Language/Tajik/Grammar/Plurals

Tajik Grammar - Plurals

Hi Tajik learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will be exploring plural forms in Tajik. You may already know that plural forms are used when referring to more than one object, person or concept. However, in Tajik, there are a few different ways to express the plural, and they can vary depending on the noun gender and ending.

Nouns ending in -ҳ

Nouns ending in -ҳ become plural by replacing the -ҳ with the suffix -ҳо. This plural form applies to all noun genders.

Tajik	Pronunciation	English
китоб	kitob	book
китобҳо	kitobho	books
мадраса	madrasa	school
мадрасаҳо	madrasaho	schools
китф	kitf	bone
китфҳо	kitfho	bones

Dialogue:

• Person 1: Модарса дар китобҳо дастури мухтасарҳо нақш мекунанд. (Teachers draw pictures in short textbooks.)
• Person 2: Ман гурӯҳ бозӣ дар онҳои мадрасаҳо наомадам. (I played volleyball in those schools.)

Nouns ending in vowels (except -и)

Nouns that end in vowels are made plural by adding the suffix -ҳо to the singular form. This plural form applies to nouns of both genders.

Tajik	Pronunciation	English
баробар	barobar	equal
баробарҳо	barobarho	equals
шахс	shahs	person
шахсҳо	shahsho	people
ҷавоб	javob	answer
ҷавобҳо	javobho	answers

Dialogue:

• Person 1: Баробарҳо бо монанди баробар низ мегӯяд. (Equals are not born with the meaning of equal.)
• Person 2: Шумо бояд ҷавобҳои шуморо дар тестҳо медиҳед. (You must give your answers in the tests.)

Nouns ending in -и

Nouns that end in -и become plural by changing the -и to -ён. This plural form applies to nouns of both genders.

Tajik	Pronunciation	English
рӯзгор	ruzgor	day-labourer
рӯзгорён	ruzgoryon	day-labourers
таърих	tarih	history
таърихён	tarih yon	histories
забон	zaban	language
забонён	zabonyon	languages

Dialogue:

• Person 1: Мардум одамони рӯзгорёнро шукӯҳ мепаранд. (People appreciate the hard work of labourers.)
• Person 2: Ёдҳои забонёнро бо мутолиа намоед мевақт кадров дар сеҳати дунё афзоид мепазирам. (Study of languages will increase career opportunities in the health sector.)

Nouns ending in consonants

Nouns ending in consonants show no change in the plural, and can be grouped into three categories:

• Nouns that end in -р, -л, -н, -й, -м, -в retain the last consonant in the plural form.
• Nouns that end in -т, -д, -з replace the final consonant with -она.
• Nouns that end in -п, -к, -г, -ф, -х, -ҳ replace the final consonant with -ҳо in the plural form.

This plural form applies to nouns of both genders.

Tajik	Pronunciation	English
дерс	dars	lesson
дарсон	darson	lessons
китобгӯ	kitobgu	librarian
китобгӯҳо	kitobguho	librarians
дӯст	dust	friend
дӯстон	doston	friends
қаҳва	qahva	coffee
қаҳваҳо	qahvaho	coffees

Dialogue:

• Person 1: Шумо метавонед бо дӯстонро аз рӯи истиқбол ба рӯзи шанбе пайда шавед. (You can be prepared to welcome friends on Saturday.)
• Person 2: Вай қаҳваҳо яке бадаф нарафтаанд. (They did not make any coffee.)

Exceptions

As with any language, there are always words that do not follow the rules above. Here are a few exceptions that must be memorized:

Tajik	Pronunciation	English
фарход	farhod	Farhod (name)
сӣмӣ	siimi	samovar
айъни Тӯҷик	ayni Tojik	Tajik mirror
хонгар	hongar	Hongar (name)
харомга	xaromga	protected area

Dialogue:

• Person 1: Айъни Тӯҷикро ба ширкат медоранд? (Do they use Tajik mirrors in the company?)
• Person 2: Ман ҳамаи номҳои хонгарро яд гирӯ фармондам. (I memorized all of the names of Hongar.)

Now that you are armed with knowledge about Tajik grammar plurals, you can practice with different sentences and keep expanding your vocabulary. To improve your Tajik Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

---

➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Sources

• Tajik Language
• Tajik Plural
• Tajik Grammar
• Tajik Phonology