Exclamations are an attractive part of any language. It conveys feeling with added weight. In English, we say “Oh My God!!” , “Oh No!! ” “How beautiful” etc. The Marathi language also has many exclamations.
The Marathi language has many dialects and different styles of speaking based on the region in Maharashtra. Each dialect can have its special exclamations.
Below I have listed exclamation which is widely used in all the dialects.
Not all Marathi exclamations can have similar words in English and vice-versa. Try to understand the example to know it better.
To Express surprise
1) खरंच ! ( kharaMch )
Similar to “Really !!” in English
e.g. Really !! I said so -> खरंच !! मी तसं बोललो (kharaMch mI tasaM bolalo )
2) अरे ! (are !) / अरेच्चा (arechchA!) / अरेच्च्या (arechchyA !)
e.g. Hey ! When did you come ? -> अरे !/ अरेच्चा/ अरेच्च्या तुम्ही कधी आलात ( are !/ arechchA !/ arechchyA ! tumhI kadhI AlAt ? )
To express surprise of size
3) अबब ! ( ababa !)
e.g. How big !! -> अबब ! किती मोठा ( ababa !! kitI moThA )
To express pleasant feeling
4) अहाहा ! ( ahAhA ! )
e.g. nice smell -> अहाहा ! ( ahAhA ! )
very testy -> अहाहा ! ( ahAhA ! )
To express sorrow
5) ओहो! ( oho ! )
e.g. very bad -> ओहो ! वाईट झालं ( oho !! vAIT jhAlaM )
6) अरे देवा! (are devaa ! )
Same as “My God!” in English
e.g. Oh my God !! Who did this -> अरे देवा ! हे कोणी केलं (are devaa ! he koNI kelM )
To express shock
7) अरे बापरे (are baapare!)
e.g. Ohh! He failed !! -> अरे बापरे ! तो नापास झाला ( are baapare ! to nApAs jhAlA )
To express disapproval
8) छे! (Che!) / छट ! (ChaT !)
e.g. No! He will never do it -> छे! तो कधीही असं करणार नाही (Che! to kadhIhI asaM karaNAr nAhI )
No ! I do not believe -> छट! मझा नाही विश्वास (ChaT ! majhA nAhI vishvAs )
To express Approval
9) होय! (hoy !)
e.g. Yes! I will surely come -> होय! मी नक्की येणार (hoy mI nakkI yeNAr )
10) हं ( haM )
Same as “Hmm” in English
e.g. Hmm! I got it -> हं! समजलं मला ते ( haM ! samajalM malA te )
To express appreciation
11) शाब्बास! ( shAbbAs )
Same as “Well done!”
e.g. Well done ! You won the match -> शाब्बास ! तू सामना जिंकलास (shAbbAs ! tU sAmanA jiMkalAs )
12) अरे वा! (are vA !) / छान ( ChAn !) /
Same as “Good !”
e.g. Good handwriting -> अरे वा ! / छान ! हस्ताक्षर ( are vA ! / ChAn ! hastAkShar )
13) खूप छान ( khUp ChAn )
Same as “Very Good !”
14) मस्त! ( mast !) / जबरदस्त ( jabaradast !)
Same as “Excellent !” or “Awsome!”
To express pain
15) अगं आई /अगं आईगं ( agaM AI ! / agaM AIgaM! )
Same as “Mother!” or “Oh mummy !”
e.g. “Mummy! It is paining a lot”:- अगं आई /अगं आईगं खूप दुखतंय ( agaM AI ! / agaM AIgaM! khUp dukhataMy )
To express disgust
16) शी! शीशी !! ( shI ! / shIshI ! )
Similar to “Yuck !!”
e.g. Yuck ! it is looking ugly -> शी! / शीशी !! घाणेरडं दिसतंय ते ( shI ! / shIshI ! ghANeraDM disataMy te )
17) thU! ( थू !)
Literally sound of spitting
e.g. I spit on your cowardice -> थू! तुमच्या भित्रेपणावर (thU ! tumachyA bhitrepaNAvar )
To ask to keep quiet
18) शूऽऽऽ / श्श! (shU / shsh !!)
Exactly same as “Shh” in English
e.g. Shhh !! Keep quiet -> शू / श्श ! शांत बसा! ( shU / shsh !! shAMt basA !! )
To give stress on any adjective by adding
e.g.
How Beautiful -> किती सुंदर (kitI suMdar )
What a wonder -> काय आश्चर्य! (kAy Ashcharya ! )
Like English, sentence structure here is a bit different than usual statement. It is as follows:-
किती /काय (kitI/kAy) Adjective Verb Noun(Doer of action)
e.g. किती (kitI) छान (ChAn) नाचलास (nAchalAs) तू (tU )
How well you danced !! -> किती छान नाचलास तू! (kitI ChAn nAchalAs tU !)
What a fool he is !! -> काय मूर्ख आहे तो! ( kAy mUrkha Ahe to !)
Exclamation specially used by women
1) अय्या! ( ayyA !)
Generally used to express surprise or shock. Generally followed by a question.
e.g. Oh ! What happened then? -> अय्या! मग काय झालं? ( ayyA ! mag kAy jhAlaM )
Oh ! When did I say that? -> अय्या! मी कधी बोलले असं (ayyA ! mI kadhI bolale asaM )
2) अगं बाई ( agaM bAI )
In most of the above-discussed feeling, अगं बाई ( agaM bAI ) can be used but by changing the tone to indicate surprise, appreciation, etc.
e.g. Oh ! When did you come -> अगं बाई! तुम्ही कधी आलात (agaM bAI ! tumhI kadhI AlAt ? )
Oh, God! What the mess -> अगं बाई! काय हा पसारा ( agaM bAI ! kAy hA pasArA )
3) इश्श्य / इश्श (ishshya / ishsh )
To express blush. I do not think there is any synonym to this in English/
For example, if the boyfriend holds the hand of his girlfriend in public she may blush and say “Someone may see it !”
In Marathi, it will be “इश्श्य / इश्श कोणीतरी बघेल ना” ( ishshya / ishsh koNItarI baghel nA )
General Note
In English “My God” can be used to express different feelings by changing tone while saying it. Similarly in Marathi, अरे ! (are ! ), अरे बापरे (are baapare !), अरे देवा! (are devaa ! ) etc. can also be used to express multiple feelings by changing the tone.
There are many exclamations in slang Marathi, which are frequently used in daily conversation. As you keep reading and listening more and more Marathi you will understand the beauty of them.
