अपना (apnaa)
adjective
A reflexive possessive adjective meaning 'one's own', used regardless of the subject's person, number, or gender -- it always points back to the sentence's own subject. Related to the reflexive pronoun खुद (khud).
Sense
1
:
one's own (reflexive possessive)
adjective Agrees in gender/number/case with the noun it modifies, not with the subject it refers back to; the subject determines only whose 'own' it is.
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This word forces English speakers to rethink possession in Hindi: the same sentence structure can use अपना (apnaa) or a personal possessive, but only one is grammatical depending on whether the possessor equals the subject. A useful mental habit here: whenever you're about to say 'my own', 'his own', 'their own' etc. and the possessor is the doer of the sentence's main verb, reach for अपना (apnaa) automatically, not मेरा/उसका/उनका (meraa/uskaa/unkaa).
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often substitute मेरा (meraa), उसका (uskaa) etc. where अपना (apnaa) is required -- when the possessor is the same as the sentence's subject, Hindi grammar requires अपना (apnaa) instead of a personal possessive: राम अपनी किताब पढ़ता है (raam apnii kitaab padhtaa hai, 'Ram reads his own book') is correct; राम उसकी किताब पढ़ता है (raam uskii kitaab padhtaa hai) wrongly implies someone else's book. 2) In commands and suggestions, अपना (apnaa) is used even when the addressee is 'you', not तुम्हारा (tumhaaraa): अपना काम करो (apnaa kaam karo, 'do your own work').
Sample Sentences:
वह हर रोज़ अपना कमरा साफ़ करता है।
He cleans his own room every day.
(vah har roz apnaa kamraa saaf kartaa hai।)
मैंने अपना होमवर्क कल रात ही पूरा कर लिया था।
I had already finished my own homework last night.
(mainne apnaa homvark kal raat hii pooraa kar liyaa thaa।)
अपना ख्याल रखना।
Take care of yourself.
(apnaa khyaal rakhnaa।)
वे अपनी गाड़ी खुद चला रहे हैं।
They are driving their own car themselves.
(ve apnii gaadii khud chalaa rahe hain।)
अगर मुझे मौका मिलता, तो मैं अपना खुद का व्यवसाय शुरू करता।
If I got the chance, I would start my own business.
(agar mujhe maukaa miltaa, to main apnaa khud kaa vyavsaay shuroo kartaa।)
कृपया अपना फ़ोन नंबर यहाँ लिख दीजिए।
Please write your own phone number here.
(kripyaa apnaa fon nambar yahaan likh diijie।)
हो सकता है वह अपनी राय बदल दे।
It's possible he might change his own opinion.
(ho saktaa hai vah apnii raay badal de।)
हर इंसान को अपने फैसलों की जिम्मेदारी लेनी चाहिए।
Every person should take responsibility for their own decisions.
(har insaan ko apne phaislon kii jimmedaarii lenii chaahie।)
बच्चों को अपनी गलतियों से सीखने दिया जाना चाहिए।
Children should be allowed to learn from their own mistakes.
(bachchon ko apnii galtiyon se siikhne diyaa jaanaa chaahie।)
उसने अपनी जान जोखिम में डालकर बच्चे को बचाया।
He saved the child by putting his own life at risk.
(usne apnii jaan jokhim men daalkar bachche ko bachaayaa।)
मैं कल तक अपना काम खत्म कर लूँगी।
I will finish my own work by tomorrow.
(main kal tak apnaa kaam khatm kar loongii।)
अपने पैरों पर खड़ा होना आसान नहीं होता।
Standing on one's own feet isn't easy.
(apne pairon par khadaa honaa aasaan nahiin hotaa।)
Morphology
Adjective (variable)
(sg.m):
अपना
(apnaa)
(pl.m):
अपने
(apne)
(sg.f):
अपनी
(apnii)
(pl.f):
अपनी
(apnii)