Pronouns in Malayalam: I, You, He, She, We, They

Pronouns are the backbone of every Malayalam sentence, and they also carry respect: choosing between nee and ningal tells people how you see them. This guide covers I, you, he, she, we and they, the respectful forms, and the “my”, “me” and “to me” forms you need to build real sentences. Each form comes with the Malayalam script, an easy romanised spelling and the English meaning.

I, you, he, she, we, they

Malayalam has two words for “we”: nammal includes the listener, njangal doesn’t. Nammal pokaam means “let’s go” (you and me); njangal pokunnu means “we (but not you) are going”.

Respect: nee or ningal?

Use nee with close friends, siblings and children. Use ningal with elders, strangers and anyone you’re unsure about. For older family members, Malayalis often avoid “you” altogether and use the kinship word: Amma kazhicho? (has Amma eaten?) instead of “have you eaten?”. See polite and casual “you”.

My, your, his, her

Me, you, him, her

To me: enikku and friends

Feelings, wants and likes use the “to me” form: Malayalam says “to me, hunger is” rather than “I am hungry”.

Example sentences

Ready to build longer sentences? See Malayalam grammar basics.