-पणा / -ता / -त्व

Making Abstract Nouns

Level 5Sounds Like paṇā / -tā / -tva

The ending decides the gender of the new noun: -पणा is masculine, -ता is feminine, -त्व is neuter.

How It Works

Marathi builds abstract nouns by adding an ending to an adjective or a noun. Three endings do most of the work.

EndingGenderExamples
-पणाMasculineमोठेपणा (greatness), साधेपणा (simplicity), प्रामाणिकपणा (honesty)
-ताFeminineसुंदरता (beauty), एकता (unity), स्पष्टता (clarity)
-त्वNeuterमहत्त्व (importance), नेतृत्व (leadership), व्यक्तित्व (personality)

-पणा joins everyday Marathi words and a few Sanskrit ones such as प्रामाणिक. An adjective that ends in -ा changes to -े before it: साधा becomes साधेपणा, and मोठा becomes मोठेपणा. -ता and -त्व join mainly Sanskrit words and show up in news, essays and formal speech.

Compare नेता (a leader, a person) with नेतृत्व (leadership, the quality). -त्व always names the quality, never a person.

The new noun follows its own gender in the sentence: सुंदरता वाढते, साधेपणा आवडतो, महत्त्व आहे.

-पण (neuter) is a close relative that names a stage of life: लहानपण, म्हातारपण. It is a separate ending from -पणा, so keep the final vowel in view.

Examples (5)

  1. आजीच्या साधेपणाने सगळ्यांना जिंकले.

    Grandmother's simplicity won everyone over.

    -पणा makes the masculine noun साधेपणा from साधा.

  2. या शहराची सुंदरता पावसाळ्यात वाढते.

    The beauty of this city grows in the rainy season.

    -ता makes the feminine noun सुंदरता, so the verb is वाढते.

  3. शिक्षणाला समाजात फार महत्त्व आहे.

    Education has great importance in society.

    -त्व makes the neuter noun महत्त्व.

  4. त्याच्या प्रामाणिकपणाची सर्वांनी प्रशंसा केली.

    Everyone praised his honesty.

    -पणा builds the noun प्रामाणिकपणा, joined to the -ची ending.

  5. तिच्या नेतृत्वाखाली संघाने स्पर्धा जिंकली.

    Under her leadership the team won the competition.

    -त्व builds नेतृत्व, and -खाली joins the noun.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the final -ा of the adjective before -पणा.

    साधापणा
    साधेपणा

    The final -ा of the adjective becomes -े before -पणा.

  • Using the wrong gender with an -ता noun.

    सुंदरता वाढतो.
    सुंदरता वाढते.

    Abstract nouns in -ता are feminine, so the verb ends in -ते.

How It Connects

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

-पणा / -ता / -त्वLevel 5Making Abstract Nouns

Learn This First

Suffixes make a noun from an adjective.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

-पणा-त्व