कौन सा
kaun sa
The Hindi word for "which" is कौन सा (kaun sa).
कौन सा is used as an interrogative determiner to ask "which" of those mentioned or implied. It is used to pick a specific item from a group (which one).
Meaning: (interrogative) what, of those mentioned or implied (det)
What does it mean word for word?
The word कौन (kaun) means 'who' or 'which', and the particle सा (sa) acts as a marker to turn it into a determiner meaning 'which one'.
Which one should you use?
While कौन सा (kaun sa) is used to pick a specific item from a group (which one), the bare form कौन (kaun) is used for 'who' in questions.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The form changes to कौन सी to agree with feminine nouns. The form changes to कौन से to agree with masculine plural nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
kaun sa
Did you know?
- While कौन सा asks 'which one', Hindi uses a completely different word, किस (kis), to ask 'which' when the word is followed by a postposition like 'in' or 'from'.
- While कौन सा (kaun sa) is the standard way to ask 'which one', the particle सा (sa) actually derives from the Sanskrit word सम (sama), which means 'equal' or 'similar'.
Examples in context
- तुम्हारा वाला कौन सा है?Which one's yours?This sentence is useful for asking which one is yours using कौन सा.Tatoeba #3623965 by sabretou, translation #2254697 by CK
- कौनसा गाना तुम्हारा पसंदीदा है?Which song is your favorite?
- कौन दिल्ली में रहता है?Which person resides in Delhi?
- कौनसा टीवी शो तुम्हारा पसंदीदा है?Which TV show is your favorite?
- तुम्हें कौन सा रंग पसंद है?tumhein kaun sa rang pasand hai?Which color do you like?
- कौन सा रास्ता छोटा है?kaun sa raasta chhota hai?Which way is shorter?
Example conversation
Pooja and Aditya are looking at books in a shop.
- पूजा Poojaआदित्य, तुम कौन सा उपन्यास पढ़ना चाहते हो?Aaditya, tum kaun sa upanyas padhna chahte ho?Aditya, which novel do you want to read?
- आदित्य Adityaमुझे वह नीली वाली किताब चाहिए।mujhe vah neeli vaali kitaab chahiye.I want that blue one.
- पूजा Poojaक्या यह कहानी अच्छी है?kya yeh kahaani achhi hai?Is this story good?
- आदित्य Adityaहाँ, यह बहुत प्रसिद्ध है।haan, yeh bahut prasiddh hai.Yes, it is very famous.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries कौन, सा, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
