Manchu/Lesson 2 - Nouns

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Nouns
Manchu nouns have number and case but do not really have gender. Nouns can consist solely of a stem such as 'bithe' (book), be formed by adding suffixes to other words, or be formed by adding two nouns together such as 'ahūn deo' (brothers).

The most common suffixes that can be added to words to form nouns include:

Note: of the above suffixes, the suffixes –ku,-kū are used for instruments, the suffix –cun is used for abstract concepts, and the suffixes –si, -ci, and –ji are used to denote people by what they do (Gorelova, M. P.198). When adding suffixes to nouns, the final ‘-n’ is often dropped.

Gender of Manchu Nouns
Nouns usually do not have gender, although some obviously masculine nouns have masculine vowels, while feminine nouns have feminine vowels, e.g. haha (man), hehe (woman), ama (father) and eme (mother).

Number:
There are several ways to express the plural in Manchu:

Through the use of the suffix -sa (-se, -so, -si) Through use of one of the suffixes -ta, -te, -ri. Through the use of adjectives
 * E.g. manjusa - Manchus
 * This is mostly used for family relationships (note final 'n' is often omitted).
 * E.g. amata - fathers
 * The suffix '-ri' is only used with a few words. E.g. mafari - grandfathers/ancestors
 * like geren (many/all), eiten (all), tumen (a myriad) or verbally with gemu (all)
 * E.g. tumen jaka - The myriad things (万物)

Case
Manchu has 5 different cases. Cases can be attached to the proceeding noun or written separately:

Nominative (no suffix).
 * This is the natural case and has no suffix.
 * E.g. bithe - book

Genitive (-i, -ni after -ng).
 * This case is used to show the possessive. The suffix -i (-ni) can also be used for instrumental case which shows the means or cause of which something happens.
 * E.g. ere oci mini eme i bithe - This is my mother's book (Possessive)
 * E.g. mafa gurun i ilha - The fatherland's flowers (Possessive)
 * E.g. manju gisun i arambi - To write by means of Manchu (Instrumental)

Dative/Locative (-de).
 * This case is used to show location or direction (at/to).
 * E.g. Direction: Harbin de genehe - He went to Harbin (Dative)
 * E.g. Location: Harbin de manjusa labdu - There are many Manchus in Harbin (Locative)
 * E.g. Beijing de niyengniyeri isinaha - In Beijing spring has arrived

Accusative (-be).
 * This case is used to make a noun the direct object of an action.
 * E.g. i ere bithe be mini eme de buha - He gave this book to my mother
 * E.g. te mini eme inenggidari manju gisun be tacimbi - Now my mother studies Manchu everyday.
 * E.g. be mafa gurun be hairambi - We love the fatherland

Ablative (-ci).
 * This case is used to show point of departure or for comparison.
 * E.g. monggo gurun ci jihe niyalma - The people who came from Mongolia (Point of departure)
 * E.g. nikan gisun ci manju gisun ja - Manchu is easier than Chinese (Comparison)
 * E.g. emu inenggi ci emu inenggi halukan oho - Each day is hotter than the one before (Comparison)

 Lesson 1 (Pronunciation) Contents  Lesson 3 (Pronouns)