand dhore (DHO-re) hold-CONJ.PTCP chhilo (CHHI-lo) be-PAST.3
52.19a আকাশ sky তখন then কালো black হয়ে having-become আসছিল was-coming
52.19b akash (AA-kaash) sky tokhon (TO-khon) then kalo (KAA-lo) black hoye (HO-ye) become-CONJ.PTCP aschhilo (AS-chhi-lo) come-PAST.CONT.3
52.20a তখন then হঠাৎ suddenly ঠান্ডা cold হাওয়া wind বইল blew
52.20b tokhon (TO-khon) then hoṭhat (HO-thaat) suddenly ṭhanḍa (THAN-da) cold haoya (HAA-o-yaa) wind boilo (BOI-lo) blow-PAST.3
52.21a মাঝি boatman তখন then বলল said নৌকায় boat-in ওঠো get-up
52.21b majhi (MAA-jhi) boatman tokhon (TO-khon) then bollo (BOL-lo) say-PAST.3 noukay (NOU-kay) boat-LOC otho (O-tho) get-up-IMP.2
52.22a রহিম Rahim ছেলেকে son-to নিয়ে taking তখন then তাড়াতাড়ি quickly নৌকায় boat-in উঠল climbed
52.22b Rohim (RO-him) Rahim chheleke (CHHE-le-ke) son-OBJ niye (NI-ye) take-CONJ.PTCP tokhon (TO-khon) then taṛataṛi (TAA-raa-taa-ri) quickly noukay (NOU-kay) boat-LOC uṭhlo (UTH-lo) climb-PAST.3
52.23a নৌকা boat তখন then ঢেউয়ের wave-of মধ্যে in দুলছিল was-rocking
52.23b nouka (NOU-kaa) boat tokhon (TO-khon) then ḍheuyer (DHE-u-yer) wave-GEN moddhye (MOD-dhe) in dulchhilo (DUL-chhi-lo) rock-PAST.CONT.3
52.24a ছেলে son তখন then ভয়ে fear-with কাঁদছিল was-crying
52.24b chhele (CHHE-le) son tokhon (TO-khon) then bhoye (BHO-ye) fear-INST kãdchhilo (KÃD-chhi-lo) cry-PAST.CONT.3
52.25a রহিম Rahim তখন then তাকে him বুকে chest-on জড়িয়ে having-embraced ধরল held
52.25b Rohim (RO-him) Rahim tokhon (TO-khon) then take (TAA-ke) 3-OBJ buke (BU-ke) chest-LOC joṛiye (JO-ri-ye) embrace-CONJ.PTCP dhorlo (DHOR-lo) hold-PAST.3
52.26a তখনই then-just বৃষ্টি rain নামল came-down
52.26b tokhoni (TO-kho-ni) then-EMPH brishṭi (BRISH-ti) rain namlo (NAAM-lo) descend-PAST.3
52.27a মাঝি boatman তখন then সব all শক্তি strength দিয়ে with দাঁড় oar টানল pulled
52.27b majhi (MAA-jhi) boatman tokhon (TO-khon) then shob (SHOB) all shokti (SHOK-ti) strength diye (DI-ye) by-means-of dãṛ (DÃR) oar ṭanlo (TAN-lo) pull-PAST.3
52.28a নৌকা boat তখনও then-also ঢেউয়ের wave-of সঙ্গে with লড়ছিল was-fighting
52.28b nouka (NOU-kaa) boat tokhono (TO-kho-no) then-ADD ḍheuyer (DHE-u-yer) wave-GEN shonge (SHON-ge) with loṛchhilo (LOR-chhi-lo) fight-PAST.CONT.3
52.29a অনেকক্ষণ long-time পরে after ওপারের other-bank-of আলো light তখন then দেখা seen গেল went
52.29b onekkhon (O-nek-khon) long-time pore (PO-re) after-POSTP oparer (O-paa-rer) other-bank-GEN alo (AA-lo) light tokhon (TO-khon) then dekha (DE-khaa) seen gelo (GE-lo) go-PAST.3
52.30a রহিম Rahim তখন then বলল said ভয় fear নেই not-exist আমরা we এসে having-come গেছি have-gone
52.30b Rohim (RO-him) Rahim tokhon (TO-khon) then bollo (BOL-lo) say-PAST.3 bhoy (BHOY) fear nei (NAY) not-exist amra (AAM-ra) we-NOM ese (E-she) come-CONJ.PTCP gechhi (GE-chhi) go-PERF.1PL
52.16 তখন বিকেল ছিল। Tokhon bikel chhilo. "It was afternoon then."
52.17 রহিম তখন নদীর ঘাটে দাঁড়িয়ে ছিল। Rohim tokhon nodir ghaṭe dãṛiye chhilo. "Rahim was standing at the river landing then."
52.18 তার ছেলে তখন তার হাত ধরে ছিল। Tar chhele tokhon tar hat dhore chhilo. "His son was holding his hand then."
52.19 আকাশ তখন কালো হয়ে আসছিল। Akash tokhon kalo hoye aschhilo. "The sky was growing dark by then."
52.20 তখন হঠাৎ ঠান্ডা হাওয়া বইল। Tokhon hoṭhat ṭhanḍa haoya boilo. "Then suddenly a cold wind blew."
52.21 মাঝি তখন বলল, "নৌকায় ওঠো।" Majhi tokhon bollo, "Noukay otho." "The boatman then said, 'Get into the boat.'"
52.22 রহিম ছেলেকে নিয়ে তখন তাড়াতাড়ি নৌকায় উঠল। Rohim chheleke niye tokhon taṛataṛi noukay uṭhlo. "Taking his son, Rahim then climbed quickly into the boat."
52.23 নৌকা তখন ঢেউয়ের মধ্যে দুলছিল। Nouka tokhon ḍheuyer moddhye dulchhilo. "The boat was rocking among the waves then."
52.24 ছেলে তখন ভয়ে কাঁদছিল। Chhele tokhon bhoye kãdchhilo. "The boy was crying with fear then."
52.25 রহিম তখন তাকে বুকে জড়িয়ে ধরল। Rohim tokhon take buke joṛiye dhorlo. "Rahim then held him close to his chest."
52.26 তখনই বৃষ্টি নামল। Tokhoni brishṭi namlo. "At that very moment the rain came down."
52.27 মাঝি তখন সব শক্তি দিয়ে দাঁড় টানল। Majhi tokhon shob shokti diye dãṛ ṭanlo. "The boatman then pulled the oar with all his strength."
52.28 নৌকা তখনও ঢেউয়ের সঙ্গে লড়ছিল। Nouka tokhono ḍheuyer shonge loṛchhilo. "Even then the boat was still fighting the waves."
52.29 অনেকক্ষণ পরে ওপারের আলো তখন দেখা গেল। Onekkhon pore oparer alo tokhon dekha gelo. "After a long while the light on the far bank came into view."
52.30 রহিম তখন বলল, "ভয় নেই, আমরা এসে গেছি।" Rohim tokhon bollo, "Bhoy nei, amra ese gechhi." "Rahim then said, 'Don't be afraid; we have arrived.'"
52.16 তখন বিকেল ছিল।
52.17 রহিম তখন নদীর ঘাটে দাঁড়িয়ে ছিল।
52.18 তার ছেলে তখন তার হাত ধরে ছিল।
52.19 আকাশ তখন কালো হয়ে আসছিল।
52.20 তখন হঠাৎ ঠান্ডা হাওয়া বইল।
52.21 মাঝি তখন বলল, "নৌকায় ওঠো।"
52.22 রহিম ছেলেকে নিয়ে তখন তাড়াতাড়ি নৌকায় উঠল।
52.23 নৌকা তখন ঢেউয়ের মধ্যে দুলছিল।
52.24 ছেলে তখন ভয়ে কাঁদছিল।
52.25 রহিম তখন তাকে বুকে জড়িয়ে ধরল।
52.26 তখনই বৃষ্টি নামল।
52.27 মাঝি তখন সব শক্তি দিয়ে দাঁড় টানল।
52.28 নৌকা তখনও ঢেউয়ের সঙ্গে লড়ছিল।
52.29 অনেকক্ষণ পরে ওপারের আলো তখন দেখা গেল।
52.30 রহিম তখন বলল, "ভয় নেই, আমরা এসে গেছি।"
- The past tense of a story. The scene is told in two past tenses. The past continuous (দাঁড়িয়ে ছিল, আসছিল, দুলছিল, কাঁদছিল, লড়ছিল) paints what was going on at the moment, and the simple past (বইল, উঠল, ধরল, নামল, টানল, বলল) gives the events that broke into it. With তখন the first kind is the background and the second kind is the action. - The "was standing" and "was holding" of a state. দাঁড়িয়ে ছিল (dãṛiye chhilo) and ধরে ছিল (dhore chhilo) are made of a conjunctive participle and the past of "to be": literally "having stood, he was," and they say that the position went on for a while. - The hour. তখন বিকেল ছিল (tokhon bikel chhilo) sets the hour with the past of "to be." In the past the verb ছিল is not left out (Section D, rule 4). - The conjunctive participle. The -য়ে/-ে ending marks "having done": হয়ে (hoye) "having become," নিয়ে (niye) "having taken," জড়িয়ে (joṛiye) "having embraced," এসে (ese) "having come." It joins a first action to the main verb: ছেলেকে নিয়ে উঠল, "he got in, taking his son." - Telling "by then." The phrase আকাশ তখন কালো হয়ে আসছিল is "the sky was by then growing dark." The verb আসা "to come," after another verb in the participle, shows a gradual change: কালো হয়ে আসা, "to be getting dark." - The stress on a moment. In 52.26 তখনই shows that the rain fell at that very moment, and in 52.28 তখনও says that the boat was still struggling "even then," in spite of the oars. The two words stand for the sudden turn and for what has not yet changed. - Direct speech. The boatman's order and Rahim's words come in quotation marks after বলল. The imperative ওঠো (otho) is the ordinary-level command, addressed to someone of equal or lower rank. ভয় নেই (bhoy nei), literally "fear is not," is the usual way to say "don't be afraid." - The sequence word. Nothing in this scene uses তারপর, and the reader can feel why: every sentence fixes its own moment with তখন. Told aloud, a listener would break in with তারপর? at every pause.
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- IPA: /t̪ɔkʰon/ (the vowels are approximate and vary a little from speaker to speaker) - ত (t) = /t̪/, a dental t: the tongue-tip touches the back of the upper teeth. It is softer than the English t, which is made on the ridge behind the teeth. - অ (the inherent vowel) in the first syllable = /ɔ/, a rounded vowel like the o of British hot. - খ (kh) = /kʰ/, an aspirated k: the k of kill said with a clear puff of breath. - ন (n) = /n/. The inherent vowel in the last syllable is pronounced /o/, as in go but short, so that the word ends in -on. - Stress: TO-khon. In Bengali the stress falls on the first syllable of a word; তখনই is TO-kho-ni and তখনকার is TO-khon-kaar.
- ত /t̪/ in তালা (tala, "lock") vs থ /t̪ʰ/ in থালা (thala, "plate"): the second has a puff of breath after the t, the first has none. - ত /t̪/ in তাল (tal, "palm tree; rhythm") vs ট /ʈ/ in টাল (ṭal, "a lurch, a sway"): the tongue is set against the teeth for ত and curled back for ট. - খ /kʰ/ in খাল (khal, "canal") vs ক /k/ in কাল (kal, "yesterday, tomorrow"): the first has a puff of breath after it, the second has none.
- The retroflex sounds ট ঠ ঢ in ঠান্ডা, টানল, ঢেউ, ঢাকায়: the tongue-tip is curled back against the roof of the mouth. They are written ṭ, ṭh, ḍh in the Roman spelling. - ড় (ṛ) in বাড়িতে, দাঁড়িয়ে, তাড়াতাড়ি, লড়ছিল: a quick flap of the tongue-tip, like a very light r, between the English r and d. - The breathy sounds ঘ ঝ ধ ভ থ in ঘাটে, মাঝি, ধরে, ভয়ে, থামেনি: a gh, jh, dh, bh, th with a clear breath after the consonant. - The nasal vowels, marked with চন্দ্রবিন্দু ঁ, in দাঁড়িয়ে, কাঁদছিল, দাঁড়: the vowel is said through the nose and mouth together, as in French vin but lighter. - The conjuncts ধ্য and ত্য in মধ্যে (said MOD-dhe) and অত্যন্ত (said OT-ton-to): the second consonant of the cluster is doubled in speech, so the spelling does not show how the word is said. - শ, ষ, স are all said /ʃ/, as sh in ship, in বয়স, সব, শক্তি, বৃষ্টি. - Vowel glides in নৌকা (nouka), where the sign ৌ is ou, and in হাওয়া (haoya), where আ and ও run together.
In the frame যখন… তখন… (jokhon… tokhon…), the first clause ends on a rising tone and a short pause, which tells the listener that the matching clause is coming; then তখন begins the second clause, lightly stressed. The word তখন itself is rarely the stressed word of a sentence unless the speaker means to set that moment against another, as in তখন ছোট ছিলাম, এখন বড় হয়েছি.
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