कौन
kaun/kɔːn/
The English word "who" is translated into Hindi as कौन (kaun).
कौन is an interrogative pronoun used to ask "who" in general contexts, such as in present or future situations.
Meaning: who? (interrogative pronoun) (pron)
Which one should you use?
कौन is used when asking "who" as a subject or object in present or future contexts. However, when you are asking about the person who performed a completed action in the past (the agent of a transitive verb in the perfective tense), you should use the form किसने.
How does it change in a sentence?
कौन is an invariant interrogative pronoun, meaning it does not change its form based on the gender or number of the person being asked about.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced as /kɔːn/ (kaun).
Did you know?
- While कौन asks 'who', it is often used in rhetorical questions to imply that 'nobody' does something, similar to the English phrase 'Who on earth would do that?'
- The word कौन shares a common ancestor with the Gujarati word કોણ and the Bengali word কোন, which all trace back to the same ancient Sanskrit root.
- Hindi speakers often use कौन in a way that sounds like a statement of disbelief rather than a question, depending entirely on the rising or falling intonation of the voice.
Examples in context
- कौन जनता है कहाँ?Who knows where?The first sentence shows how to use कौन to ask who knows a location.Tatoeba #8876351 by simranbansal, translation #7970635 by jSXesHRqcPB
- कौन बोल रहे हैं?Who is speaking?The second sentence shows how to use कौन to ask who is currently speaking.
- ये लोग कौन है?Who are these people?The third sentence shows how to use कौन to ask about the identity of a group of people.Tatoeba #4071085 by sabretou, translation #619836 by ulyssemc1
- कौन है वह?Who is that?
- आप कौन हैं?Who are you?
- 54 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Priya and Vikas are at a party and see someone they don't recognize.
- प्रिया Priyaवह कौन है?Vah kaun hai?Who is that?
- विकास Vikasवह मेरा नया दोस्त है।Vah mera naya dost hai.He is my new friend.
- प्रिया Priyaकौन है वह?Kaun hai vah?Who is he?
- विकास Vikasवह राहुल है।Vah Rahul hai.He is Rahul.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “who” translations and entries कौन, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries कौन, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR, Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
