Personal Pronouns

01

First Person: I and We

The first-person pronouns are straightforward. There is one form for the singular "I" and one for the plural "we".

• मैं (ma͠imain) – I
• हम (ham) – We

• मैं छात्र हूँ।

  ma͠i chātr hū̃.main chhatr hun.

  I am a student.

• हम भारतीय हैं।

  ham bhāratīya ha͠i.ham bharatiya hain.

  We are Indians.

02

Second Person: The Three Levels of "You"

Hindi has three different words for "you," chosen based on the relationship between the speaker and the listener.

1. The Polite Form: आप (āp)

This is the most common and safest form to use. It is used for elders, strangers, authority figures, and in professional settings. Grammatically, आप (āpap) is always plural, even when addressing a single person. This means the verb following it must also be in the plural form.

• आप कैसे हैं?

  āp kaise ha͠i?ap kaise hain?

  How are you? (masculine)

• आप क्या खाएंगे?

  āp kyā khāeṅge?ap kya khaenge?

  What will you eat?

2. The Informal Form: तुम (tum)

This form is used for friends, family members of similar age, or people younger than you. Like the polite form, तुम (tum) is grammatically plural and requires plural verbs.

• तुम कहाँ हो?

  tum kahā̃ ho?tum kahan ho?

  Where are you?

• तुम बहुत अच्छे हो।

  tum bahut acche ho.tum bahut achchhe ho.

  You are very good.

3. The Intimate Form: तू (tū)

This is a singular form used only for very close friends, intimate partners, small children, or sometimes in prayer to deities. It can be considered rude or offensive if used with strangers or elders. Learners are generally advised to stick to आप (āpap) or तुम (tum).

• तू जा सकता है।

  tū jā saktā hai.tu ja sakta hai.

  You can go.

03

Third Person and Demonstratives

Hindi uses the same words for "he," "she," "it," "this," and "that." The choice of word depends on whether the person or object is near (proximal) or far (distal). Hindi does not distinguish gender in the pronoun itself; "he" and "she" use the same word.

Proximal (Near): This / He / She / It

Use these when the person or object is close to you.

• यह (yah) – Singular (This / He / She / It)
• ये (ye) – Plural (These / They)

Distal (Far): That / He / She / It

Use these when the person or object is further away or not present.

• वह (vahwah) – Singular (That / He / She / It)
• वे (vewe) – Plural (Those / They)

• यह मेरी किताब है।

  yah merī kitāb hai.yah meri kitab hai.

  This is my book.

• वह मेरा भाई है।

  vah merā bhāī hai.wah mera bhai hai.

  That is my brother (or: He is my brother).

Pronunciation Note: In spoken Hindi, यह (yah) is often pronounced as "yeh," and वह (vahwah) is often pronounced as "vo."

04

The Honorific Plural

In Hindi, respect is shown through plurality. When talking about someone you respect (like a teacher, parent, or elder), you use the plural pronouns ये (ye) or वे (vewe) and plural verb forms, even though the person is singular.

• वे मेरे अध्यापक हैं।

  ve mere adhyāpak ha͠i.we mere adhyapak hain.

  He is my teacher. (Literally: They are my teacher).

• ये मेरी माता जी हैं।

  ye merī mātā jī ha͠i.ye meri mata ji hain.

  She is my mother. (Literally: These are my mother).

If you used the singular forms यह (yah) or वह (vahwah) for an elder, it would sound disrespectful.

05

Clarifying Plurality with "Log"

Because तुम (tum), आप (āpap), ये (ye), and वे (vewe) can refer to a single person (out of politeness) or a group of people, the meaning can sometimes be ambiguous.

To explicitly specify that you are addressing a group, you can add the word लोग (log), meaning "people," after the pronoun.

• हम लोग (ham log) – We people / Us guys
• तुम लोग (tum log) – You guys (informal)
• आप लोग (āp logap log) – You all (polite)
• ये लोग (ye log) – These people
• वे लोग (ve logwe log) – Those people

• आप लोग यहाँ आइये।

  āp log yahā̃ āiye.ap log yahan aiye.

  You people come here.

• वे लोग काम कर रहे हैं।

  ve log kām kar rahe ha͠i.we log kam kar rahe hain.

  Those people are working.