Lesson 1:Vocabulary |
what | څه |
this | دا |
thing | شی |
this | دغه |
(masculine name) | اڅک |
those | هغه |
booklet; notebook | کتابڅه |
ruler | خطکش |
yes | هو |
who | څوک |
color; dye | رنګ |
paper | کاغذ |
Gender of Nouns:
There are two genders in Pashto: masculine and feminine.
Words that denote people are generally the gender of the person.
Examples:
Masculine | | Feminine | |
father | پلار | mother | مور |
son | زور | daughter | لور |
brother | ورور | sister | خور |
Masculine nouns tend to end in: [ه], [و], [ی] (in other words: -ay, -ə, -u, or -i)
Examples:
table; desk | مېز | man | سړی |
book | کتاب | friend, companion | ملګری |
pencil | پنسل | arm | بازو |
pen | قلم | medicine, drug | دارو |
Feminine nouns tend to end in: [ه], [ۍ], [ی], [ا], [و] (in other words: -a, -əy, -i, -ā, -o)
Examples:
woman | ښځه | evil | بدی |
room | کوټه | back(wards) | شا |
chair | څوکۍ | talk, conversation, speech | وينا |
inkpot | مشواڼۍ | wish, desire, aspiration | آرزو |
Some nouns break these rules, such as the following feminine nouns that end with consonants:
quilt | بړستن | day | ورځ |
leather | څرمن | month; moon | مياشت |
needle, injection | ستن | span | لوېشت |
skirt | لمن | comb | ږمنځ |
cloud | اوريځ | way, path | لار |
Third Person Copula:
The third person form of the Pashto verb "to be" is different for masculine and feminine.
دئ is used with masculine nouns (= [he] is)
ده is used with feminine nouns (= [she] is)
Examples:
دا خور ده (fem.)
دا ورور دئ (masc.)
Word Order:
Standard Pashto word order is: Subject - Object - Predicate
The verb usually goes at the end of a sentence.
Questions have the same word order as a standard sentence, but the voice raises at the end (in spoken language)
Questions words (like: څه ,څوک , ect.) go before the verb.
Examples:
دا
څو دئ
دغه
څه شی دئ