This guide adapts rules and examples from Microsoft’s 54-page Marathi Localization Style Guide (originally written for software/UI localization). The underlying linguistic rules apply universally — to legal contracts, medical documents, marketing copy, and any Marathi translation work. Restructured and reformatted as a general Marathi translator reference by ChatsControl.

Marathi Translation Style Guide — Voice, Word Choice & Common Pitfalls (Legal, Medical, Marketing, IT)¶

TL;DR¶

• Modern Marathi translation prefers warm, conversational register; transliterate widely-known English IT loanwords (वॉलेट, क्लाउड, डिव्हाइस) rather than coining heavy Sanskrit equivalents for consumer-facing content.
• Marathi has no articles — drop English a/an/the in translation; product names should not take genitive ‘s; use postpositions (ला, मध्ये, तून, सोबत) instead of English prepositions.
• Genitive postpositions (षष्ठी विभक्ती) चे/चा/ची/च्या depend on the relative noun’s gender and number — चे for neuter singular, चा for masculine singular, ची for feminine singular or plural, च्या for feminine plural.
• Apply gender-inclusive strategies: prefer व्यक्ती over पुरुष/महिला, मूल for child, विक्री प्रतिनिधी instead of विक्रेता/विक्रेती; use plural forms for generalization, use ते/त्यांचे for single-person references when avoiding gendered pronouns.
• Reference authoritative Marathi sources: शास्त्रीय मराठी व्याकरण (Moro Keshav Damle), मराठी व्याकरणाचा पुनर्विचार (Arjun Wadkar), Molesworth Marathi-English Dictionary, फडके Marathi Lekhan Kosh.

Reference materials¶

Normative References:

1. शास्त्रीय मराठी व्याकरण — मोरो केशव दामले
2. मराठी व्याकरणाचा पुनर्विचार — श्री. अर्जुन वाडकर
3. An Intensive Course for Marathi — डॉ. विरजा चिटणीस
4. सुगम मराठी व्याकरण लेखन — कै. मो. रा. वाळंबे

Informative References:

1. मोल्सवर्थ — मराठी इंग्रजी शब्दकोश
2. अग्निहोरी — मराठी शब्दरत्नाकर
3. दाते — वाक्य संप्रदायकोश
4. विश्वनाथ नरवडे — कहावतकोश
5. फडके — मराठी लेखनकोश
6. नवनीत ऍडव्हान्स्ड डिक्शनरी — इंग्रजी इंग्रजी मराठी
7. एम.के. देशपांडे यांची — मराठी इंग्रजी डिक्शनरी
8. अब्दुस-सलाम चाऊस — चाउस मराठी-इंग्रजी डिक्शनरी

These references apply across all spheres — legal, medical, marketing, IT — wherever consistent, normative Marathi orthography matters.

Register and tone for modern Marathi translation¶

Register is the level of formality, warmth, and conversational ease the target text projects. Three principles define the modern Marathi register:

• Warm and relaxed. Natural, less formal, grounded in honest conversations.
• Crisp and clear. Written for scanning first, reading second.
• Ready to help. Anticipates the reader’s needs and offers information at the right moment.

The general style should be clear, friendly, and concise. Use language that resembles everyday conversation, as opposed to the formal, technical Sanskrit-heavy language often used in technical and commercial content.

Why this matters: Bureaucratic, Sanskrit-heavy register damages outcomes across spheres. In marketing copy it kills conversion — readers disengage when text sounds like a government notice. In patient-facing medical materials it reduces comprehension and compliance. In software UI it creates friction. In consumer-facing legal documents plain Marathi improves regulator and reader trust. Only sworn legal translation and pure technical specifications retain the older formal register.

Audience targeting¶

Although content might be different for different audiences, the principles are the same — choose technical terms for technical audiences; for consumers use common words and phrases. This applies in every sphere: legal corporate counsel uses Sanskrit-heavy procedural vocabulary; consumer-facing versions need plain-Marathi framing. Medical for clinicians keeps Greek/Latin transliterations; for patients it switches to common terms.

Transliteration¶

Modern voice emphasizes using terms people use in daily life even if in transliterated form. Many English words are commonly used; if there’s no simple, easily understood local-language word, English words (TRANSLITERATION) should be used.

Technical words should be TRANSLITERATED (if there’s no correct word in the regional language). Ideally, keeping pure English text should be minimized — transliteration should be used instead; a list can be prepared and discussed.

Word choice¶

Short words and everyday words in Marathi:

Words and phrases to avoid in modern Marathi¶

Sample translations: addressing the user to take action¶

Promoting a feature¶

Providing how-to guidelines¶

Explanatory text and support¶

Inclusive language¶

Use plain, straightforward, concrete, familiar words. Be mindful when referring to various parts of the world. Don’t generalize or stereotype people. Don’t use profane/derogatory/slang/biased terms.

Avoid gender bias¶

Use gender-neutral alternatives. Avoid compounds containing gender-specific terms (पुरुष, महिला, etc.).

When presenting generalization, use plural noun forms (लोक, व्यक्ती, विद्यार्थी).

Don’t use gendered pronouns (ती, तिचे, तो, त्याचे) in generic references. Instead:

• Rewrite to use the second or third person (तुम्ही or ते).
• Avoid gendered pronouns (e.g., दस्तऐवज instead of त्याचा दस्तऐवज).
• Refer to a person’s role (वाचक, कर्मचारी, ग्राहक, क्लायंट).
• Use माणूस or व्यक्ती.

If you can’t write around the problem, it’s OK to use plural pronoun (ते, त्यांचे, त्यांना) in generic references to a single person. Don’t use constructions like तो/ती.

When writing about a real person, use the pronouns the person prefers. Gendered pronouns (तो, ती, त्याचे, तिचे) are OK when writing about real people who use those pronouns themselves.

Accessibility¶

Focus on people, not disabilities. Don’t use words that imply pity, such as याने रस्त or हा आजार आहे. The preferred option is not to mention a disability unless it’s relevant.

Use generic verbs that apply to all input methods and devices. Avoid verbs that don’t make sense with alternative input methods.

Keep paragraphs short and sentence structure simple — aim for one verb per sentence. Spell out words like and, plus, about. Screen readers can misread special characters (&, +, ~).

Language-specific standards¶

Abbreviations¶

Abbreviations are formed by taking the first letter of the word followed by a full stop (.) Sometimes they’re formed using the first letter or first syllable.

Example: महा. is the abbreviated form of महाराष्ट्र.

You might need to abbreviate words in the UI due to lack of space. Common UI terms:

List of common abbreviations:

Use a non-breaking space (CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR) in abbreviations. If unavailable (Help files), write without space.

Dictionary usage abbreviations:

Geographical/directional: उ. = उत्तर (north); द. = दक्षिण (south); मुं. = मुंबई (Mumbai).

Administrative/commercial: मुं.पो. = मुंबई पोलीस; कं. = कंपनी; प्रा.लि. = प्रायव्हेट लिमिटेड; पृ. = पृष्ठ (page); ता.क. = ताजा कलम (nota bene).

Matrimonial usage: डॉ. = डॉक्टर; इंजि. = इंजिनिअर; अॅड. = अॅडव्होकेट; उं.इं. = उंची इंच.

Measurements: से. = सेल्सिअस; कि.मी. = किलोमीटर; से.मी. = सेंटिमीटर; कि.ग्रॅ. = किलोग्रॅम; ग्रॅ. = ग्रॅम.

Don’t abbreviate words like तारीख (as ता.), वकील (as व.), क्रियापद (as क्रि.).

Acronyms¶

Acronyms are words made of initial letters of major parts of a compound term (WYSIWYG, DNS, HTML).

Localized acronyms. Common English acronyms transliterated:

Examples of Marathi acronyms:

Unlocalized acronyms. Many are standardized and remain untranslated. Followed by full English spelling if explanation is needed. Common examples: ANSI, ISO.

Caution: Do not include a generic term after an acronym if one of the letters stands for that term. Avoid: HTML language, TCP/IP-Protocol, PIN Number.

Marathi examples: भाजप पक्ष (BJP Party), एसजीझेड झोन (SGZ Zone), मगोप पक्ष (MGP Party).

Adjectives¶

Adjectives indicate specific information about nouns.

Example: हुशार मुलगा. Here हुशार is an adjective.

Possessive adjectives. Frequent use of possessives is a feature of English. In Marathi, possessive adjectives like हा (e.g., हा मनुष्य) are used; हा is the possessive adjective.

Articles¶

An article combines with a noun to indicate type of reference. English articles are “a,” “an,” “the.” In Marathi, articles are not used.

Unlocalized feature names. Microsoft product names and unlocalized feature names are used without articles in English. Don’t attach genitive ‘s’ to trademarked product names — could be interpreted as modification.

• (-) Microsoft’s products
• Microsoft products
• Products by Microsoft

Treat as proper nouns in Marathi:

Localized feature names. Translated feature names used with definite or indefinite article (as they’re not proper names).

Articles for English borrowed terms. Consider motivation, analogy, frequency. In Marathi, “the” used in English in front of some words is not used in Marathi.

Example: The Homepage = मुखपृष्ठ.

Compounds¶

Compounds should be understandable and clear. Avoid overly long or complex compounds.

Examples of Marathi compounds: उच्च न्यायालय, संकेतस्थळ, सहाध्यायी, उलथापालथ, शेतवाडी.

Conjunctions¶

Modern voice uses conjunctions to convey conversational tone. Starting a sentence with a conjunction can convey informal tone.

Gender¶

Three genders in Marathi: Masculine, Feminine, Neuter.

Examples: - Masculine: तो गाणे गात आहे. - Feminine: ती गाणे गात आहे. - Neuter: ते गाणे गात आहेत.

Pronouns also change according to these three genders: - Masculine: तो काम करत आहे. - Feminine: ती काम करत आहे. - Neuter: ते काम करत आहेत

Exception: The plural pronoun त्यांना is used for all genders. Example: त्यांना आमंत्रण दिले आहे.

Genitive (षष्ठी विभक्ती)¶

There are different types of possessive postposition. चे, चा, ची, च्या are the most common.

1. चे — for example, त्याचे पुस्तक (Masculine), तिचे पुस्तक (Feminine). पुस्तक is a singular noun with neuter gender. Generally चे applies to neuter gender, singular.
2. ची — for example, त्याची पुस्तके (Masculine), तिची पुस्तके (Feminine). पुस्तके is plural. Generally ची applies to masculine and feminine if the relative noun is plural.
3. चा — e.g., जॉनचा मुलगा (Masculine), जेनेटचा मुलगा (Feminine). मुलगा is singular and masculine. Generally चा comes when the relative noun is singular and masculine.
4. ची — e.g., जॉनची मुलगी (Masculine), जेनेटची मुलगी (Feminine). मुलगी is singular and feminine. Generally ची comes when the relative noun is singular and feminine.
5. च्या — e.g., जॉनच्या मुली (Masculine), जेनेटच्या मुली (Feminine). Generally च्या postposition comes when the relative noun is plural and feminine.

Exception: Postposition चे also applies to relative noun that is masculine and plural. E.g., जॉनचे मुलगे, जेनेटचे मुलगे. मुलगे = boys.

Convention 1. Attaching a genitive “s” to (trademarked) product names is not feasible — could be interpreted as modification.

Example: Write as “Microsoft Office Word,” not “Microsoft Office Word’s.”

Localizing colloquialisms, idioms, and metaphors¶

• Don’t replace source colloquialism with a Marathi one unless it’s a perfect and natural fit.
• Translate intended meaning, only if integral.
• If omittable without affecting meaning, omit.

Nouns¶

General considerations. English loan words must be integrated into the noun class system. Consider motivation, analogy, frequency.

Inflection. English loanwords inflect for number in Marathi.

Plural formation. ए, इ, च्या added in plural formation. Example: रामची मुले, रामच्या मुली.

Prepositions¶

Marathi uses postpositions (after the noun), not prepositions (before).

Pronouns¶

Marathi has many words; same words can have different pronunciations.

Examples: चहा, चमचा, जीभ, जहाज, भजन, वजन.

Punctuation¶

Bulleted lists. Retain in Marathi “as in English.”

Comma. Used as a separator when several names or items are written consecutively, and for short pauses.

Example: मी, आम्ही, तो, ते.

Colon (:). Informs what follows proves, clarifies, explains, or enumerates. Used while giving details at the end of sentence.

Example: कृपया अधिक जाणून घेण्यासाठी येथे संपर्क साधावा:

Do not use colons in simple sentences.

Hyphen. Divides words between syllables, links parts of a compound, connects parts of an inverted/imperative verb form.

Examples: drop-down → ड्रॉप-डाउन; e-mail → ई-मेल.

En dash. Used as minus sign with spaces before/after. Example: 10–5 p.m. Used in number ranges (no spaces): from page No. 1-5 → पान क्र 1–5.

Em dash. Should only emphasize an isolated element or introduce a non-essential element. Indicates a break in thought, a parenthetical statement. Use sparingly in formal writing.

Example: तो म्हणाला की — शिवास तसे ही म्हण आज खरी ठरली.

Ellipses. Omission from a sentence of words needed to complete construction.

Example: तो अचानक पडला…

Period. Marks full stop at end of declarative sentences. Used after abbreviations.

Example: भारताचे पहिले राष्ट्रपती डॉ. राजेंद्र प्रसाद होत.

Quotation marks. “” used for speech or quotation. ‘’ for embedded quotation.

Examples: आज “गणेश चतुर्थी”; ‘शासन’ आपल्या दारी.

Parentheses. No space between parentheses and text inside.

Example: (कृपया आपले खाते सक्रिय न झाल्यास आपल्या प्रशासकाशी संपर्क साधावा)

Sentence fragments¶

Modern voice helps convey conversational tone via fragments — short and to the point.

Split infinitive¶

A split infinitive in English has a word/phrase between “to” and the bare infinitive.

Example: To go nearby that mountain where nobody has gone before. → जिथे यापूर्वी कोणीही गेला नाही अशा पर्वताजवळ जाण्यासाठी. Here the adverb “nearby/जवळ” splits the infinitive.

Subjunctive¶

Expresses condition, possibility, or hypothesis — a verb mood used in subordinate clauses.

Example: निर्णय, मत, आवश्यकता, शक्यता.

Symbols & non-breaking spaces¶

Example: थांबा, हॉस्पिटल, शाळा, पादचारी मार्ग.

Non-breaking space (hard/fixed space). HTML creates with  .

Examples:  लोड होत आहे…;  आणि ती माहिती शोधा जी आपण इच्छिता.

Verbs¶

Use simple tenses. Simple present is the default. Avoid future tense unless describing something that will really happen.

Localization considerations¶

Accessibility¶

Accessibility options make the computer usable by people with cognitive, hearing, physical, or visual disabilities.

General accessibility info: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/.

Applications, products, and features¶

Application/product names are often trademarked and rarely translated. Before translating, verify it’s translatable and not protected.

Version numbers always contain a period (Version 4.2).

Trademarks¶

Trademarked names and “Microsoft Corporation” shouldn’t be localized unless local laws require translation and an approved translated form is available.

Error messages¶

Error messages inform the user of an error that must be corrected. Apply modern voice principles to ensure target is natural, empathetic, not robot-like.

Standard phrases:

Error messages with placeholders. Find out what will replace the placeholder. Letters convey meaning: %d/%ld/%u/%lu = number; %c = letter; %s = string.

Keys and shortcuts¶

Names of keys on the keyboard should not be translated. Arrow keys can be referenced as उजव्या बाजूचा बाण, डाव्या बाजूचा बाण, वर बाण, खाली बाण.

Voice/video pronunciation¶

English terms left unlocalized should be pronounced the English way. For common terms with established Marathi pronunciation, use the local one. Acronyms are pronounced like real words (RADIUS → रेडियस). Other abbreviations are pronounced letter by letter (XML → एक्स एम एल).

FAQ¶

What’s the right register for modern Marathi translation across professional contexts?¶

Warm, conversational, scannable — close to everyday spoken Marathi for consumer-facing software UI, marketing copy, patient-facing medical materials, and consumer-facing legal documents. Replace classic/formal forms (परंतु → पण, यासह → यासोबत, तथापि → म्हणून) with modern equivalents in non-legal content.

When should I transliterate English terms into Marathi vs. find a Sanskrit equivalent?¶

Transliterate when there’s no simple, easily understood Marathi equivalent — particularly for technical and tech-cultural terms (वॉलेट, क्लाउड, डिव्हाइस, क्लायंट्स, डाउनलोड्स). The goal is making the UI easy to use; transliteration that reflects daily usage is acceptable. Coining heavy Sanskrit terms for everyday IT vocabulary creates unnatural, alienating text.

How do Marathi genitive postpositions (षष्ठी विभक्ती) work?¶

The genitive postposition depends on the gender and number of the relative noun. चे — neuter singular (त्याचे पुस्तक); चा — masculine singular (जॉनचा मुलगा); ची — feminine singular (जॉनची मुलगी) and masculine/feminine plural (त्याची पुस्तके); च्या — feminine plural (जॉनच्या मुली). Exception: चे also applies to masculine plural (जॉनचे मुलगे). Don’t attach genitive ‘s’ to trademarked product names.

How should I handle pronouns and gender in Marathi translation?¶

Use generic terms (व्यक्ती, मूल, विक्री प्रतिनिधी) instead of gender-specific compounds. For generalization use plural noun forms (लोक, व्यक्ती, विद्यार्थी). Avoid gendered pronouns (तो, ती, त्याचे, तिचे) in generic references — rewrite to second/third person, refer to a person’s role (वाचक, कर्मचारी, ग्राहक), or use plural pronouns (ते, त्यांचे, त्यांना). Don’t use तो/ती constructions.

Which Marathi language references should I consult?¶

शास्त्रीय मराठी व्याकरण by Moro Keshav Damle; मराठी व्याकरणाचा पुनर्विचार by Arjun Wadkar; An Intensive Course for Marathi by Dr. Viraja Chittnis; सुगम मराठी व्याकरण लेखन by Mo. Ra. Walambe. Dictionaries: Molesworth Marathi-English; Agnihori Marathi Shabdratnakar; Date Vakya Sampradayakosh; फडके Marathi Lekhan Kosh; Navneet Advanced English-English-Marathi.

How does Marathi handle articles and English prepositions?¶

Marathi has no articles — drop English a/an/the in translation (the door → दरवाजा, a book → पुस्तक). Marathi uses postpositions (after noun), not prepositions (before): migrate to → …ला स्थलांतर करणे, import from → …तून आयात करणे, click on → …वर क्लिक करा. Don’t omit postpositions or copy English word order.

How should I handle Marathi abbreviations and acronyms?¶

Abbreviations are formed by taking the first letter (or first syllable) followed by a period (महा. = महाराष्ट्र). Use non-breaking space in abbreviations where possible. Common abbreviations exist for measurements (कि.मी., से.मी.), titles (डॉ., प्रा.), and administrative terms (मुं.पो., प्रा.लि.). Acronyms are often transliterated (सार्क, युनेस्को, युनिसेफ); some remain in English (ANSI, ISO). Don’t add a generic noun after an acronym whose letters already include it (avoid HTML language, PIN Number).

Sources¶

• Microsoft Localization Style Guide for Marathi (PDF)
• Microsoft Globalization Style Guides hub
• Maharashtra State Cultural Affairs Department — Language Resources