Which one should you use?
You can also use Kahaan jaa rahe hain aap? or Aap kahaan jaa rahe hain? to express the same meaning in a formal manner. If you want to ask specifically about a destination, you can use the formal phrase Aap kis jagah ja rahe hain? which means "Which place are you going to?"
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase changes based on the gender of the person you are addressing and the level of politeness. To address a female politely, the masculine rahe hain changes to the feminine rahi hain, as seen in आप कहाँ जा रही हैं? When moving from the polite aap kahan ja rahe hain? to the informal level, the phrase becomes tum kahan ja rahe ho? For the most intimate or derogatory level, the verb endings change to reflect the use of tu, such as तू कहाँ जा रहा है?
How do you pronounce it?
aap kahan ja rahe hain?
Did you know?
- While asking 'where are you going?' is a literal question, in many South Asian cultures, asking about someone's destination is often used as a standard, polite greeting similar to 'How are you?' rather than a literal interrogation.
- In Hindi, the very formal आप (aap) is actually an evolution of the Sanskrit word आत्मन् (ātman), which refers to the 'self' or the 'soul'.
- The word आप (aap) is part of a large family of similar words across India, appearing in Bengali as আপনি (apni) and in Marathi as आपण (āpaṇ).
Examples in context
- अमित, आप कहाँ जा रहे हैं?amit, aap kahan ja rahe hain?Amit, where are you going?
- नमस्ते, आप कहाँ जा रहे हैं?namaste, aap kahan ja rahe hain?Hello, where are you going?
Example conversation
Amit sees Neha leaving the house.
- अमित Amitनेहा, आप कहाँ जा रहे हैं?Neha, aap kahan ja rahe hain?Neha, where are you going?
- नेहा Nehaमैं बाज़ार जा रही हूँ।Main bazaar ja rahi hoon.I am going to the market.
- अमित Amitक्या मैं भी आपके साथ चलूँ?Kya main bhi aapke saath chaloon?Should I come with you too?
- नेहा Nehaहाँ, चलिए चलते हैं।Haan, chaliye chalte hain.Yes, let's go.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries आप, जा, CC BY-SA 4.0.
