এটা কি?
eṭa ki?
The English phrase "what is this?" is translated into Bengali as এটা কি? (eṭa ki?)
এটা কি? is a question used to ask for the identity or name of an object. For instance, you can ask a museum guide এটা কি? while pointing at an artifact.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of এটা (eṭa), meaning "this" and কি (ki), meaning "what".
How does it change in a sentence?
এটা কি? is the standard way to ask "what is this?" in both neutral and informal contexts.
How do you pronounce it?
eṭa ki?
Did you know?
- The word কি descends from the Sanskrit কিং, a root that also appears in many other Indo-Aryan languages like Hindi and Marathi.
- Adding the word কি to the end of a statement can turn a factual sentence into a question without changing the word order.
- Because the suffix -টা in এটা makes the word more specific, using the base form এ কি? (e ki?) without the suffix sounds much more poetic or old-fashioned.
Examples in context
- এটা কি?eta ki?What is this?
- টেবিলে এটা কি?tebile eta ki?What is this on the table?
Example conversation
Ishani and Sourav are looking at a mysterious gift on the desk.
- ইশানি Ishaniসৌরভ, এটা কি?sourav, eta ki?Sourav, what is this?
- সৌরভ Souravএটা তোমার জন্য একটি উপহার।eta tomar jonno ekti upohar.This is a gift for you.
- ইশানি Ishaniসত্যিই? এটা কি?sotti? eta ki?Really? What is it?
- সৌরভ Souravখোল আর দেখ!khol aar dekh!Open it and see!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries এটা, কি, CC BY-SA 4.0.
