Older Marathi in Quotations
Modern writing rarely uses these forms in its own voice. जैसे थे is a fixed phrase that it keeps. They appear in verse, in school texts and in quotations.
How It Works
Marathi has a long written history, and verse from the saint-poets keeps its older shapes. A modern reader meets them in textbooks, on festival days and in quotations.
| Older form | Modern form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ऐसे | असे | like this |
| तैसे | तसे | like that |
| जैसे | जसे | as |
| कैसे | कसे | how |
| देखिला | पाहिला | saw |
The first four show a regular change: the old ऐ- became अ-, and तै-, जै- and कै- became त-, ज- and क-. देखिला is one of the older verbs of seeing.
Hindi also has ऐसे, जैसे and कैसे, so a learner can mistake them for Hindi. In Marathi they belong to the old poets.
Quote an older form with quotation marks, and add the modern word when the reader needs it: “तैसे” म्हणजे आजचे “तसे”.
In ordinary prose, keep older forms out of your own sentences, except a fixed phrase such as जैसे थे. Poets and stylists sometimes choose them on purpose. A modern writer who writes ऐसे where असे belongs sounds like Hindi, and one who writes देखिला sounds as if quoting a verse.
Examples (5)
- जुन्या ओवीत “ऐसे” हा शब्द “असे” या अर्थाने येतो.
In an old verse, the word “ऐसे” has the meaning of “असे”.
The quotation keeps the old ऐसे; the modern form is असे.
- “तैसे” म्हणजे आजच्या भाषेतले “तसे”.
“तैसे” means “तसे” in today's language.
तैसे is the older form of तसे.
- “जैसे” हा शब्द आता “जसे” असा लिहिला जातो.
The word “जैसे” is now written “जसे”.
जैसे is the older form of जसे.
- “ऐसा” म्हणजे आजचा “असा”.
“ऐसा” means today's “असा”.
ऐसा is the older form of असा.
- “देखिला” म्हणजे “पाहिला”.
“देखिला” means “पाहिला”.
देखिला is an older verb form for saw.
Common Mistakes
Using an older form in your own sentence.
तो ऐसे म्हणाला.तो असे म्हणाला.In ordinary prose, ऐसे belongs in quotations from old verse and looks like Hindi.
Using an older verb in modern prose.
आम्ही मोठा किल्ला देखिला.आम्ही मोठा किल्ला पाहिला.देखिला is an older form and stays in quotations.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Old forms are read in quotations, so learners compare them with the standard and spoken forms first.
Related Patterns
- Sanskrit Words and Their Marathi Forms
This entry explains how Sanskrit words became everyday forms.
Level 6 - Proverbs
Old sayings and proverbs also keep older shapes.
Level 6 - Written and Spoken Marathi
This entry describes the standard language.
Foundations - Marathi Spelling Rules
These are the spelling rules for modern writing.
Foundations
Words in This Pattern
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