In our last Quick Learner, we saw the Gujarati words for the singular personal pronouns “I”, “you”, “he” and “she”.
Today, we’ll continue with personal pronouns, but this time we’ll be looking at the PLURAL personal pronouns in Gujarati.
“Wait, I think I’ve kind of forgotten the singular pronouns in Gujarati and now Dilshan’s already starting on plurals?!!”
Don’t worry, friend-o…
I got you a little summary that’ll catch you up to speed in less than a minute.
See below:
Lazy But Smart Summary:
Extracted from Gujarati Quick Learner – 03: Singular Personal Pronouns in Gujarati:
I | hooᴺ | |
you (FORMAL) | thȧ∙mé | |
you (INFORMAL) | thu | |
he/she (FORMAL) | thḗ∙o | |
he/she (INFORMAL) | thḗ |
Let’s start on the plurals now:
Personal Pronouns (Plural)
1st Person: “We”
Here’s the deal:
- In English, the 1st-person plural pronoun is “we” (when we’re referring to a group of people that includes ourselves)
- Furthermore, in English, we use the same word “we” regardless if that group we’re referring to consists of only males, females, or males & females (i.e. We don’t make a distinction based on gender).
- We also don’t make a distinction based on if the group we’re referring to is formal or informal.
And guess what?
- This is the same in Gujarati…
Yay!!!
See below:
we (ANY GROUP OF PEOPLE) | ȧ∙mé 1 |
My Random Notes:
1 “we” will always be ‘ȧ∙mé’ regardless if the group saying it is male, female, or a mixed group of both males & females
See how the 6 sample phrases below are identical to one another:
Sample Phrases:
1) When it’s a group of males
We are [Gujarati] (FORMAL) | ȧ∙mé [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴi∙é 2 |
We are [Gujarati] (INFORMAL) | ȧ∙mé [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴi∙é 2 |
2) When it’s a group of females
We are [Gujarati] (FORMAL) | ȧ∙mé [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴi∙é 2 |
We are [Gujarati] (INFORMAL) | ȧ∙mé [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴi∙é 2 |
3) When it’s a mixed group of males & females
We are [Gujarati] (FORMAL) | ȧ∙mé [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴi∙é 2 |
We are [Gujarati] (INFORMAL) | ȧ∙mé [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴi∙é 2 |
My Random Notes:
2 ‘chᴴi∙é’ = “are” in this context. So, the phrase literally reads “We Gujarati are” (in that order).
(Don’t worry, one of my upcoming posts will introduce ‘chᴴi∙é’ to you.)
2nd Person: “You” (to a group)
Here’s the deal:
- In English, the 2nd-person plural pronoun is “you” (when we’re speaking to a group of people)
- Furthermore, in English, we use the same word “you” when we’re speaking to a group of males, females, or males & females (i.e. We don’t make a distinction based on gender).
- We also don’t make a distinction based on if the people we’re speaking to are formal or informal.
And guess what?
- This is the same in Gujarati…
Yay!!!
See below:
you (ANY GROUP OF PEOPLE) | thȧ∙mé 3 |
My Random Notes:
3 Let me spell it out for you:
We use the same word ‘thȧ∙mé’ regardless if the group is formal, informal, male, or female. Basically to any group of people.
See how the 6 sample phrases below are identical to one another:
Sample Phrases:
1) When speaking to a group of males
You are [Gujarati] (FORMAL) | thȧ∙mé [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴo 4 |
You are [Gujarati] (INFORMAL) | thȧ∙mé [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴo 4 |
2) When speaking to a group of females
You are [Gujarati] (FORMAL) | thȧ∙mé [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴo 4 |
You are [Gujarati] (INFORMAL) | thȧ∙mé [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴo 4 |
3) When speaking to a mixed group of males & females
You are [Gujarati] (FORMAL) | thȧ∙mé [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴo 4 |
You are [Gujarati] (INFORMAL) | thȧ∙mé [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴo 4 |
My Random Notes:
4 In the 6 sentences above, we use the same word ‘chᴴo’ which means “are” in this context.
(Don’t fret, soon I will introduce ‘chᴴo’ to you in a separate post.)
3rd Person: “They”
Here’s the deal:
- In English, the 3rd-person plural pronoun is “they” (when we’re speaking about a group of people)
- Furthermore, in English, we use the same word “they” when we’re speaking about a group of males, female, or males & females (i.e. We don’t make a distinction based on gender).
- We also don’t make a distinction based on if the people we’re speaking about are formal or informal.
And guess what?
- This is the same in Gujarati…
Yay!!!
See below:
they (ANY GROUP OF PEOPLE) | thḗ∙o 5 |
My Random Notes:
5 Let me spell it out for you again:
We use the same word ‘thḗ∙o’ regardless if the group is formal, informal, male, or female. Basically to any group of people.
See how the 6 sample phrases below are identical to one another:
Sample Phrases:
1) When referring to a group of males
They are [Gujarati] (FORMAL) | thḗ∙o [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴé 6 |
They are [Gujarati] (INFORMAL) | thḗ∙o [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴé 6 |
2) When referring to a group of females
They are [Gujarati] (FORMAL) | thḗ∙o [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴé 6 |
They are [Gujarati] (INFORMAL) | thḗ∙o [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴé 6 |
3) When referring to a mixed group of males & females
They are [Gujarati] (FORMAL) | thḗ∙o [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴé 6 |
They are [Gujarati] (INFORMAL) | thḗ∙o [gu∙jȧ∙raa∙thi] chᴴé 6 |
My Random Notes:
6 In the 6 sentences above, we use the same word ‘chᴴé’ which means “are” in this context.
(And for the last time, rest assured, I will introduce ‘chᴴé’ to you soon.)
Test Yo’Self: Gujarati Flashcards
Let’s hear what you’ve got to say, friend-o.
Speak to you in a bit.
Hey Dilshan,
Loving the new posts! I’m picking up my Gujarati again now as I have a spare half an hour in the mornings before work. It’s really helpful how you take everything apart thoroughly so I know exactly when to use what.
Just wanted to add something (and feel clever about it :D) – in my family we also use the word ‘apNe’ for ‘we’, if ‘we’ includes the person being spoken to. E.g. ‘apNe party ma jaye chie’ – we (inc. you) are going to the party vs ‘ame party ma jaye chie’ – we are going to the party, but you aren’t.
Do you know this to be true across all dialects of Gujarati?
Looking forward to more!
Aashni 🙂
Aashni, glad you’re loving the posts. I like that you’re setting aside time for the lessons. That’s a common trait I find in my students who learn the language quicker than the rest. My wife’s family doesn’t use ‘Apne’ but there are many who do. At this early stage, I didn’t want to give too much choice to the learner. Was intending to slowly introduce it later on.
Does that answer your question?
That’s good to know it’ll help me to learn Gujarati quicker! Oh okay, that’s interesting to know – would people in your wife’s family understand ‘apne’ despite not using it? That does answer my question, thank you 🙂
Yes, they would. My wife instantly knew what I was talking about. Out of curiosity, which part of India/Gujarat is your family originally from? (If it’s too personal to share here, email me). That way I’ll also make a mental note that folks from this region may say “apne”.
Nice, so I won’t confuse anyone 🙂 No problem, I think my family is from around Jamnagar.
Ame Hindustani/Indian Che
Tame Indian Cho
Theo Indian Che
essentially the same for American and Russian correct?
Tame American Cho
Tame Russian Cho