Language/Malayalam/Grammar/Nouns

Malayalam Grammar - Nouns

Hi Malayalam learners! 😊

In this lesson, we will be focusing on Malayalam nouns. Nouns in Malayalam are typically used to identify a person, place, thing, or concept. Just like in English, they can be either singular or plural.

Take some time to dive into these other pages after completing this lesson: Malayalam Grammar → Basic Sentence Structure → Present Tense ..., Future Tense, Adjectives & Questions.

Noun Gender

Malayalam nouns are classified into three genders: masculine, feminine, and neutral. Unlike in English, most inanimate objects are also classified as either masculine or feminine in Malayalam.

For example:

Malayalam	Pronunciation	Gender	English
പൂർവ്വാപര ദിശ	Pūrvvāpara diśa	Feminine	East
പശു	Paśu	Masculine	Animal
വള്ളി	Vaḷḷi	Feminine	Sword
കരൾ	Karaḷ	Masculine	Liver

Note that there are exceptions to these gender classifications and you will learn them as you continue learning Malayalam.

Singular and Plural

Just like in English, Malayalam nouns can be either singular or plural. In Malayalam, when a noun is plural, it is marked by adding കൾ (kaḷ) or മാർ (mār) at the end of the noun.

Here are some examples:

Malayalam	Pronunciation	English
കുഞ്ഞു	Kuññu	Child (singular)
കുഞ്ഞുകൾ	Kuññukaḷ	Children (plural)
കോഴി	Kōḻi	Hen (singular)
കോഴികൾ	Kōḻikaḷ	Hens (plural)

Note that sometimes the plural form of a noun may differ from the singular form, so it's important to learn these differences as you progress in your Malayalam studies.

Possession

In Malayalam, when a noun possesses something, it is typically written as a separate word indicating possession. For example, instead of saying "the book's cover," you would say "the cover of the book."

Here are some examples:

Malayalam	Pronunciation	English
എന്റെ വീട്	Ente vīṭ	My house
ആദ്യ പുസ്തകം	Ādya pustakam	First book
ഒരു പാട്ട് പാടുക	Oru pāṭṭu pāṭuka	Sing a song

Dialogue

Here's an example dialogue to help you see nouns in context:

• Person 1: നിങ്ങൾക്ക് കൂടി കഴിയാത്ത ആഹാരം ഏത്? (Niṅṅaḷkku kūṭi kaḻiyātta āhāram ēth?) (What food can't you eat?)
• Person 2: ഞാൻ മീൻ കഴിയാനില്ല. (Njāṇ mīn kaḻiyānila.) (I can't eat fish.)

In this dialogue, you can see the use of the nouns ആഹാരം (āhāram) - food, and മീൻ (mīn) - fish.

Cultural Information

Malayalam is the official language of the Indian state of Kerala and is also spoken in the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry. In addition to India, it is also spoken in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar.

Malayalam is a Dravidian language, which means it has no relationship with the Indo-European languages. A unique feature of Malayalam is that it is written in a script called Malayalam script, which evolved from the ancient Brahmi script.

Practice

To practice using Malayalam nouns, try labeling objects in your own home with their Malayalam names. You can also try writing short sentences about your daily routine using the nouns you have learned.

Sources

• Malayalam grammar - Wikipedia
• Malayalam
• Malayalam - Wikipedia

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Other Lessons

• Future Tense
• How to Use Have
• How to Use Be
• Conditional Mood
• Questions
• Adjectives
• Pronouns
• Plurals
• Negation