Malayalam is a Dravidian language featuring an agglutinative grammar. Its word order is generally subject–object–verb (SOV), although other orders are often employed for reasons such as emphasis. Nouns are inflected for case and number, while verbs are conjugated for tense, mood, and causativity. In archaic forms, verbs were also conjugated for person, gender, number, and polarity. Adjectives, adverbs, postpositions, and conjunctions are invariant and do not undergo inflection.
Nouns The declensional paradigms for some common nouns and pronouns are given below. As Malayalam is an agglutinative language, it is difficult to delineate the cases strictly and determine how many there are, although seven or eight is the generally accepted number. Alveolar plosives and nasals (although the modern Malayalam script does not distinguish the latter from the dental nasal) are marked with a macron below, following the convention of the National Library at Kolkata romanization.
Pronouns There are three persons – first, second, and third. The first person has three forms – singular, inclusive plural (i.e. speaker, listener, and possibly others), and exclusive plural (i.e. speaker and others, but not the listener). The second person has three forms – singular informal, singular formal and plural. Of these, the singular formal and plural forms are similar. A fourth form ('respectful' or 'official') is sometimes used in certain official documents and announcements.
The third person has eight forms – proximal and distal forms of singular masculine, singular feminine, singular neutral and plural. The masculine and feminine genders are used for humans and anthropomorphised non-humans. Non-living objects, plants and most animals take the neutral gender. The plural form is used for multiple objects of any gender. The plural form can also be used for a single person to show respect or because the gender is unknown or irrelevant.
+ Personal Pronoun singular plural 1st person Exclusive Inclusive 2nd person Informal Formal 'Respectful' / 'Official' 3rd person Proximal Masculine Feminine Neutral Distal Masculine Feminine Neutral Reflexive
These are the commonly used pronouns though in total they have rarer synonyms and dialectal/colloquial forms, for example 2SG "you" can have around over 10 forms like nī, niṅṅaḷ, tāṉ, tāṅkaḷ, aṅṅŭ, tvaṁ, sanskritic gendered bhavāṉ, bhavati, dialectal for nī: ī, iyyŭ, ijjŭ, ji etc. Some colloquial dialects use avaṉmār̠, avaḷmār̠ as (dist.) 3Pl. masculine and feminine pronouns.
Cases Vocative forms are given in parentheses after the nominative, as the only pronominal vocatives that are used are the third person ones, which only occur in compounds.
+ Singular Case വിഭക്തി 1st person 2nd person 3rd person (distal)For proximal form, replace the initial 'a' with an 'i'. informal formal masculine feminine non-human Nominative നിർദ്ദേശിക ഞാൻ ñāṉ നീ nī നിങ്ങൾ niṅṅaḷ അവൻ avaṉ (voc. avaṉē) അവൾ avaḷ (voc. avaḷē) അത് atŭ (voc. atiṉē) Accusative പ്രതിഗ്രാഹിക എന്നെ eṉṉe നിന്നെ niṉṉe നിങ്ങളെ niṅṅaḷe അവനെ avaṉe അവളെ avaḷe അതിനെ atiṉe Genitive സംബന്ധിക എന്റെ/എന്നുടെ/എൻ eṉṟe/eṉṉuṭe/eṉ നിന്റെ/നിന്നുടെ/നിൻ niṉṟe/niṉṉuṭe/niṉ നിങ്ങളുടെ niṅṅaḷuṭe അവന്റെ/അവനുടെ avaṉṟe/avaṉuṭe അവളുടെ avaḷuṭe അതിന്റെ atiṉṟe Dative ഉദ്ദേശിക എനിക്ക് eṉikkŭ നിനക്ക് niṉakkŭ നിങ്ങൾക്ക് niṅṅaḷkkŭ അവന് avaṉŭ അവൾക്ക് avaḷkkŭ അതിന് atiṉŭ Instrumental പ്രായോജിക എന്നാൽ eṉṉāl നിന്നാൽ niṉṉāl നിങ്ങളാൽ niṅṅaḷāl അവനാൽ avaṉāl അവളാൽ avaḷāl അതിനാൽ atiṉāl Locative ആധാരിക എന്നിൽ eṉṉil നിന്നിൽ niṉṉil നിങ്ങളിൽ niṅṅaḷil അവനിൽ avaṉil അവളിൽ avaḷil അതിൽ atil Sociative സംയോജിക എന്നോട് eṉṉōṭŭ നിന്നോട് niṉṉōṭŭ നിങ്ങളോട് niṅṅaḷōṭŭ അവനോട് avaṉōṭŭ അവളോട്‌ avaḷōṭŭ അതിനോട് atiṉōtŭ Notes:
+ Plural Case വിഭക്തി 1st person 2nd person 3rd person exclusive inclusive Nominative നിർദ്ദേശിക ഞങ്ങൾ ñaṅṅaḷ നമ്മൾ/നാം nammaḷ/nām നിങ്ങൾ niṅṅaḷ അവർ avaṟ (voc. avarē) Accusative പ്രതിഗ്രാഹിക ഞങ്ങളെ ñaṅṅaḷe നമ്മളെ/നമ്മെ nammaḷe/namme നിങ്ങളെ niṅṅaḷeഅവരെ avare Genitive സംബന്ധിക ഞങ്ങളുടെ ñaṅṅaḷuṭe നമ്മളുടെ/നമ്മുടെ nammaḷuṭe/nammuṭe നിങ്ങളുടെ niṅṅaḷuṭe അവരുടെ avaruṭe Dative ഉദ്ദേശിക ഞങ്ങൾക്ക് ñaṅṅaḷkkŭ നമ്മൾക്ക്/നമുക്ക് nammaḷkkŭ/namukkŭ നിങ്ങൾക്ക് niṅṅaḷkkŭ അവർക്ക് avaṟkkŭ Instrumental പ്രായോജിക ഞങ്ങളാൽ ñaṅṅaḷāl നമ്മളാൽ/നമ്മാൽ nammaḷāl/nammāl നിങ്ങളാൽ niṅṅaḷāl അവരാൽ avarāl Locative ആധാരിക ഞങ്ങളിൽ ñaṅṅaḷil നമ്മളിൽ/നമ്മിൽ nammaḷil/nammil നിങ്ങളിൽ niṅṅaḷil അവരിൽ avaril Sociative സംയോജിക ഞങ്ങളോട് ñaṅṅaḷōṭŭ നമ്മളോട്/നമ്മോട് nammaḷōṭŭ/nammōṭŭ നിങ്ങളോട് niṅṅaḷōṭŭ അവരോട് avarōṭŭ
The mnemonic 'നിപ്രസം ഉപ്രസം ആ' (niprasam uprasam ā) created by combining the first sounds of the case names is used.
Number The suffix -കൾ (-kaḷ), which changes to -ങ്ങൾ (-ṅṅaḷ) when the nouns ends in -അം (-aṁ), is the most common suffix for denoting plural nouns. It is used by all inanimate nouns, concrete or abstract, and most animate, non-gendered nouns. Two other suffixes, -മാർ (-māṟ) and അർ (-aṟ), are used exclusively by a few animate nouns. All suffixes follow the sandhi (സന്ധി) rules where applicable, and are not used when preceded by numeral adjectives. The following are a few examples. WordSingularPluralbookപുസ്തകം (pustakaṁ)പുസ്തകങ്ങൾ (pustakaṅṅaḷ)umbrellaകുട (kuṭa)കുടകൾ (kuṭakaḷ)fishമീൻ (mīṉ)മീനുകൾ (mīṉukaḷ)femaleപെണ്ണ് (peṇṇŭ)പെണ്ണുങ്ങൾ (peṇṇuṅṅaḷ)youngster യുവാവ് (yuvāvŭ) യുവാക്കൾ (yuvākkaḷ)cattle calfകിടാവ് (kiṭāvŭ)കിടാങ്ങൾ/കിടാക്കൾ (kiṭāṅṅaḷ/kiṭākkaḷ)dogനായ (nāya)നായ്ക്കൾ/നായകൾ (nāykkaḷ/nāyakaḷ)motherഅമ്മ (amma)അമ്മമാർ (ammamāṟ)kingരാജാവ് (rājāvŭ)രാജാക്കന്മാർ (rājākkaṉmāṟ)humanമനുഷ്യൻ (manuṣyaṉ)മനുഷ്യർ (manuṣyaṟ)person from Kochiകൊച്ചിക്കാരൻ/-രി (koccikkār(aṉ/i))കൊച്ചിക്കാർ (koccikkāṟ)
A person from a place is denoted with -kāraṉ/kāri whose plural is -kāṟ. other ways include malayāḷikaḷ, tamiḻaṉmāṟ, kannaḍigaṟ.
Other nouns The following are examples of some of the most common declensional patterns.
Word tree elephant human dog Case Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Nominative മരം (maram) മരങ്ങൾ (maraṅṅaḷ) ആന (āṉa) ആനകൾ (āṉakaḷ) മനുഷ്യൻ (maṉuṣyaṉ) മനുഷ്യർ (maṉuṣyar) പട്ടി (paṭṭi) പട്ടികൾ (paṭṭikaḷ) Vocative മരമേ (maramē) മരങ്ങളേ (maraṅṅaḷē) ആനയേ (āṉayē) ആനകളേ (āṉakaḷē) മനുഷ്യാ (maṉuṣyā) മനുഷ്യരേ (maṉuṣyarē) പട്ടീ (paṭṭī) പട്ടികളേ (paṭṭikaḷē) Accusative മരത്തിനെ (marattiṉe) മരങ്ങളെ (maraṅṅaḷe) ആനയെ (āṉaye) ആനകളെ (āṉakaḷe) മനുഷ്യനെ (maṉuṣyaṉe) മനുഷ്യരെ (maṉuṣyare) പട്ടിയെ (paṭṭiye) പട്ടികളെ (paṭṭikaḷe) Genitive മരത്തിന്റെ (marattiṉṯe) മരങ്ങളുടെ (maraṅṅaḷuṭe) ആനയുടെ (āṉayuṭe) ആനകളുടെ (āṉakaḷuṭe) മനുഷ്യന്റെ (maṉuṣyaṉṯe) മനുഷ്യരുടെ (maṉuṣyaruṭe) പട്ടിയുടെ (paṭṭiyuṭe) പട്ടികളുടെ (paṭṭikaḷuṭe) Dative മരത്തിന് (marattiṉŭ) മരങ്ങൾക്ക് (maraṅṅaḷkkŭ) ആനയ്ക്ക് (āṉaykkŭ) ആനകൾക്ക് (āṉakaḷkkŭ) മനുഷ്യന് (maṉuṣyaṉŭ) മനുഷ്യർക്ക് (maṉuṣyarkkŭ) പട്ടിക്ക് (paṭṭikkŭ) പട്ടികൾക്ക് (paṭṭikaḷkkŭ) Instrumental മരത്താൽ (marattāl) മരങ്ങളാൽ (maraṅṅaḷāl) ആനയാൽ (āṉayāl) ആനകളാൽ (āṉakaḷāl) മനുഷ്യനാൽ (maṉuṣyaṉāl) മനുഷ്യരാൽ (maṉuṣyarāl) പട്ടിയാൽ (paṭṭiyāl) പട്ടികളാൽ (paṭṭikaḷāl) Locative മരത്തിൽ (marattil) മരങ്ങളിൽ (maraṅṅaḷil) ആനയിൽ (āṉayil) ആനകളിൽ (āṉakaḷil) മനുഷ്യനിൽ (maṉuṣyaṉil) മനുഷ്യരിൽ (maṉuṣyaril) പട്ടിയിൽ (paṭṭiyil) പട്ടികളിൽ (paṭṭikaḷil) Sociative മരത്തോട് (marattōṭŭ) മരങ്ങളോട് (maraṅṅaḷōṭŭ) ആനയോട് (āṉayōṭŭ) ആനകളോട് (āṉakaḷōṭŭ) മനുഷ്യനോട് (maṉuṣyaṉōṭŭ) മനുഷ്യരോട് (maṉuṣyarōṭŭ) പത്തിയോട് (paṭṭiyōṭŭ) പട്ടികളോട് (paṭṭikaḷōṭŭ)
Adjectives Malayalam is thought to have no semantic category for adjectives, and instead relies heavily on using participial relative clauses for modifying nouns. There are two classes of words that typically act as adjectives.
Native roots + -(iy)a: This includes words such as നൽ > നല്ല (nalla, good), വൽ > വലിയ (valiya, big), നനഞ്ഞു > നനഞ്ഞ (naṉañña, wet), and ചെറു/ചിറു > ചെറിയ/ചിറ്റ (ceṟiya/ciṟṟa, short). All such words can be directly used as adjectives, without further modification. The conventional view regarding this category of words is that they typically encode the possession of the property they signify in the participial marker (-a) attached to them, meaning a word such as നല്ല (nalla) would actually mean "having goodness". For instance: ഇതൊരു നല്ല പുസ്തകമാണ് (itoru nalla pustakamāṇŭ), translating to "this is a good book", could be thought to mean "this is a goodness-having book". Note that when used in typical relative clauses, the marker -a can be inflected for tense, but not when used here in an adjectival sense. Removing the noun formative -am: This includes words such as സങ്കടം (saṅkaṭaṁ, sadness), മരം (maraṁ, tree), and ഉയരം (uyaraṁ, height/tallness). As in marattaṭi "timber", mara vīṭŭ "wooden house". Another way is in the form of -ഉള്ള (uḷḷa), the suffix for the non-finite existential copula. For instance: അവൻ ഉയരമുള്ള കുട്ടിയാണ് (avaṉ uyaramuḷḷa kuṭṭiyāṇŭ, translating to "he is a tall child") could be thought to mean "he is a tallness-having child". Since the suffix is non-finite it does not vary with tense or person. The exception is with color words like (skt. nīla >) nīla "blue" which can act as both a noun and an adjective. Words ending with -ṟu, -tu, -ṭu can have the plosive doubled to make an adjective as in kāṭŭ > kāṭṭŭ, kāṭṭu tī "forest fire"; cōṟŭ > cōṟṟŭ, cōṟṟupātram "tiffin box". Words ending with -vu can have the suffix removed to make an adjective, eg. nilāvŭ > nilā niḻal, rājāvŭ > rāja putraṉ. Another adjectivizing suffix is -m added to some words ending with vowels, pai > paim "green, gorgeous," paiṅkiḷi > "green bird, parrot"; pū > pūm "flowery", pūmpāṟṟa "flower lizard, butterfly". Another adjectivizing suffix is -aṉ, eg. kaṭu > kaṭṭaṉ "strong, thick", kaṭṭaṉ cāya "strong tea, black tea".
Verbs Inflection of Malayalam verbs occurs for tense, aspect, and mode (TAM), and not for number (plurality) or gender. The dictionary form of verbs typically have the ending -ഉക (-uka), although some verbs have the ending ഇക (-ika) too.
Tenses Broadly, there are three tenses in Malayalam language: present, past and future. Verb forms in different tenses are created by either simply replacing the citation form ending (for present and future tense), or by suffixing the verb stem (obtained by removing the citation form ending and the preceding consonant) with a special marker depending on the class of the verb (for past tense).
Present tense The present tense is formed by replacing the citation form ending with -ഉന്നു (-unnu). For example, the present tense form of പറയുക (paṟayuka, 'to say') is പറയുന്നു (paṟayunnu).
Future tense The future tense is formed by replacing the citation form ending with -ഉം (-um). For example, the future tense form of നടക്കുക (naṭakkuka, 'to walk') is നടക്കും (naṭakkum). -um is also used as an adjective, eg. paṟakkum taḷika.
Past tense For most verbs the marker -ഇ (-i) (or യി, (-yi) if the verb stem ends in a vowel) is added to the verb stem to create the past tense form, but other verb classes have different rules. A non-exhaustive list of the rules for different classes, as well as some exceptions, is given below.