की तरह (kii tarah)

postposition A postpositional phrase meaning 'like/as' -- used to compare one thing to another. Follows an oblique noun/pronoun the way any compound postposition does.
Sense 1 : like, similar to
postposition Attaches to the oblique form of the preceding noun/pronoun: उसकी तरह (uskii tarah, 'like him/her'), बच्चों की तरह (bachchon kii tarah, 'like children'). तरह (tarah) itself is a feminine noun meaning 'manner/way,' so की (kii) agrees with it, not with the thing being compared.
Synonyms: जैसा (jaisaa, adjectival alternative), समान (samaan, formal)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You'll hear this constantly in comparisons: शेर की तरह (sher kii tarah, 'like a lion'), मेरी माँ की तरह (merii maan kii tarah, 'like my mother'). It pairs naturally with जैसा/जैसे (jaisaa/jaise), which does the same job but behaves as an adjective agreeing with the noun it modifies -- की तरह (kii tarah) is the safer default for learners since its own agreement never changes.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often try जैसे (jaise) and की तरह (kii tarah) interchangeably without noticing की तरह (kii tarah) always needs की (kii) fixed (never का (kaa) or के (ke)), since it agrees with the feminine word तरह (tarah), not with the noun before it or after it. 2) Some learners drop की (kii) and just say वह तरह (vah tarah) -- incorrect; it must be उसकी तरह (uskii tarah).
Sample Sentences:
वह अपने पिता की तरह दिखता है। He looks like his father.
(vah apne pitaa kii tarah dikhtaa hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
वह शेर की तरह लड़ा। He fought like a lion.
(vah sher kii tarah ladaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
मेरी माँ की तरह बनना मुश्किल है। It's hard to become like my mother.
(merii maan kii tarah bannaa mushkil hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
तुम अपने भाई की तरह मत बनो। Don't become like your brother.
(tum apne bhaaii kii tarah mat bano।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
काश मैं भी उसकी तरह बहादुर होता। I wish I were brave like him too.
(kaash main bhii uskii tarah bahaadur hotaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
अगर वह मेरी बहन की तरह होता, तो सब ठीक होता। If he were like my sister, everything would be fine.
(agar vah merii bahan kii tarah hotaa, to sab thiik hotaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
क्या तुम्हें लगता है कि वह अपने दादा की तरह हो सकता है? Do you think he could turn out like his grandfather?
(kyaa tumhen lagtaa hai ki vah apne daadaa kii tarah ho saktaa hai?)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
यह मशीन इंसान की तरह सोच सकती है। This machine can think like a human.
(yah mashiin insaan kii tarah soch saktii hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
उस केस को हत्या की तरह माना जाएगा। That case will be treated like a murder.
(us kes ko hatyaa kii tarah maanaa jaaegaa।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Passive
वह हमेशा राजा की तरह रहता है। He always lives like a king.
(vah hameshaa raajaa kii tarah rahtaa hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
बच्चे फ़रिश्तों की तरह मासूम होते हैं। Children are as innocent as angels.
(bachche farishton kii tarah maasoom hote hain।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
Sense 2 : in the manner of, in the way that
postposition Used to describe manner rather than direct resemblance, often in a semi-fixed frame like जिस तरह...उसी तरह (jis tarah...usii tarah, 'the way...in that same way') to draw a parallel between two clauses.
Synonyms: जिस तरह (jis tarah, correlative variant), जिस प्रकार (jis prakaar, formal)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This sense shows up in slightly more reflective or explanatory speech, like जिस तरह तुम सोचते हो (jis tarah tum sochte ho, 'the way you think') -- it's the same phrase as the comparison sense, just stretched from comparing things to comparing manners or ways of doing something.
Sample Sentences:
जिस तरह तुम सोचते हो, मैं नहीं सोचता। I don't think the way you think.
(jis tarah tum sochte ho, main nahiin sochtaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
जिस तरह उसने यह मसला सुलझाया, वह काबिले-तारीफ़ है। The way he solved this problem is praiseworthy.
(jis tarah usne yah maslaa suljhaayaa, vah kaabile-taariif hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
जिस तरह से वह बोल रहा था, मुझे कुछ ठीक नहीं लगा। The way he was talking, something didn't feel right to me.
(jis tarah se vah bol rahaa thaa, mujhe kuchh thiik nahiin lagaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
काम उसी तरह करना जैसे मैंने सिखाया है। Do the work exactly the way I've taught you.
(kaam usii tarah karnaa jaise mainne sikhaayaa hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
अगर तुम उसी तरह चलते जैसे कोच ने कहा था, तो चोट नहीं लगती। If you had walked the way the coach said, you wouldn't have gotten hurt.
(agar tum usii tarah chalte jaise koch ne kahaa thaa, to chot nahiin lagtii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
यह ठीक उस तरह हुआ जिस तरह मैंने सोचा था। It happened exactly the way I had thought it would.
(yah thiik us tarah huaa jis tarah mainne sochaa thaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
शायद वह उस तरह पेश आए जिस तरह पहले आया था। Perhaps he'll behave the same way he did before.
(shaayad vah us tarah pesh aae jis tarah pahle aayaa thaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Active
प्रस्ताव को जिस तरह प्रस्तुत किया गया, उससे सभी संतुष्ट थे। Everyone was satisfied with the manner in which the proposal was presented.
(prastaav ko jis tarah prastut kiyaa gayaa, usse sabhii santusht the।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Passive
जिस तरह गुरु ने बताया था, शिष्य ने उसी तरह ध्यान लगाया। The disciple meditated in just the manner the guru had instructed.
(jis tarah guru ne bataayaa thaa, shishy ne usii tarah dhyaan lagaayaa।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
क्या तुम मुझे वह तरीका समझा सकते हो जिस तरह से यह मशीन चलती है? Can you explain to me the way this machine works?
(kyaa tum mujhe vah tariikaa samjhaa sakte ho jis tarah se yah mashiin chaltii hai?)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active