تو ڇا پيو ڪرين؟
toon chha payo kareen?
The English phrase "what are you doing?" is translated into Sindhi as تو ڇا پيو ڪرين؟ (toon chha payo kareen?).
This phrase is a question used to ask someone about their current activity.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally breaks down to "You what [continuous marker] do?", where payo acts as a progressive aspect marker.
Which one should you use?
The form تو ڇا پيو ڪرين؟ specifically asks about an action happening right now. In contrast, the phrase Tu chha kareen? would more generally mean "What do you do?" or "What will you do?"
How does it change in a sentence?
The default form تو ڇا پيو ڪرين؟ is specifically masculine. If you are asking a female, the progressive marker and verb ending change to pee and kareen (or karye depending on dialect). To make the question polite or to address more than one person, change toon (you) to toheen and adjust the verb endings to payaa karyo.
How do you pronounce it?
toon chha payo kareen?
Did you know?
- The word ڇا (what) shares a common ancestor with the Sanskrit word kīdṛśa, which is a distant relative of the English word 'kind' through the concept of 'sort' or 'type'.
- The word for 'you' تو changes to توهين not only for groups of people but also as a vital social tool to show respect to an elder or a stranger.
- Depending on the regional dialect, the way you ask a woman 'what are you doing?' can change the verb ending from ڪرين to ڪرئي, even though the meaning remains identical.
Examples in context
- تو ڇا پيو ڪرين؟tu chha pio kareen?What are you doing?
Example conversation
Fauzia enters the room and sees Imran working.
- فوزیہ Fauziaعمران، تو ڇا پيو ڪرين؟Imran, tu chha pio kareen?Imran, what are you doing?
- عمران Imranمان ڪتاب پڙهي رهيو آهيان.maan kitab parhi rahyo aahiyan.I am reading a book.
- فوزیہ Fauziaڇا اها ڪهاڻي سٺي آهي؟chha uha kahani suthi aahay?Is that story good?
- عمران Imranهائو، هي تمام دلچسپ آهي.haao, hee tamam dilchasp aahay.Yes, it is very interesting.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ڇا, CC BY-SA 4.0.
