2. AAT
  3. Languages
  4. Bhojpuri (भोजपुरी)
Title

भोजपुरी

Bhojpuri (भोजपुरी)

Bhojpurī

Bhojpuri

DescriptionBhojpuri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by over 50 million people primarily in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar in India, as well as the Terai region of Nepal. It is also significantly spoken by the diaspora in Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, and the Caribbean. Descended from Magadhi Prakrit, it historically used the Kaithi script but now predominantly uses Devanagari. It is renowned for its rich oral tradition, folk songs like Kajari, and the works of Bhikhari Thakur.
Alternate Names & Variants
Native Names:
भोजपुरी
Indic Names:
भोजपुरी
English Names:
Bhojpuri
Alternate Names:
Bhojpuria
Purbi
Bhojpuriya
Language ID
INHF-LNG-1543319998-52:56:12:07:01:26-BHOJ
URI
https://www.inheritage.foundation/aat/language/bhojpuri
API URL
https://inheritage.foundation/api/v1/aat/languages/bhojpuri
Language Family
Indo-Aryan(Bihari)
Status
Living
ISO Codes
ISO 639-3: bho
Glottolog Codebhoj1244
Wikidata URI
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q33268
Regions
Uttar Pradesh (India)
Bihar (India)
Jharkhand (India)
Nepal
Mauritius
Fiji
Suriname
Time Periods
14th Century - Present
Dynasties
Chero Dynasty
Ujjainiya Rajputs
Script Associations
Devanagari
Kaithi
Related Languages
Maithili
Magahi
Awadhi
Hindi
Literary Works
Bidesiya (Bhikhari Thakur)
Phoolsunghi (Pandey Kapil)
Inscription Types
Kaithi manuscripts
Revenue records
Speaker Count50,000,000

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Language Structure

Atomic Level

Character Set (56)

Pronunciation Guide

IPA: Bhojpuri phonology shares much with standard Hindi but retains distinctive Eastern features. The schwa /ə/ is often realized as [ɔ] in certain contexts, and word-final vowels are historically preserved. It has a full range of dental and retroflex stops, both aspirated and unaspirated.
Description: It features three levels of honorifics impacting verb conjugation. Vowel length is often determined by position and stress, which is phonemic in Bhojpuri (unlike Hindi).
Stress: Phonemic, can distinguish meaning in minimal pairs.
Tone: Non-tonal.

Phonetic Inventory

Vowels:
long:
आ /a/
ई /iː/
ऊ /uː/
ए /e/
ऐ /ɛ/
ओ /o/
औ /ɔ/
short:
अ /ə/
इ /i/
उ /u/
nasalized:
अँ /ə̃/
आँ /ã/
Consonants:
velars:
क /k/
ख /kʰ/
ग /g/
घ /gʱ/
ङ /ŋ/
dentals:
त /t̪/
थ /t̪ʰ/
द /d̪/
ध /d̪ʱ/
न /n/
labials:
प /p/
फ /pʰ/
ब /b/
भ /bʱ/
म /m/
palatals:
च /tʃ/
छ /tʃʰ/
ज /dʒ/
झ /dʒʱ/
ञ /ɲ/
fricatives:
स /s/
ह /h/
retroflexes:
ट /ʈ/
ठ /ʈʰ/
ड /ɖ/
ढ /ɖʱ/
ण /ɳ/
ड़ /ɽ/
ढ़ /ɽʱ/
approximants:
य /j/
र /r/
ल /l/
व /ʋ/

Molecular Level

Elemental Level

Grammar Overview

Word Order

Subject-Object-Verb (SOV)

Verb Conjugation

Verbs conjugate for person, gender, number, and honorific level. The past tense often differentiates between transitive (ergative-like construction) and intransitive.

Noun Declension

Nouns inflect for case (Nominative, Oblique). The oblique form is used before postpositions. Plurals are formed with suffixes or quantifying words.

Special Features (4)
  • Use of numeral classifiers (e.g., -go, -tho)
  • Three levels of honorifics (Te/Tu/Rauwā)
  • Distinct present habitual form ending in -lā
  • Retention of Magadhi Prakrit features

Example Sentences (10)

हम घर जात बानी।
ham ghar jāt bānī.
I am going home.
I am going home.
Present continuous tense with 1st person marker 'bānī'.
तू का करत बाड़?
tū kā karat bāṛ?
What are you doing?
What are you doing? (Casual)
2nd person casual auxiliary 'bāṛ'.
रउवा का करत बानी?
rauwā kā karat bānī?
What are you doing?
What are you doing? (Formal)
2nd person honorific auxiliary 'bānī', same as 1st person.
ऊ काल आइल रहे।
ū kāl āil rahe.
He came yesterday.
He had come yesterday.
Past perfective form 'āil' with past auxiliary 'rahe'.
लइका खेलत बा।
laikā khelat bā.
The boy is playing.
The boy is playing.
3rd person singular auxiliary 'bā'.
हमरा के भूख लागल बा।
hamrā ke bhūkh lāgal bā.
I am hungry.
Hunger is felt by me.
Dative subject construction 'hamrā ke'.
ई हमार घर ह।
ī hamār ghar ha.
This is my house.
This is my house.
Zero copula or use of 'ha' for identification.
ओकरा पास दू गो गाय बा।
okrā pās dū go gāy bā.
He has two cows.
Near him are two cows.
Numeral classifier 'go' used with 'dū' (two).
सूरज पूरब में उगेला।
sūraj pūrab meṃ ugēlā.
The sun rises in the east.
The sun rises in the east.
Habitual present tense marker '-lā'.
हम भोजपुरी बोल सकेनी।
ham bhojpurī bol sakenī.
I can speak Bhojpuri.
I am able to speak Bhojpuri.
Compound verb for ability 'sak-'.

Evidence

Rohtasgarh Fort
Fragments:
Sher Shah Suri
Kaithi Inscriptions
Mughal Period
Historical stronghold in the heart of the Bhojpuri-speaking region.
Normalized: 1/7/2026
Sasaram, Bihar
Fragments:
Tomb of Sher Shah Suri
Early Modern Hindi/Bhojpuri Influence
Key administrative center where early linguistic forms were documented.
Normalized: 1/7/2026
Chirand, Saran
Fragments:
Neolithic Site
Ancient Bhojpuri Culture
Ancient settlement providing context for the continuity of culture in the Bhojpuri belt.
Normalized: 1/7/2026
Kutubpur Diara
Fragments:
Bhikhari Thakur
Bidesiya
Folk Theatre
Birthplace of Bhikhari Thakur, the 'Shakespeare of Bhojpuri'.
Normalized: 1/7/2026

Alternate Names & Variants

Bhojpuri
भोजपुरी
Bhojpurī
Deshi
Purbi
Kaithi
Nagari
Bhojpuria
Bhojpuriya