जणू (काही)

As if

Level 6Sounds Like jaṇū (kāhī)

The clause with जणू usually keeps the tense of the story, and -च often adds emphasis to the noun that carries the image.

How It Works

जणू (काही) sets a scene next to the real one. The listener sees both: what happened and what it looked like.

Real sceneजणू clause
मुले अंगणात नाचत होती,जणू काही पाऊस पहिल्यांदाच येत होता.
ती शांतपणे बोलली,जणू काही काहीच घडले नव्हते.

काही can be dropped: जणू आकाशच खाली आले होते. Both forms mean the same, and जणू काही is the fuller, more formal one.

The verb usually follows the tense of the story. In a past story, the imagined situation is in a past tense such as होता or the -ले होते form. After a present verb, it is in the present: तो असा वागतो, जणू तो घराचा मालक आहे.

The emphatic -च often joins the noun that carries the image: जणू आकाशच खाली आले होते. It points at the comparison.

Use this word in stories, descriptions and essays. In ordinary speech, -ल्यासारखे वाटणे and -सारखा carry the same idea with less ceremony.

Examples (5)

  1. मुले अंगणात नाचत होती, जणू काही पाऊस पहिल्यांदाच येत होता.

    The children were dancing in the yard as if the rain were coming for the first time.

    जणू काही opens the imagined situation.

  2. ती इतक्या शांतपणे बोलली, जणू काही काहीच घडले नव्हते.

    She spoke so calmly, as if nothing had happened.

    The clause after जणू काही uses the past perfect नव्हते.

  3. जणू आकाशच खाली आले होते, इतका पाऊस कोसळत होता.

    It was as if the sky itself had come down, so hard was the rain falling.

    जणू stands alone here, and -च stresses आकाश.

  4. तो असा वागला, जणू तो घराचा मालकच होता.

    He behaved as though he were the owner of the house.

    जणू compares his behaviour with an imagined position.

  5. तिने मला असे पाहिले, जणू काही ती मला पहिल्यांदाच भेटत होती.

    She looked at me as if she were meeting me for the first time.

    The imagined situation is in the past progressive.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the Hindi word मानो.

    मानो पाऊस पहिल्यांदाच येत होता.
    जणू काही पाऊस पहिल्यांदाच येत होता.

    मानो is Hindi. Marathi uses जणू or जणू काही.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

जणू (काही)Level 6As if

Learn This First

As if compares.