तव
tava
The Sanskrit word for "your" is तव (tava).
तव is a possessive determiner used to indicate that something belongs to a single person (singular) being addressed.
Meaning: belonging to you (singular, one owner) (det)
How does it change in a sentence?
तव (tava) is the genitive singular form of the second-person pronoun युष्मद् (yuṣmad), translating literally to "of you".
How do you pronounce it?
tava
Did you know?
- The word तव is a distant linguistic cousin of the English word 'thy'. Both descend from the same Proto-Indo-European root used to address a single person.
- Ancient Sanskrit grammarians like Pāṇini created such precise rules for the use of तव that the language is often described as a 'mathematical' language rather than just a spoken one.
Examples in context
- पश्यैतां पाण्डुपुत्राणामाचार्य महतीं चमूम् । व्यूढां द्रुपदपुत्रेण तव शिष्येण धीमता ।Duryodhan said: Respected teacher! Behold the mighty army of the sons of Pandu, so expertly arrayed for battle by your own gifted disciple, the son of Drupad.This sentence shows how तव is used to refer to a disciple belonging to a teacher.Tatoeba #11766004 by taro, translation #11766005 by taro
- तव शय्याYour bed
- तव नाम किम्?tava nāma kim?What is your name?
- एतत् तव गृहम् अस्ति।etat tava gṛham asti.This is your house.
Example conversation
Two students are meeting in a library.
- काव्या Kavyaतव पुस्तकं कुत्र अस्ति?tava pustakaṃ kutra asti?Where is your book?
- आदित्य Adityaमम पुस्तकं अत्र अस्ति।mama pustakaṃ atra asti.My book is here.
- काव्या Kavyaतव मित्रं कथं अस्ति?tava mitraṃ kathaṃ asti?How is your friend?
- आदित्य Adityaसः सम्यक् अस्ति।saḥ samyak asti.He is well.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries तव, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
