क्या कर रहे हो?
kya kar rahe ho?
The Hindi phrase for "what are you doing?" is क्या कर रहे हो? (kya kar rahe ho?)
This phrase is used to ask someone about their current activity. It specifically focuses on an ongoing action.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is built from kya (what), kar (do), rahe (continuous aspect marker) and ho (are).
Which one should you use?
The phrase क्या कर रहे हो? specifically asks about an ongoing action, whereas kya karte ho? would ask about a habit or a general action.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase changes depending on the gender of the person you are addressing. Use क्या कर रहे हो? (kya kar rahe ho?) when addressing a male, and change it to क्या कर रही हो? (kya kar rahi ho?) when addressing a female.
How do you pronounce it?
kya kar rahe ho?
When do people say it?
In informal social situations, you might also hear the phrase Aur batao, kya chal raha hai? as a way to ask what is happening or what a person is doing.
Did you know?
- While क्या कर रहे हो? asks for a specific action, people often respond with a vague बस (bas), which literally means 'enough' or 'stop' but functions as 'nothing much'.
- If you want to sound more casual or idiomatic, you can replace the literal question with क्या चल रहा है? (kya chal raha hai?), which literally translates to 'what is walking/running?'
- When using this phrase in a formal setting with a stranger or an elder, you must change the ending from हो (ho) to हैं (hain) to show respect.
Examples in context
- भाई, तुम क्या कर रहे हो?bhai, tum kya kar rahe ho?Brother, what are you doing?
- तुम अभी क्या कर रहे हो?tum abhi kya kar rahe ho?What are you doing right now?
Example conversation
Aditya calls Priya on the phone.
- राहुल Rahulप्रिया, तुम क्या कर रहे हो?Priya, tum kya kar rahe ho?Priya, what are you doing?
- नेहा Nehaमैं बस पढ़ रही हूँ।Main bas padh rahi hoon.I am just studying.
- राहुल Rahulक्या हम बाहर चलें?Kya hum baahar chalein?Shall we go out?
- नेहा Nehaहाँ, दस मिनट बाद मिलते हैं।Haan, das minute baad milte hain.Yes, let's meet after ten minutes.
