कौन (kaun)
pronoun
An interrogative meaning 'who', used to ask about people; it also appears in a few fixed expressions of vague identity or dismissal (English inline: placeholder not needed here since only Devanagari appears below).
Sense
1
:
who (question word for people)
pronoun
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: कौन (kaun) is one of the first words every learner needs for basic introductions -- कौन हो आप? (kaun ho aap?, 'who are you?') is blunter than the more polite आप कौन हैं? (aap kaun hain?, 'who are you?'), so tone of voice and word order matter as much as the word itself. It pairs naturally with कौन सा (kaun saa, 'which one') and किसका (kiskaa, 'whose'), which are built on the same oblique stem किस- (kis).
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often try to use कौन (kaun) for 'which' when choosing among objects or options -- that job belongs to कौन सा (kaun saa); कौन (kaun) alone asks about a person's identity. 2) Because कौन (kaun) does not change form for the plural, learners sometimes add a plural marker; instead the verb and context show number, as in कौन आए हैं? (kaun aae hain?, 'who [plural] have come?').
Sample Sentences:
फ़ोन पर कौन बात कर रहा था?
Who was talking on the phone?
(fon par kaun baat kar rahaa thaa?)
Listen: F85
अगर तुम न होते, तो यह काम कौन करता?
If you hadn't been there, who would have done this work?
(agar tum n hote, to yah kaam kaun kartaa?)
Listen: F85
मुझे नहीं पता कि यह पत्र किसने भेजा है।
I don't know who sent this letter.
(mujhe nahiin pataa ki yah patr kisne bhejaa hai।)
Listen: F85
बताओ, यह गलती किसकी है?
Tell me, whose mistake is this?
(bataao, yah galtii kiskii hai?)
Listen: F85
महोदय, आप किससे मिलना चाहते हैं?
Sir, whom would you like to meet?
(mahoday, aap kisse milnaa chaahte hain?)
Listen: F85
Sense
2
:
someone or other, whoever (vague/dismissive identity)
pronoun Used in dismissive or indefinite rhetorical phrasing, often doubled or paired with पता नहीं (pataa nahiin), rather than as a direct question.
Synonyms: कोई (koii, someone)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: You'll hear pata nahii kaun (pataa nahiin kaun) all over Delhi markets and offices when someone wants to wave off a stranger's importance -- 'pata nahii kaun tha' (pataa nahiin kaun thaa, 'no idea who that was') carries a little shrug of indifference that a flat translation misses.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners read कौन जाने (kaun jaane, 'who knows') as a real question and expect an answer, when it is actually a rhetorical shrug meaning 'nobody really knows.' 2) पता नहीं कौन (pataa nahiin kaun, 'no idea who') is a set dismissive phrase about an unnamed or unimportant person, not a literal request for identification.
Sample Sentences:
पता नहीं कौन आया था दरवाजे पर।
Who knows who it was that came to the door.
(pataa nahiin kaun aayaa thaa darvaaje par।)
Listen: F85
पता नहीं कौन था, बस नाम पूछकर चला गया।
No idea who that was, he just asked my name and left.
(pataa nahiin kaun thaa, bas naam poochhkar chalaa gayaa।)
Listen: F85
कौन जाने कौन उससे मिलने आता रहता है।
Who knows who all keeps coming to meet him.
(kaun jaane kaun usse milne aataa rahtaa hai।)
Listen: M85
किसी कौन से आदमी ने फोन करके पैसे मांगे।
Some so-and-so guy called and asked for money.
(kisii kaun se aadmii ne phon karke paise maange।)
Listen: F85
अरे छोड़ो, कौन था वो, कोई मतलब नहीं है जानने का।
Forget it, who was that, there's no point knowing.
(are chhodo, kaun thaa vo, koii matlab nahiin hai jaanne kaa।)
Listen: M85
दफ्तर में पता नहीं कौन आकर बैठ गया है मेरी कुर्सी पर।
Some so-and-so has come and sat down on my chair at the office.
(daphtar men pataa nahiin kaun aakar baith gayaa hai merii kursii par।)
Listen: F85
अगर पता नहीं कौन बुला रहा हो, तो दरवाजा मत खोलना।
If some random stranger is calling out, don't open the door.
(agar pataa nahiin kaun bulaa rahaa ho, to darvaajaa mat kholnaa।)
Listen: F85
बाजार में पता नहीं कौन कौन घूमता रहता है, ध्यान से रहो।
All sorts of who-knows-who wander around the market, be careful.
(baajaar men pataa nahiin kaun kaun ghoomtaa rahtaa hai, dhyaan se raho।)
Listen: F85
यदि कोई पता नहीं कौन होता, तो मैं इतना भरोसा नहीं करता।
If it had been just some random nobody, I wouldn't have trusted him so much.
(yadi koii pataa nahiin kaun hotaa, to main itnaa bharosaa nahiin kartaa।)
Listen: F85
पता नहीं कौन कह गया कि मीटिंग रद्द हो गई है।
Some so-and-so said the meeting's been cancelled.
(pataa nahiin kaun kah gayaa ki miiting radd ho gaii hai।)
Listen: F85