Locale Mr 001

Reference data for the Marathi locale — endonym मराठी, written in the Devanagari script, left-to-right (LTR).

Identifiers

• BCP 47 tag: mr-001
• ISO 639-1: mr
• ISO 639-3: mar
• Script: Deva (Devanagari)
• Region: 001 (World)
• Text direction: ltr — left-to-right (LTR)

Speakers (approximate)

• L1 (native): 83,100,000
• L2 (additional): 16,000,000
• L1+L2 (total): 99,100,000

Regional variants

This is the base/macro locale for Marathi. Region-specific variants in this dataset:

• Locale Mr in (Marathi (India))

Pluralization

CLDR plural categories for this locale: one, other (2 forms).

• one — n = 1 (e.g. 1)
• other — everything else (e.g. 0, 2~16, 100, 1000, …)

See Unicode Messageformat for writing plural messages using these categories.

Translating into this locale

Marathi (मराठी) is an Indo-Aryan language of Maharashtra, written in Devanagari. See Locale Mr in and compare Locale Hi 001.

Translate ideas, not words.

• Marathi is subject-object-verb with postpositions. Reorder English sentences.
• Do not translate from Hindi; they share script and many words, but spelling, grammar, and vocabulary differ.
• Marathi has three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter), and verbs and adjectives agree.
• Accept established English loans in Devanagari (फाईल, पासवर्ड, ॲप) but prefer Marathi terms from the Maharashtra government's glossaries when they are in use.

Grammar that trips translators.

• Ergative construction in past transitive verbs: the subject takes "ने" and the verb agrees with the object.
• Distinguish inclusive "आपण" (we including the listener) from exclusive "आम्ही" (we excluding the listener).
• Oblique forms and postpositions change the noun ("घरात", "घराला", "घराचा").

Register.

• "तुम्ही" is the polite "you" and is the standard for UI and public text; "तू" is informal. "आपण" is also used as a formal "you" in some contexts.
• UI commands use the polite imperative ("जतन करा") or infinitive.

Orthography and typography.

• Follow the Maharashtra government's standard Marathi spelling rules (लेखननियम); the letter ळ and the eyelash ra (ऱ्) are specific to Marathi.
• Punctuation: Marathi uses the period (.) and the danda is rare; digits: Devanagari (०-९) in print, Arabic in UI; Indian grouping; ₹.

Common pitfalls

• Using Hindi spelling or grammar.
• Confusing inclusive and exclusive "we".
• Missing the ergative agreement.
• Using "तू" in formal text.

Learn more

• Locale for BCP 47 identifiers, locale-sensitive formatting, pluralization, and text-direction concepts that apply across all locales.
• Unicode Messageformat for writing plural/selection messages correctly for this locale's grammar.
• Microsoft Localization Style Guides for Indian languages (https://learn.microsoft.com/globalization/reference/microsoft-style-guides)
• Maharashtra Rajya Marathi Vikas Sanstha and Marathi Vishwakosh