Pronouns and politeness

Hindi pronouns don't show gender: वह (vah) can mean “he”, “she”, “it” or “that”. You hear whether the person is a man or a woman from the verb: वह जाता है (vah jaataa hai, he goes), वह जाती है (vah jaatee hai, she goes).

यह (yah) is for someone or something near you, वह (vah) for someone further away or not present. They also mean “this” and “that”. In speech, यह often sounds like “yeh” and वह like “voh”, and informal writing spells them ये (ye) and वो (vo).

Before a postposition, most pronouns change their form: मुझे (mujhe, to me), मुझसे (mujhse, from me, with me), मेरा (meraa, my). These forms are all listed on the page on postpositions; the table below gives the subject forms with “to be”.

आप (aap) is the polite “you”. Use it with anyone you don't know well, with older people, at work and in shops. It is hardly ever wrong, and its verbs are plural: आप कैसे हैं? (aap kaise hain?, how are you?).

तुम (tum) is familiar. Use it with friends of your own age, younger relatives and children: तुम कैसे हो? (tum kaise ho?). तू (too) is very intimate: for very close friends, small children, in prayers, and also in anger. It's best to understand तू but not to use it yourself.

If you are not sure, choose आप. Adding जी (jee) after a name or title makes it more polite still: शर्मा जी (Sharmaa jee, Mr or Ms Sharma).

Hindi shows respect by using the plural. When you talk about a respected person, such as a parent, a teacher or someone older, use वे (ve) or ये (ye), plural verbs and the plural forms उन्हें (unhen, to him, to her) and उनका (unkaa, his, her), even for one person. Before a respected man, मेरा (meraa) becomes मेरे (mere): मेरे पिता जी (mere pitaa jee, my father).

For a respected woman, the verb is also plural: मेरी माँ घर पर हैं (meree maan ghar par hain, my mother is at home).