For autodidact students of Gujarati, the first thing to know about "the" is that Gujarati has no article at all. A bare noun such as છોકરો (chhokro) can mean "boy", "a boy" or "the boy", and the sentence around it decides. Where English must choose between "a" and "the", Gujarati uses other means: - A demonstrative before the noun. આ (ā) is "this" and તે (te) is "that". When English says "the boy" and means the one both speakers have in mind, Gujarati often says તે છોકરો (te chhokro), "that boy". - The numeral એક (ek), "one". It does the work of "a" or "a certain": એક છોકરો (ek chhokro), "a boy". - The postposition ને (ne) on a person who is the object of the verb: હું તે છોકરાને જોઉં છું (huṁ te chhokrāne jouṁ chhuṁ), "I see the boy". The ને marks him as one particular boy. - A possessive. મારો ભાઈ (māro bhāī), "my brother", already points to one person, and nothing more is needed. - No marker at all for what is one of a kind or is spoken of in general: સૂરજ ઊગે છે (sūraj ūge chhe), "The sun rises".
This lesson teaches તે. The word list gives "the", and Gujarati has no word to match it, so the course takes the word that does most of its work. તે stands before a noun to say which one; it is the pronoun "he, she, it"; and it is the partner of જે (je), "who, which", in the pattern "the one who…", which Section F shows in a famous line. One short word does all three jobs. In everyday speech many speakers say એ (e) in place of તે. તે is the form of books, newspapers and careful speech, and it is the form this course teaches.
The forms of તે: - તે (te): that; he, she, it. The pronoun has no gender, so one word serves for "he", "she" and "it" - તેને (tene): to him, to her, to it; him or her as the object - તેણે (teṇe): he or she as the subject of a transitive verb in the past (the ergative) - તેનો (teno), તેની (tenī), તેનું (tenuṁ): his, her, its. The ending agrees with the thing owned: masculine, feminine, neuter - તેમાં (temāṁ): in it. તેથી (tethī): from it, and so "therefore" - તેઓ (teo), તેમને (temne), તેમણે (temṇe), તેમનો (temno), તેમની (temnī), તેમનું (temnuṁ): "they", and also one person spoken of with respect
Before a noun, તે does not change: તે છોકરો (that boy), તે છોકરાને (to that boy), તે છોકરીઓ (those girls).
This course teaches standard written Gujarati, the language of the schools, the press and the literature.
Script note: તે is the consonant ત (t) with the vowel sign ે (e) written above it. Gujarati writes no horizontal line along the top of its letters, and the vowel sign is a small stroke over the consonant. ત is a dental sound, made with the tip of the tongue against the back of the teeth, and it must not be confused with the retroflex ટ (ṭ), made with the tongue curled back. The vowel is a pure e, as in French "thé", with no glide at the end, unlike English "say". The romanisation in this course writes ટ as ṭ and ત as t.
Key Takeaways: - Gujarati has no article; demonstratives, એક, possessives and ને do its work - તે (te) means "that" before a noun, and "he, she, it" on its own; it has no gender - આ (ā) is "this", તે (te) is "that", and પેલો, પેલી, પેલું (pelo, pelī, peluṁ) is "that one over there" - ને (ne) marks a person as the object: છોકરાને (chhokrāne) - જે … તે … builds "the one who…" and "the book that…" - A bare noun is right for what is unique or general: સૂરજ, પાણી
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1.1a તે that છોકરો boy હોશિયાર clever છે is
1.1b te (TEH) that.DEM chhokro (CHHOH-kroh) boy.M hoshiyār (HOH-shi-yaar) clever chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.2a તે that બિલાડી cat સફેદ white છે is
1.2b te (TEH) that.DEM bilāḍī (BI-laa-dee) cat.F saphed (SUH-fehd) white chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.3a તે that ઘર house નવું new છે is
1.3b te (TEH) that.DEM ghar (GHUHR) house.N navuṁ (NUH-voon) new.N chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.4a તે he/she મારો my ભાઈ brother છે is
1.4b te (TEH) he/she.3SG māro (MAA-roh) I.GEN.M bhāī (BHAA-ee) brother.M chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.5a હું I તે that છોકરાને boy-to જોઉં see છું am
1.5b huṁ (HOON) I.1SG te (TEH) that.DEM chhokrāne (CHHOH-kraa-neh) boy-ACC jouṁ (JOH-oon) see-PRES.1SG chhuṁ (CHHOON) be.PRES.1SG
1.6a તે he/she રોજ daily સવારે in-the-morning ચા tea પીએ drinks છે is
1.6b te (TEH) he/she.3SG roj (ROHJ) daily savāre (suh-VAA-reh) morning-LOC chā (CHAA) tea.F pīe (PEE-eh) drink-PRES.3 chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.7a તે that દુકાન shop ગામની of-village બહાર outside છે is
1.7b te (TEH) that.DEM dukān (du-KAAN) shop.F gāmnī (GAAM-nee) village-GEN.F bahār (buh-HAAR) outside chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.8a તેને to-him/her આ this ફૂલ flower ગમે pleases છે is
1.8b tene (TEH-neh) he/she.DAT ā (AA) this.DEM phūl (FOOL) flower.N game (GUH-meh) please-PRES.3 chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.9a તેણે he/she તે that પુસ્તક book આજે today વાંચ્યું read
1.9b teṇe (TEH-neh) he/she.ERG te (TEH) that.DEM pustak (PUS-tuk) book.N āje (AA-jeh) today vāṁchyuṁ (VAANCH-yoon) read-PST.N
1.10a તે that નદીનું of-river પાણી water ઠંડું cold છે is
1.10b te (TEH) that.DEM nadīnuṁ (nuh-DEE-noon) river-GEN.N pāṇī (PAA-nee) water.N ṭhaṁḍuṁ (THUN-doon) cold.N chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.11a તે that બગીચામાં in-garden ઘણાં many સુંદર beautiful ફૂલ flowers છે are
1.11b te (TEH) that.DEM bagīchāmāṁ (buh-GEE-chaa-maan) garden-LOC ghaṇāṁ (GHUH-naan) many.N.PL suṁdar (SUN-duhr) beautiful phūl (FOOL) flower.N.PL chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.12a જે which પુસ્તક book મેં I વાંચ્યું read તે it ખૂબ very સારું good છે is
1.12b je (JEH) REL pustak (PUS-tuk) book.N meṁ (MEHN) I.ERG vāṁchyuṁ (VAANCH-yoon) read-PST.N te (TEH) it.3SG.N khūb (KHOOB) very sāruṁ (SAA-roon) good.N chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.13a તે that માણસને man-to બધા everyone ઓળખે knows છે are તેનું his/her નામ name રમેશ Ramesh છે is
1.13b te (TEH) that.DEM māṇasne (MAA-nus-neh) man-ACC badhā (BUH-dhaa) all.M.PL oḷakhe (OH-luh-kheh) know-PRES.3 chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3 tenuṁ (TEH-noon) he/she.GEN.N nām (NAAM) name.N ramesh (RUH-mehsh) Ramesh chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.14a બહાર outside વરસાદ rain પડે falls છે is તેથી therefore અમે we ઘરમાં in-house છીએ are
1.14b bahār (buh-HAAR) outside varsād (VUHR-saad) rain.M paḍe (PUH-deh) fall-PRES.3 chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3 tethī (TEH-thee) that-ABL ame (UH-meh) we.1PL gharmāṁ (GHUHR-maan) house-LOC chhīe (CHHEE-eh) be.PRES.1PL
1.15a તે that પછી after તેણે he/she મને to-me ચા tea આપી gave અને and અમે we વાતો conversations કરી did
1.15b te (TEH) that.DEM pachhī (PUH-chhee) after teṇe (TEH-neh) he/she.ERG mane (MUH-neh) I.DAT chā (CHAA) tea.F āpī (AA-pee) give-PST.F ane (UH-neh) and ame (UH-meh) we.ERG vāto (VAA-toh) talk.F.PL karī (KUH-ree) do-PST.F.PL
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1.1 તે છોકરો હોશિયાર છે. (te chhokro hoshiyār chhe.) "The boy is clever." 1.2 તે બિલાડી સફેદ છે. (te bilāḍī saphed chhe.) "The cat is white." 1.3 તે ઘર નવું છે. (te ghar navuṁ chhe.) "The house is new." 1.4 તે મારો ભાઈ છે. (te māro bhāī chhe.) "He is my brother." 1.5 હું તે છોકરાને જોઉં છું. (huṁ te chhokrāne jouṁ chhuṁ.) "I see the boy." 1.6 તે રોજ સવારે ચા પીએ છે. (te roj savāre chā pīe chhe.) "He or she drinks tea every morning." 1.7 તે દુકાન ગામની બહાર છે. (te dukān gāmnī bahār chhe.) "The shop is outside the village." 1.8 તેને આ ફૂલ ગમે છે. (tene ā phūl game chhe.) "He or she likes this flower." 1.9 તેણે તે પુસ્તક આજે વાંચ્યું. (teṇe te pustak āje vāṁchyuṁ.) "He or she read that book today." 1.10 તે નદીનું પાણી ઠંડું છે. (te nadīnuṁ pāṇī ṭhaṁḍuṁ chhe.) "The water of that river is cold." 1.11 તે બગીચામાં ઘણાં સુંદર ફૂલ છે. (te bagīchāmāṁ ghaṇāṁ suṁdar phūl chhe.) "In that garden there are many beautiful flowers." 1.12 જે પુસ્તક મેં વાંચ્યું, તે ખૂબ સારું છે. (je pustak meṁ vāṁchyuṁ, te khūb sāruṁ chhe.) "The book that I read is very good." 1.13 તે માણસને બધા ઓળખે છે; તેનું નામ રમેશ છે. (te māṇasne badhā oḷakhe chhe; tenuṁ nām ramesh chhe.) "Everyone knows that man; his name is Ramesh." 1.14 બહાર વરસાદ પડે છે, તેથી અમે ઘરમાં છીએ. (bahār varsād paḍe chhe, tethī ame gharmāṁ chhīe.) "It is raining outside, so we are in the house." 1.15 તે પછી તેણે મને ચા આપી અને અમે વાતો કરી. (te pachhī teṇe mane chā āpī ane ame vāto karī.) "After that he or she gave me tea, and we talked."
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1.1 તે છોકરો હોશિયાર છે. 1.2 તે બિલાડી સફેદ છે. 1.3 તે ઘર નવું છે. 1.4 તે મારો ભાઈ છે. 1.5 હું તે છોકરાને જોઉં છું. 1.6 તે રોજ સવારે ચા પીએ છે. 1.7 તે દુકાન ગામની બહાર છે. 1.8 તેને આ ફૂલ ગમે છે. 1.9 તેણે તે પુસ્તક આજે વાંચ્યું. 1.10 તે નદીનું પાણી ઠંડું છે. 1.11 તે બગીચામાં ઘણાં સુંદર ફૂલ છે. 1.12 જે પુસ્તક મેં વાંચ્યું, તે ખૂબ સારું છે. 1.13 તે માણસને બધા ઓળખે છે; તેનું નામ રમેશ છે. 1.14 બહાર વરસાદ પડે છે, તેથી અમે ઘરમાં છીએ. 1.15 તે પછી તેણે મને ચા આપી અને અમે વાતો કરી.
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These are the grammar rules for expressing "the" in Gujarati.
There is no article; the demonstrative does the work. To point to a particular thing, put તે (te) before the noun: તે છોકરો (1.1), તે બિલાડી (1.2), તે ઘર (1.3), તે દુકાન (1.7). The word is the same for every gender and number and does not change when a postposition follows the noun: તે છોકરાને (1.5), તે માણસને (1.13). Where the noun is already clear, Gujarati leaves it bare: પાણી ઠંડું છે, "the water is cold".
Three distances. - આ (ā), "this", for what is near: આ ફૂલ (1.8) - તે (te), "that", for what is further off or already known: તે ઘર (1.3) - પેલો (pelo), પેલી (pelī), પેલું (peluṁ), "that one over there" or "that one we mentioned". It agrees with the noun in gender and number: પેલું પીળું ઘર (1.25), "that yellow house over there"
"A". The numeral એક (ek), "one", stands before the noun: એક ઘર (a house). A bare noun can also be indefinite: તે ચા પીએ છે (1.6) means "drinks tea".
The pronoun. On its own, તે means "he", "she" or "it". Examples 1.4, 1.6 and 1.8 show it with a person, and 1.12 and 1.27 show it with a thing (neuter, so the adjective is નવું and સારું). The forms follow the pattern in the Introduction: - Object and dative: તેને (tene). In 1.8, the person who likes the flower is in the dative: તેને ફૂલ ગમે છે, literally "to him the flower pleases" - Genitive: તેનું (tenuṁ) in 1.13, "his, her", neuter because નામ (name) is neuter - Ergative: તેણે (teṇe) in 1.9 and 1.15, the subject of a transitive verb in the past
Respect. For a person spoken of with respect, Gujarati uses the plural, built on તેમ- (tem-): તેમનું નામ (his name, 1.18), તેમની પત્ની (his wife, 1.23), તેમને (them or him, 1.28). The verb is plural too: તે આવ્યા છે, "he has come" (1.20), with આવ્યા in place of આવ્યો. A neighbour, an elder, a guest or a teacher is spoken of in this way.
ને on people. The postposition ને (ne) marks a person or a known animal as the object: છોકરાને જોઉં છું (I see the boy, 1.5), માણસને ઓળખે છે (knows the man, 1.13). Things usually take no ending: પુસ્તક વાંચ્યું (read the book, 1.9), ચા આપી (gave tea, 1.15).
Relative and correlative: જે … તે …. Gujarati puts the clause first and the noun it describes after. જે (je), "which, who", opens the clause, and તે (te) picks it up in the main clause: જે પુસ્તક મેં વાંચ્યું, તે ખૂબ સારું છે (1.12), literally "which book I read, that very good is": "the book that I read is very good". The same pair builds "the one who" in Section F. The time words work in the same way: જ્યારે … ત્યારે … (jyāre … tyāre …), "when … then …", in 1.30.
તેથી and તે પછી. તેથી (tethī) is તે with the ending -થી (-thī), "from": "from that", so "therefore" (1.14). તે પછી (te pachhī) is "after that" (1.15). Both are ready-made linking phrases and are used at once.
The genitive agrees with the thing owned. The endings -નો (-no), -ની (-nī), -નું (-nuṁ) follow the owner and agree with the thing owned: નદીનું પાણી (the water of the river, neuter, 1.10), ગામની બહાર (outside the village, feminine, 1.7), મારો ભાઈ (my brother, masculine, 1.4).
Postpositions. Gujarati has postpositions, which follow the noun. ને, નું, માં (in), થી (from) are written attached to the noun: બગીચામાં (in the garden, 1.11), ઘરમાં (in the house, 1.14), અંદરથી (from inside, 1.27). સાથે (with), માટે (for) and પર (on) stand as separate words: તેમની સાથે (with him, 1.22), ચા માટે (for tea, 1.28).
Adjectives. Adjectives that end in -ો, -ી, -ું agree with the noun in gender and number: નવું ઘર (new house, neuter), નવા પડોશી (new neighbour, respectful plural). Adjectives that end in a consonant do not change: સફેદ બિલાડી (white cat), સુંદર ફૂલ (beautiful flowers), ગરમ ચા (hot tea).
The past of a transitive verb. In the past tenses the subject of a transitive verb takes the ergative, and the verb agrees with the object, not with the subject: તેણે પુસ્તક (neuter) વાંચ્યું (1.9), તેણે ચા (feminine) આપી (1.15), અમે વાતો (feminine plural) કરી (1.15). મેં (meṁ) is the ergative of હું (1.12). The ergative of અમે (ame), "we", is the same word.
Common Mistakes: - Looking for a word for "the" and putting તે before every noun. "The sun rises" is સૂરજ ઊગે છે, not તે સૂરજ ઊગે છે. Use તે when you mean "that one" - Writing the postposition apart from the noun: છોકરાને, not છોકરા ને; બગીચામાં, not બગીચા માં. The words પર, સાથે and માટે are the ones that stand apart - Making the possessive agree with the owner instead of the thing owned: તેનું નામ (neuter નામ), not તેની નામ - Using the ergative with a present tense: તે ચા પીએ છે, not તેણે ચા પીએ છે. The ergative belongs to the past of transitive verbs - Using the plain verb for a person who should be spoken of with respect: for a neighbour or an elder, say તે આવ્યા, not તે આવ્યો - Giving the masculine ending to a feminine or neuter noun: the girl is છોકરી, not છોકરો, and the neuter નવું ઘર takes -ું, not -ો
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Gujarati does without "the", and that shapes how speakers pick out a thing. A shopkeeper says તે દુકાન (that shop) or પેલી દુકાન (that shop over there) with a nod of the head, and the listener finds it; a mother says તે છોકરો (that boy) and the whole street knows which boy she means. Pointing is built into the grammar.
Register matters. The form તે is standard and is what is written in books and newspapers and heard on the news. In ordinary speech you will often hear એ (e) in its place: એ કોણ છે? for તે કોણ છે?. Both are Gujarati, and a learner who knows તે will understand the other at once.
Respect is built into the pronoun. Gujarati has no word for "Mr" or "Mrs" in the sentence, but it has the plural: a speaker who says તે આવ્યા (te āvyā), with the plural verb, is speaking of someone with respect, and a speaker who says તે આવ્યો (te āvyo) is speaking of a boy, a child or a close friend. Names take respect, too: the endings -ભાઈ (-bhāī) for a man and -બેન (-ben) for a woman, as in મહેશભાઈ (Maheshbhai) in example 1.19, are added to a first name much as "Mr" or "Ms" is in English, and they are used even among friends and relatives.
The language itself is a long inheritance. Gujarati is the mother tongue of some 57 million people in India, according to the 2011 census, and is heard in the diaspora from Nairobi to London to New Jersey. The poet Narsinh Mehta, of whom Section F gives a famous couplet, is honoured as the ādi kavi, the first poet of Gujarati, and his best-known hymn became part of the daily prayers at Mahatma Gandhi's ashrams.
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નરસિંહ મહેતા (Narsinh Mehta, 15th century), "વૈષ્ણવજન તો" (Vaishṇavjan to), a devotional hymn in Gujarati, opening couplet; the best-known song of the poet, and a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi, who had it sung at his ashrams
The opening lines:
વૈષ્ણવજન તો તેને કહીએ, જે પીડ પરાઈ જાણે રે; પરદુઃખે ઉપકાર કરે તોયે, મન અભિમાન ન આણે રે.
F-A: Interlinear
F.1a વૈષ્ણવજન Vaishnava-person તો indeed તેને to-that-one કહીએ we-call જે who પીડ pain પરાઈ another's જાણે knows રે O
F.1b vaishṇavjan (VAISH-nuv-juhn) Vaishnava-person to (TOH) indeed tene (TEH-neh) that.one-DAT kahīe (kuh-HEE-eh) call-PRES.1PL je (JEH) REL pīḍ (PEED) pain.F parāī (puh-RAA-ee) other's.F jāṇe (JAA-neh) know-PRES.3 re (REH) VOC.PART
F.2a પરદુઃખે in-another's-sorrow ઉપકાર kindness કરે does તોયે even-so મન mind અભિમાન pride ન not આણે brings રે O
F.2b parduḥkhe (puhr-DUH-kheh) other's-sorrow-LOC upakār (U-puh-kaar) kindness.M kare (KUH-reh) do-PRES.3 toye (TOH-yeh) even-so man (MUHN) mind.N abhimān (uh-bhi-MAAN) pride.N na (NUH) NEG āṇe (AA-neh) bring-PRES.3 re (REH) VOC.PART
F-B: Original and Translation
વૈષ્ણવજન તો તેને કહીએ, જે પીડ પરાઈ જાણે રે; / પરદુઃખે ઉપકાર કરે તોયે, મન અભિમાન ન આણે રે.
"Him alone do we call a Vaishnava who knows another's pain; who does a kindness in another's sorrow and yet lets no pride into his mind." (Translation: Latinum Institute.)
F-C: Original
વૈષ્ણવજન તો તેને કહીએ, જે પીડ પરાઈ જાણે રે; પરદુઃખે ઉપકાર કરે તોયે, મન અભિમાન ન આણે રે.
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
The couplet is built on the pattern this lesson teaches: તેને … જે … (tene … je …), "him … who …". તેને (tene) is the dative of તે, and it points forward to the clause that જે opens: "the one to whom we give the name Vaishnava is the one who knows another's pain". The poet does not say "the Vaishnava is a man who…", but "call that one a Vaishnava, who…". The whole definition rests on તે, the pronoun that is also Gujarati's nearest word for "the".
The other words in the lines are plain Gujarati. વૈષ્ણવજન (vaishṇavjan) is "a Vaishnava", a devotee of Vishnu; જન (jan) is "person", and the word is written as one in this edition. તો (to) is a particle of emphasis: "as for a Vaishnava…, call only that one by the name". કહીએ (kahīe) is the first person plural of the subjunctive, "we call, let us call", and it speaks to the listener in the voice of the community. પીડ (pīḍ) is "pain" and is feminine, so "another's" agrees as પરાઈ (parāī). જાણે (jāṇe) means "knows" and, with પીડ, "feels". રે (re) is the vocative particle of Gujarati verse, put at the end of the line to call the listener.
In the second line, પરદુઃખે (parduḥkhe) is "in another's sorrow": પર (par), "another", and દુઃખ (duḥkh), "sorrow", with the locative ending -એ. ઉપકાર કરે (upakār kare) is "does a kindness". તોયે (toye) is "even so, yet". The last half-line has a negative with the old verb આણવું (āṇvuṁ), "to bring": મન અભિમાન ન આણે (man abhimān na āṇe), "does not bring pride into his mind".
The text is given with modern spelling. Printed editions vary in small matters, for example કહીએ and કહિયે, પરાઈ and પરાઇ, and તોયે and તો યે, and these differences do not change the meaning. The wording of the opening couplet agrees with the Wikipedia article on the hymn and with the text on the Anirdesh site.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
A short conversation between two neighbours, Haresh and Meena, who watch a stranger walk up the lane. Watch how તે points to people and things, how the respectful plural appears at once for the new neighbour, and how તો and જ give the speakers' tone.
1.16a હરેશ Haresh તે that માણસ man કોણ who છે is
1.16b haresh (HUH-rehsh) Haresh te (TEH) that.DEM māṇas (MAA-nus) man.M koṇ (KOHN) who chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.17a મીના Meena તે he/she અમારા our નવા new પડોશી neighbour છે is
1.17b mīnā (MEE-naa) Meena te (TEH) he/she.3SG amārā (uh-MAA-raa) we.GEN.M.PL navā (NUH-vaa) new.M.PL paḍoshī (puh-DOH-shee) neighbour.M chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.18a હરેશ Haresh તેમનું his/her નામ name શું what છે is
1.18b haresh (HUH-rehsh) Haresh temnuṁ (TEHM-noon) he/she.HON-GEN.N nām (NAAM) name.N shuṁ (SHOON) what chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.19a મીના Meena તેમનું his/her નામ name મહેશભાઈ Maheshbhai છે is
1.19b mīnā (MEE-naa) Meena temnuṁ (TEHM-noon) he/she.HON-GEN.N nām (NAAM) name.N maheshbhāī (muh-HEHSH-bhaa-ee) Mahesh-BHAI chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.20a હરેશ Haresh તે he/she ક્યાંથી from-where આવ્યા come છે is
1.20b haresh (HUH-rehsh) Haresh te (TEH) he/she.3SG kyāṁthī (KYAAN-thee) where-ABL āvyā (AAV-yaa) come-PST.M.PL chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.21a મીના Meena તે he/she રાજકોટથી from-Rajkot આવ્યા come છે is
1.21b mīnā (MEE-naa) Meena te (TEH) he/she.3SG rājkoṭthī (RAAJ-koht-thee) Rajkot-ABL āvyā (AAV-yaa) come-PST.M.PL chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.22a હરેશ Haresh શું [question] તેમની his/her સાથે with તેમનું his/her કુટુંબ family પણ also છે is
1.22b haresh (HUH-rehsh) Haresh shuṁ (SHOON) Q temnī (TEHM-nee) he/she.HON-GEN.F sāthe (SAA-theh) with temnuṁ (TEHM-noon) he/she.HON-GEN.N kuṭuṁb (ku-TUMB) family.N paṇ (PUHN) also chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.23a મીના Meena હા yes તેમની his/her પત્ની wife અને and બે two દીકરીઓ daughters પણ also છે are
1.23b mīnā (MEE-naa) Meena hā (HAA) yes temnī (TEHM-nee) he/she.HON-GEN.F patnī (PUHT-nee) wife.F ane (UH-neh) and be (BEH) two dīkarīo (DEE-kuh-ree-oh) daughter.F.PL paṇ (PUHN) also chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.24a હરેશ Haresh તેમનું his/her ઘર house કયું which છે is
1.24b haresh (HUH-rehsh) Haresh temnuṁ (TEHM-noon) he/she.HON-GEN.N ghar (GHUHR) house.N kayuṁ (KUH-yoon) which.N chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.25a મીના Meena તે it પેલું that-yonder પીળું yellow ઘર house છે is
1.25b mīnā (MEE-naa) Meena te (TEH) it.3SG.N peluṁ (PEH-loon) yonder.DEM.N pīḷuṁ (PEE-loon) yellow.N ghar (GHUHR) house.N chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.26a હરેશ Haresh તે that ઘર house તો indeed ઘણું very જૂનું old છે is
1.26b haresh (HUH-rehsh) Haresh te (TEH) that.DEM ghar (GHUHR) house.N to (TOH) TOP ghaṇuṁ (GHUH-noon) very.N jūnuṁ (JOO-noon) old.N chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.27a મીના Meena હા yes પણ but અંદરથી from-inside તે it નવું new છે is
1.27b mīnā (MEE-naa) Meena hā (HAA) yes paṇ (PUHN) but aṁdarthī (UHN-duhr-thee) inside-ABL te (TEH) it.3SG.N navuṁ (NUH-voon) new.N chhe (CHHEH) be.PRES.3
1.28a હરેશ Haresh તો then ચાલો come-on તેમને them ચા tea માટે for બોલાવીએ let-us-invite
1.28b haresh (HUH-rehsh) Haresh to (TOH) then chālo (CHAA-loh) go-IMP.2PL temne (TEHM-neh) he/she.HON-ACC chā (CHAA) tea.F māṭe (MAA-teh) for bolāvīe (BOH-laa-vee-eh) invite-SUBJ.1PL
1.29a મીના Meena સારું fine હું I તેમને them હમણાં now જ just બોલાવું invite છું am
1.29b mīnā (MEE-naa) Meena sāruṁ (SAA-roon) good.N huṁ (HOON) I.1SG temne (TEHM-neh) he/she.HON-ACC hamaṇāṁ (huh-MUH-naan) now j (JUH) EMPH bolāvuṁ (BOH-laa-voon) invite-PRES.1SG chhuṁ (CHHOON) be.PRES.1SG
1.30a હરેશ Haresh જ્યારે when તે he/she આવશે will-come ત્યારે then હું I ગરમ hot ચા tea બનાવીશ will-make
1.30b haresh (HUH-rehsh) Haresh jyāre (JYAA-reh) when te (TEH) he/she.3SG āvshe (AAV-sheh) come-FUT.3 tyāre (TYAA-reh) then huṁ (HOON) I.1SG garam (GUH-ruhm) hot chā (CHAA) tea.F banāvīsh (buh-NAA-veesh) make-FUT.1SG
1.16 હરેશ: તે માણસ કોણ છે? (haresh: te māṇas koṇ chhe?) "Who is that man?" 1.17 મીના: તે અમારા નવા પડોશી છે. (mīnā: te amārā navā paḍoshī chhe.) "He is our new neighbour." 1.18 હરેશ: તેમનું નામ શું છે? (haresh: temnuṁ nām shuṁ chhe?) "What is his name?" 1.19 મીના: તેમનું નામ મહેશભાઈ છે. (mīnā: temnuṁ nām maheshbhāī chhe.) "His name is Maheshbhai." 1.20 હરેશ: તે ક્યાંથી આવ્યા છે? (haresh: te kyāṁthī āvyā chhe?) "Where has he come from?" 1.21 મીના: તે રાજકોટથી આવ્યા છે. (mīnā: te rājkoṭthī āvyā chhe.) "He has come from Rajkot." 1.22 હરેશ: શું તેમની સાથે તેમનું કુટુંબ પણ છે? (haresh: shuṁ temnī sāthe temnuṁ kuṭuṁb paṇ chhe?) "Is his family with him too?" 1.23 મીના: હા, તેમની પત્ની અને બે દીકરીઓ પણ છે. (mīnā: hā, temnī patnī ane be dīkarīo paṇ chhe.) "Yes, his wife and two daughters are here as well." 1.24 હરેશ: તેમનું ઘર કયું છે? (haresh: temnuṁ ghar kayuṁ chhe?) "Which house is his?" 1.25 મીના: તે પેલું પીળું ઘર છે. (mīnā: te peluṁ pīḷuṁ ghar chhe.) "It is that yellow house over there." 1.26 હરેશ: તે ઘર તો ઘણું જૂનું છે. (haresh: te ghar to ghaṇuṁ jūnuṁ chhe.) "That house is very old." 1.27 મીના: હા, પણ અંદરથી તે નવું છે. (mīnā: hā, paṇ aṁdarthī te navuṁ chhe.) "Yes, but on the inside it is new." 1.28 હરેશ: તો ચાલો, તેમને ચા માટે બોલાવીએ. (haresh: to chālo, temne chā māṭe bolāvīe.) "Then come, let us invite them for tea." 1.29 મીના: સારું, હું તેમને હમણાં જ બોલાવું છું. (mīnā: sāruṁ, huṁ temne hamaṇāṁ j bolāvuṁ chhuṁ.) "Fine, I will invite them right now." 1.30 હરેશ: જ્યારે તે આવશે, ત્યારે હું ગરમ ચા બનાવીશ. (haresh: jyāre te āvshe, tyāre huṁ garam chā banāvīsh.) "When he comes, I will make hot tea."
1.16 હરેશ: તે માણસ કોણ છે? 1.17 મીના: તે અમારા નવા પડોશી છે. 1.18 હરેશ: તેમનું નામ શું છે? 1.19 મીના: તેમનું નામ મહેશભાઈ છે. 1.20 હરેશ: તે ક્યાંથી આવ્યા છે? 1.21 મીના: તે રાજકોટથી આવ્યા છે. 1.22 હરેશ: શું તેમની સાથે તેમનું કુટુંબ પણ છે? 1.23 મીના: હા, તેમની પત્ની અને બે દીકરીઓ પણ છે. 1.24 હરેશ: તેમનું ઘર કયું છે? 1.25 મીના: તે પેલું પીળું ઘર છે. 1.26 હરેશ: તે ઘર તો ઘણું જૂનું છે. 1.27 મીના: હા, પણ અંદરથી તે નવું છે. 1.28 હરેશ: તો ચાલો, તેમને ચા માટે બોલાવીએ. 1.29 મીના: સારું, હું તેમને હમણાં જ બોલાવું છું. 1.30 હરેશ: જ્યારે તે આવશે, ત્યારે હું ગરમ ચા બનાવીશ.
Pointing with તે. In 1.16 તે is "that" before માણસ, in 1.17 it is "he", in 1.25 it is "it" (the yellow house), and in 1.26 it is "that" again before ઘર. In 1.27 તે is "it" for the same house, and the adjective is neuter: નવું. One word covers a man, a house and the house again, and the neuter adjective shows what તે stands for.
Respect for the stranger. Meena speaks of the new neighbour with the plural, from the first reply: અમારા નવા પડોશી (our new neighbour, plural adjective, 1.17), then તેમનું નામ (his name, 1.18, 1.19), તેમની સાથે (with him, 1.22), તેમને (him, 1.28, 1.29), and the plural verb આવ્યા (1.20, 1.21). Nothing in the Gujarati says "he" or "she"; the plural alone says "someone to be respected".
Questions. કોણ (koṇ) is "who", શું (shuṁ) is "what", કયું (kayuṁ) is "which" (neuter, for ઘર), and ક્યાંથી (kyāṁthī) is "from where". શું also opens a yes-or-no question (1.22), as in શું તેમની સાથે તેમનું કુટુંબ પણ છે?. In the sentence about the house (1.24), કયું agrees with ઘર.
Linking words. પણ (paṇ) is "also" in 1.22 and 1.23 and "but" in 1.27. તો (to) at the start of 1.28 means "then, in that case", and in 1.26 it means "as for". The little word જ (j) in હમણાં જ (hamaṇāṁ j, 1.29), "right now", adds emphasis: "just now".
Invitations. ચાલો (chālo) is "come on, let us go", and it prepares the suggestion તેમને ચા માટે બોલાવીએ (let us invite them for tea, 1.28). બોલાવીએ is the first person plural of the subjunctive, "let us call". Compare કહીએ in Section F.
જ્યારે … ત્યારે …. The last sentence closes the dialogue with the time pair: જ્યારે તે આવશે (when he comes), ત્યારે હું ગરમ ચા બનાવીશ (then I will make hot tea). The future ends -શે for "he, she, it" (આવશે) and -ીશ for "I" (બનાવીશ).
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
The romanisation in this course follows the sound of the word, not the letters one by one: the inherent vowel a is dropped where it is not spoken (chhokro, from છોકરો). ā is the long a of "father". e and o are pure vowels, with no glide at the end as in English "say" and "go". ṁ marks a nasal sound: a nasalised vowel at the end of a word (huṁ, chhuṁ) or a nasal consonant before another consonant (suṁdar). ch is as in "church", and chh is the same sound with a puff of air. ṭ, ṭh, ḍ, ṇ and ḷ are retroflex: the tip of the tongue is curled back against the roof of the mouth. t, th, d and n are dental: the tongue touches the teeth. bh, dh, gh and jh are breathy-voiced: the voiced consonant is released with a rush of breath. sh stands for both શ and ષ. Gujarati does not tell short and long i and u apart in speech, so ઇ and ઈ are one sound, and ઉ and ઊ are one sound.
In the respellings, uh is the vowel of "about", aa is "father", ee is "see", oo is "food", eh is a pure e as in French "thé", and oh is a pure o as in French "beau". A final n after a vowel means that the vowel is nasalised (HOON for huṁ). Stress in Gujarati is light. The capital letters mark the syllable an English ear will hear as the strongest, which is usually the first.
તે (te) — IPA: /t̪e/ — Dental t, as in Italian "tè", and a pure e. છે (chhe) — IPA: /tʃʰe/ — chh is the sound of "ch" in "church" with a strong puff of air. હું (huṁ) — IPA: /ɦũ/ — The h is breathy, and the u is nasalised. છોકરો (chhokro) — IPA: /tʃʰokɾo/ — The vowel between k and r is silent. ઠંડું (ṭhaṁḍuṁ) — IPA: /ʈʰə̃ɖũ/ — Retroflex ṭh and ḍ; the first vowel is nasalised. પાણી (pāṇī) — IPA: /paɳi/ — ણ is a retroflex n, with the tongue curled back. ઘર (ghar) — IPA: /ɡʱər/ — gh is a breathy g. પીળું (pīḷuṁ) — IPA: /piɭũ/ — ળ is a retroflex l, with the tongue curled back. શું (shuṁ) — IPA: /ʃũ/ — sh as in English "shoe", with a nasalised u.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
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Course Index: [latinum.substack.com/p/index](https://latinum.substack.com/p/index)