Some Majhi sub-dialects use the past-tense inflection of ḍēhṇā ਡਹਿਣਾ / ڈہݨا verb to form continuous tenses.
Phrase
Majhi
Standard Written Punjabi
He was doing
ṓ karan ḍíā sī
ਉਹ ਕਰਨ ਡਿਹਾ ਹੀ
اوہ کرن ڈہا سی
ṓ kar ríā sī
ਉਹ ਕਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਸੀ
اوہ کر رہا سی
She is doing
ṓ karan ḍáī è
ਉਹ ਕਰਨ ਡਹੀ ਐ
اوہ کرن ڈہی اے
ṓ kar ráī è
ਉਹ ਕਰ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ
اوہ کر رہی ہے
- Alternate auxiliary verbs
han (ਹਨ / ہَن) is never used in spoken Majhi, it is replaced with nē (ਨੇ, ਨੇਂ / نے، نیں). E.g. ó kardē nē (ਉਹ ਕਰਦੇ ਨੇ / اوہ کردے نے)
First person singular ā̃ or jē (ਆਂ, ਜੇ / آں، جے) is used. E.g. mẽ karnā ʷā̃ / jē (ਮੈਂ ਕਰਨਾ ਆਂ, ਮੈਂ ਕਰਨਾ ਜੇ / میں کرنا آں، میں کرنا جے)
Third person singular ī or è (ਏ, ਵੇ, ਈ / اے، وے، ای) is used. E.g. ṓ kardā ī (ਉਹ ਕਰਦਾ ਈ / اوہ کردا ای)
- Use of -na verb ending instead of -da ending for future-habitual aspect
Phrase
Majhi
Standard Written Punjabi
I'll do
mẽ karnā ʷā̃̀
ਮੈਂ ਕਰਨਾ ਆਂ میں کرنا آں
mẽ kardā hā̃
ਮੈਂ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ میں کردا ہاں
Let's (m.) go home
asī kàr jāne ā̃̀
ਅਸੀ ਘਰ ਜਾਨੇ ਆਂ اسی گھر جانے آں
asī̃ kàr jānde hā̃
ਅਸੀਂ ਘਰ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਾਂ اسی گھر جاندے ہاں
We'll (f.) do
asī̃ karniyā̃ ʷā̃̀
ਅਸੀ ਕਰਨੀਆਂ ਆਂ اسی کرنِیاں واں
asī̃ kardiyā̃ hā̃
ਅਸੀਂ ਕਰਦੀਆਂ ਹਾਂ اسی کردِیاں ہاں
You'll (sing.) do
tū̃ karnā aĩ̀
ਤੂੰ ਕਰਨਾ ਐਂ تُوں کرنا ایں
tū̃ kardā haĩ
ਤੂੰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈਂ تُوں کردا ہیں
You'll (f.pl.) do
tusī karniyā̃ ò/je
ਤੁਸੀ ਕਰਨੀਆਂ ਓ/ਜੇ تسی کرنِیاں او/جے
tusī̃ kardiyā̃ ho
ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕਰਦੀਆਂ ਹੋ تسی کردِیاں ہو
- Absent subject realised in auxiliary verb
ਕੀ ਕੀਤਾ ਈ کی کیتا ای : What have you (sing.) done?
ਕੀ ਕੀਤਾ ਜੇ کی کیتا جے : What have you (sing. formal / pl.) done?
ਕੀ ਕੀਤਾ ਸੂ کی کیتا سُو : What has he/she done?
ਕੀ ਕੀਤਾ ਨੇ کی کیتا نے : What have they done?
ਲੜਾਈ ਕੀਤੀ ਸਾਈ لڑائی کیتی ساای : You (sing.) made a fight.
ਲੜਾਈ ਕੀਤੀ ਸਾਜੇ لڑائی کیتی ساجے : You (sing. formal / pl.) made a fight
ਲੜਾਈ ਕੀਤੀ ਸਾਸੂ لڑائی کیتی ساسُو : He/She made a fight.
ਲੜਾਈ ਕੀਤੀ ਸਾਨੇ لڑائی کیتی سانے : They made a fight.
Tone
Unlike typical Punjabi, Majhi does not always write tonal h in script. Thus, syllables often drop the h letter (ਹ / ہ) when written although this does not affect the pronunciation.
Standard Written
Majhi
IPA
Meaning
ਹਾਂہاں
ਆਂآں
/ã̀ː/
am
ਨਹੀਂنہیں
ਨਈਂنئیں
/ˈnə.ĩ̀ː/
no, not
ਤੁਹਾਡਾتہاڈا
ਤੁਆਡਾتواڈا
/tʊ.ˈàɖ̆.ɖaː/
your/yours
ਹੈہے
ਐاے
/ɛ̀ː/
is
Variation
Because of the lack of standardisation in Shahmukhi, words with the six tonal consonants (gh, jh, ḍh, dh, bh, ṛh) which are now unaspirated and voiceless word-initially[a] (k, c, ṭ, t, p)[3] have multiple spellings. The word kàr (house) for example is sometimes written as gharگھر or karکر.
^aṛh does not occur word-initially and is always voiced.
Falling-tone, in general, is not well represented, and low-tone words in both major scripts have various spellings, e.g. tuā̀ḍḍā (your/yours): تواڈا ਤੁਆਡਾ, ਤਵਾਡਾ, تاڈا ਤਾਡਾ, تہاڈا ਤੁਹਾਡਾ etc., though the pronunciation remains consistent.
Other Features
Nasalisation of tusī̃ (ਤੁਸੀਂ / تُسِیں) and asī̃ (ਅਸੀਂ / اَسِیں) are lost in Majhi; pronounced tusī (ਤੁਸੀ / تُسی) and asī (ਅਸੀ / اَسی) respectively.
Sometimes when speaking fast in Majhi, the s sound rounds to a h sound, as in words like asī (ਅਸੀ / اَسی), sāḍā (ਸਾਡਾ / ساڈا), pēse (ਪੈਸੇ / پیسے), being heard as ahī, hāḍā, and pēhe respectively.
hē(gā) sī is used instead of sīgā.
The ēvẽ class of adverbial pronouns are used for "how" rather than ēddā̃.
Northern Majhi refers to the subdialect spoken in the northern side of the Majha region in Pakistan, such as in the areas of Gujrat and Sialkot.
In these areas, word-initial 'h' is very faint, acting more as a low-tone marker, until it completely disappears in upper dialects like Dogri. Words such as hatth ਹੱਥ ہَتّھ (hand) are pronounced more like àtth.
Northern Majhi also uses the ēñj class of adverbial pronouns for "how" in place of ēvẽ.
Another notable difference is the use of -dā instead of -gā to indicate future tense.
^Grierson, George A. (1916). Linguistic Survey of India. Vol. IX Indo-Aryan family. Central group, Part 1, Specimens of western Hindi and Pañjābī. Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India. p. 609.