हे काय आहे?
he kay ahe?
हे काय आहे? (he kay ahe?) is the Marathi way to say "what is this?"
This phrase is used to ask for the identity or name of an object.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase breaks down literally as हे (this), काय (what) and आहे (is).
How does it change in a sentence?
The word हे (he) is the neuter singular form of "this", used when referring to objects that are grammatically neuter.
How do you pronounce it?
he kay ahe?
Did you know?
- While काय (kay) means 'what', using it in a specific tone can transform the phrase into a rhetorical expression of disbelief or annoyance, similar to saying 'what on earth is this?'
- The word काय (kay) is a cognate of the Hindi word क्या (kyā) and the Gujarati word કે (ke). All three evolved from the same ancient Sanskrit root.
- Marathi has three grammatical genders, so using हे (he) in हे काय आहे? specifically targets neuter objects. If you pointed to a masculine or feminine object, you would change हे to हा (hā) or ही (hī).
Examples in context
- हे काय आहे?
हे फुल आहे.What is this?
This is a flower. - हे काय आहे?he kāy āhe?What is this?
- तुझ्या हातात हे काय आहे?tujhyā hātāta he kāy āhe?What is this in your hand?
Example conversation
Priya and Rahul are looking at a strange object in a shop.
- प्रिया Priyaराहुल, हे काय आहे?Rahul, he kay aahe?Rahul, what is this?
- राहुल Rahulमला माहित नाही.mala mahit nahi.I don't know.
- प्रिया Priyaआपण दुकानदाराला विचारूया.aapan dukanadarala vicharuya.Let's ask the shopkeeper.
- राहुल Rahulहो, तेच करूया.ho, tech karuya.Yes, let's do that.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries काय, CC BY-SA 4.0.
