কি কৰি আছা?
ki kori asa?
The English phrase "what are you doing?" is translated into Assamese as কি কৰি আছা? (ki kori asa?)
This phrase is a question used to ask someone about their current activity, specifically referring to an action that is happening right now.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of কি (what), কৰি (doing) and আছা (are/staying).
Which one should you use?
The phrase কি কৰি আছা? specifically refers to the present continuous tense (an action happening right now). In contrast, the form কি কৰিছা? can mean both "what are you doing?" and "what do you do?" depending on the context.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form কি কৰি আছা? is used in an informal or familiar context to address others.
How do you pronounce it?
ki kori asa?
Did you know?
- The word কি is a direct descendant of the Sanskrit word 'kim', and it shares this same ancient root with words for 'what' in Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali and Hindustani.
- In Assamese, the verb আছা (asa) literally means 'to stay' or 'to be present', which is why the phrase 'what are you doing' literally translates to 'what doing are you staying'.
- If you want to ask this to an elder or a stranger, you must change the ending to কি কৰি আছে? or কি কৰিছে?, as using the informal আছা can be seen as quite disrespectful.
Examples in context
- তুমি এতিয়া কি কৰি আছা?tumi etiya ki kori asa?What are you doing now?
- তুমি ঘৰত কি কৰি আছা?tumi ghorot ki kori asa?What are you doing at home?
Example conversation
Nirupam calls Ananya on the phone.
- নিৰুপম Nirupamহেল্ল’, অনন্যা, তুমি কি কৰি আছা?hello, ananya, tumi ki kori asa?Hello, Ananya, what are you doing?
- অনন্যা Ananyaমই এখন কিতাপ পঢ়ি আছোঁ।moi ekhon kitap porhi asu.I am reading a book.
- নিৰুপম Nirupamকিতাপখন ভাল নে?kitapkhon bhal ne?Is the book good?
- অনন্যা Ananyaহয়, বহুত ভাল।hoy, bohut bhal.Yes, it is very good.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries কি, CC BY-SA 4.0.
