A1 · Pronouns · about 6 minutes
I, we, you, he, she, it: मैं, हम, तुम, आप, यह, वह
the personal pronouns
Hindi pronouns say near or far, not he or she; the verb shows the gender.
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“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need2
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- पूछनाto ask
- अध्यापकteacher (man)
Understand
RememberHindi has no he or she: yah and vah are near and far, and the verb tells you who it is.
- Signal words
- मैं
- हम
- तुम
- आप
- यह
- वह
- ये
- वे
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Hindi.
| I / we | मैं / हम |
| you (intimate / familiar / polite) | तू / तुम / आप |
| he, she, it, this (near) | यह |
| he, she, it, that (far) | वह |
| they, these (near) | ये |
| they, those (far) | वे |
| before a postposition | मुझ, तुझ, इस, उस, इन, उन |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
यह and वह do not show gender; the verb does.
वह आ रही है।She is coming.
यह is near, वह is further away.
यह मेरा भाई है।This is my brother.
One respected person is ये or वे, with a plural verb.
वे मेरे पिताजी हैं।That is my father.
Before a postposition the pronoun takes its oblique form and joins it.
आप उससे पूछिए।Please ask him.
Example sentences
मैं अध्यापक हूँ।I am a teacher.
हम कल आएँगे।We will come tomorrow.
वह बहुत अच्छा गाता है।He sings very well.
9 more example sentences
वह बहुत अच्छा गाती है।She sings very well.
ये मेरी किताबें हैं।These are my books.
वे दिल्ली में रहते हैं।They live in Delhi.
तुम कहाँ जा रहे हो?Where are you going?
आप कहाँ से हैं?Where are you from?
यह कमरा किसका है?Whose room is this?
मुझसे बात कीजिए।Talk to me, please.
उनके दो बच्चे हैं।They have two children.
इसमें क्या है?What is in this?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English says “he is”, singular, about one person. About one respected person Hindi uses the plural: वे … हैं. Speaking of a grandfather with है sounds like speaking of a stranger, or worse. In everyday speech वह with हैं is common too; the verb is what must be plural.
Quick check
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Next on the path: 14 · The everyday present: बोलता हैBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
The first person is मैं (I) and हम (we). The second person has three words, तू, तुम and आप, which differ in respect rather than in number; the next topic is about choosing between them.
For the third person Hindi has no he, she or it. It has यह for someone or something near and वह for someone or something further away, and their plurals ये and वे. वह आ रहा हैis “he is coming”वह आ रही है“she is coming”: the pronoun is the same, the verb carries the gender. In speech यह and वह are usually said ये and वो.
The same words are “this” and “that”: यह कमराis this roomवह लड़कीthat girl And they are also the polite way to speak of one respected person, in the plural: वे मेरे पिताजी हैं, “that is my father”.
Before a postposition the pronouns take an oblique form and are written together with it: मुझसे(from me)उससे(from him or her)इसमें(in this)उनके(their) The oblique of यह is इस, of वह उस, of ये इन and of वे उन.
A closer look
ये and वो in speech
Written Hindi has यह and वह in the singular, ये and वे in the plural. In speech almost everyone says ये for both near forms and वो for both far forms, and the verb shows the number. You will see वो in chat messages and film dialogue; this site writes the standard forms.
हम for I
In parts of northern India, and in some films, हम is used for “I”, with plural verbs. It sounds regional or grand. For “I”, use मैं.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
It
There is no separate word for “it”. A thing is यह or वह, like a person, and the verb follows the gender of the noun.
वह बहुत महँगा है।It is very expensive.
Worth knowing
Leaving the pronoun out
When it is clear who is meant, the pronoun can be dropped, because the verb form shows the person and the gender.
कहाँ जा रहे हो?Where are you going?