Language/Tibetan/Grammar/Gender

Tibetan Grammar - Gender

Hi Tibetan learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about gender in Tibetan grammar. Gender is an important concept to understand when learning any language, and Tibetan is no exception. We will look at the different genders used in Tibetan, how they are used, and how to identify them.

Gender in Tibetan

Gender in Tibetan is a bit different than in other languages. In Tibetan, there are three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. The gender of a word is determined by its ending. For example, the word for "book" is yig and it is masculine, while the word for "table" is shin and it is feminine.

Masculine

Masculine words typically end in -pa, -ba, or -wa. For example, the word for "man" is mi-pa, the word for "horse" is khyi-ba, and the word for "river" is chu-wa.

Feminine

Feminine words typically end in -ma, -na, or -wa. For example, the word for "woman" is mi-ma, the word for "table" is shin-na, and the word for "mountain" is ri-wa.

Neuter

Neuter words typically end in -o, -e, or -u. For example, the word for "dog" is khyi-o, the word for "house" is khang-e, and the word for "tree" is shing-u.

Examples

Here are some examples of words with their genders:

Tibetan	Pronunciation	English Translation	Gender
yig	yig	book	Masculine
shin	shin	table	Feminine
chu	chu	river	Masculine
mi	mi	man	Masculine
khyi	khyi	horse	Masculine
mi	mi	woman	Feminine
shin	shin	table	Feminine
ri	ri	mountain	Feminine
khyi	khyi	dog	Neuter
khang	khang	house	Neuter
shing	shing	tree	Neuter

Quiz

Test your knowledge of gender in Tibetan with this quiz:

1. What is the gender of the word yig?
2. What is the gender of the word shin?
3. What is the gender of the word mi?
4. What is the gender of the word khyi?
5. What is the gender of the word ri?
6. What is the gender of the word khang?
7. What is the gender of the word shing?

Answers:

1. Masculine
2. Feminine
3. Masculine
4. Masculine
5. Feminine
6. Neuter
7. Neuter

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Related Lessons

• Questions
• Pronouns
• Plurals
• Adjectives
• Conditional Mood