तू काय करत आहेस?
tū kāy karat āhes?
The phrase "what are you doing?" in Marathi is translated as तू काय करत आहेस? (tū kāy karat āhes?)
This phrase is used to ask someone about their current activity.
What does it mean word for word?
The standard form तू काय करत आहेस? is built from तू (you), काय (what), करत (doing) and आहेस (are).
Which one should you use?
While तू काय करत आहेस? is grammatically standard, the form तू काय करतोयस? is much more common in everyday spoken conversation.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase changes to the plural/polite form तुम्ही काय करत आहात? when addressing an elder, a stranger or someone to whom you want to show respect. In casual spoken Marathi, the standard तू काय करत आहेस? is often shortened. For males, the colloquial form is तू काय करतोयस? and for females, the verb ending changes to तू काय करतेयस?
How do you pronounce it?
tū kāy karat āhes?
Did you know?
- Marathi allows the omission of the subject तू entirely in the phrase काय करतोयस?, as the verb ending already tells the listener that 'you' is the subject.
- The word काय (what) is a direct linguistic descendant of the Sanskrit word कादृक् (*kādṛk), which was used to ask 'of what kind' in ancient texts.
- The distinction between the casual तू and polite तुम्ही can be used intentionally to signal a shift from a friendly relationship to a formal or distant one.
Examples in context
- काय करत आहात तुम्ही?What are you guys doing?
Example conversation
Rahul calls Sayali on the phone.
- राहुल Rahulहाय सायली, तू काय करत आहेस?Hāy Sāylī, tū kāy karat āhes?Hi Sayali, what are you doing?
- सायली Sayaliमी पुस्तक वाचत आहे.Mī pustak vāchat āhe.I am reading a book.
- राहुल Rahulते पुस्तक चांगले आहे का?Te pustak chāngle āhe kā?Is that book good?
- सायली Sayaliहो, खूप छान आहे!Ho, khūp chhān āhe!Yes, it is very nice!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries काय, तू, CC BY-SA 4.0.
