koj
The Hmong word for 'you' is koj.
koj is a pronoun used to refer to the person being addressed.
Did you know?
- In Hmong culture, using koj alone can be overly direct. To show respect to elders or strangers, speakers often add a kinship term like koj tub 'you son' or koj niam 'you mother' based on the relative age of the listener.
- Hmong is a tonal language, meaning that if koj is spoken with the wrong tone, it can change meaning entirely or become unintelligible to a native speaker.
- The word koj is related to the Proto-Hmongic form *gʉᴬ, showing its deep historical roots in the Hmongic language family.
Examples in context
- Koj puas zoo?Are you well?
- Koj tuaj ntawm qhov twg?Where are you coming from?
- Koj yuav mus rau qhov twg?Where are you going?
Example conversation
Kao and Tou meet at a market.
- KaoKoj tuaj nrog leej twg?Who did you come with?
- TouKuv tuaj ib leeg.I came alone.
- KaoKoj xav yuav dab tsi?What do you want to buy?
- TouKuv xav yuav ntau yam.I want to buy many things.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries koj, CC BY-SA 4.0.
