Bengali-Beginner-Nouns

Nouns

Nouns in Bengali

Today, we will dive deeper into nouns in Bengali. We’ll cover three key topics:

  1. Indefinite and Definite Articles

  2. Forming Plurals of Nouns

  3. Using Demonstrative Pronouns

1. Indefinite and Definite Articles

Unlike many languages, Bengali does not use separate words for indefinite articles (a, an) or definite articles (the). Instead, these concepts are understood through context or by adding certain words. Let’s break this down:

Indefinite Articles:

To express indefiniteness (“a” or “an”), the word একটি (ekṭi) or একটা (ekṭā) can be used. These roughly translate to “one” in English but imply “a” or “an” in context. একটি is a diminutive form ofএকটা and is typically used for people and small, cute things.
If we talk about people, একজন (ekjon) can be used as an indefinite article.

Examples:

  • একটি বইটা (ekṭi boiṭa) – A book

  • একটা ছুড়ি (ekṭā chhuri) – A knife

  • একজন মহিলা (ekjon mohila) – A woman

Definite Articles:

To indicate definiteness (“the”), Bengali adds টা (ṭā) or টি (ṭi) at the end of the noun. These act as suffixes to signal “the”.

Examples:

  • বইটা (boiṭā) – The book

  • ঘড়িটি (ghoriṭi) – The clock

2. Forming Plurals of Nouns

To form the plural of Bengali nouns, different suffixes are used depending on the level of formality and context. The common plural suffixes are -রা (-rā), -গুলো (-gulo), and -গানা (-gānā).

Common Plural Forms:

  1. -রা, -েরা, -দের (-rā, -era, -der): Used for animate or human nouns.

    • মেয়েরা (meyera)– The girls

    • ছেলেদের (cheleder) – The boys

    • বোনেরা (bonera) – sisters

    • শিক্ষীদেরা (shikṣīdērā) – The teachers

  2. -গুলো (-gulo): Used for inanimate objects or general items.

    • বইগুলো (boigulo) – The books

    • ঘড়িগুলো (ghoḍigulo) – The clocks

  3. -গানা (-gānā): Used for large quantities or collections.

    • বইগানা (boigānā) – A collection of books

    • ফলগানা (phôlgānā) – A bunch of fruits

3. Using Demonstrative Pronouns

In Bengali, demonstrative pronouns like “this” and “that” are expressed using specific words combined with nouns. The key pronouns are:

Here (This, These)

 
  • এটা (etā) / এটি (eti) – This
  • এগুলো (egulo) / এগুলি (eguli) – These

There (That, Those)

 

  • ওটা (otā) / ওটি (oti)  – That

  • ওগুলো (ogulo) / ওগুলি (oguli) – Those

Elsewhere (That, Those)

  • সেটা (setā) / সেটি (seti)  – That

  • সেগুলো (segulo) / সেগুলি (seguli) – Those

When demonstrative pronouns are used with a noun, the two parts of the demonstrative pronouns are put on either side of the noun (এ /টা, ও /টা, সে /টা, এ /গুলো, ও /গুলো, সে /গুলো). Usually, in spoken Bengali, an emphatic -ই is added to the first part (এই, ওই, সেই).

Examples with Nouns:

  1. This/These:

    • এই বইটা (ei boita) – This book

    • এই ঘড়িগুলো (ei ghoḍigulo) – These clocks

  2. That/Those (there):

    • ওই মেজটা (oi mejta) – That table

    • ওই ছাবিগুলো (oi chhabigulo) – Those pictures

  3. That/Those (elsewhere):

    • সেই গাড়িটা (sei garita) – That car

    • সেই কুকুরগুলো (sei kukurgulo) – Those picture