تم کیا کر رہے ہو؟
tum kya kar rahe ho?
To ask what are you doing? In Urdu, say تم کیا کر رہے ہو؟, romanized as tum kya kar rahe ho?
تم کیا کر رہے ہو؟ is the question you ask a friend or peer about what they are doing right now. To ask more generally what is happening, people say Kia ho raha hai?
What does it mean word for word?
Word by word the phrase is you, what, doing, are.
Which one should you use?
Use tum kya kar rahe ho? with peers or people of equal standing. Use آپ کیا کر رہے ہیں؟ with elders or strangers. تو کیا کر رہا ہے؟ uses the pronoun for very close friends or children and is highly informal.
How does it change in a sentence?
To ask a woman, change the masculine rahe to the feminine rahi: تم کیا کر رہی ہو؟. For the polite version, replace tum with aap and change ho to hain.
How do you pronounce it?
It is romanized as tum kya kar rahe ho?
Did you know?
- Using the highly informal pronoun تو in this question can signal a deep bond of friendship, but using it with a stranger or elder can be perceived as an intentional insult.
- While کیا ہو رہا ہے؟ literally translates to 'what is happening?', it is frequently used as a casual greeting equivalent to 'what's up?' where a literal answer about one's activities is not expected.
- The Urdu language uses three different versions of 'you' in these phrases to precisely signal social distance, a level of respect, or extreme intimacy between the speakers.
Examples in context
- حمزہ، تم کیا کر رہے ہو؟Hamza, tum kya kar rahe ho?Hamza, what are you doing?
Example conversation
Hamza enters the room and sees Sara writing in a notebook.
- حمزہ Hamzaسارہ، تم کیا کر رہے ہو؟Sara, tum kya kar rahe ho?Sara, what are you doing?
- سارہ Saraمیں اپنی ڈائری لکھ رہی ہوں۔Main apni diary likh rahi hoon.I am writing in my diary.
- حمزہ Hamzaکیا میں دیکھ سکتا ہوں؟Kya main dekh sakta hoon?Can I see?
- سارہ Saraنہیں، یہ بہت ذاتی ہے۔Nahi, yeh bohat zaati hai.No, this is very private.
