किन (kin)
adjective/pronoun
This is the oblique plural form of कौन (kaun, 'who/which'), used before postpositions when asking 'which (people/things)' or 'whom' in the plural. It functions as an interrogative adjective/pronoun and does not stand alone as a separate lemma sense beyond this grammatical role.
Sense
1
:
which (plural, oblique, before a postposition)
adjective Used directly before a noun plus postposition, e.g. किन लोगों से (kin logon se, 'from which people'). This is the oblique plural of कौन सा (kaun saa) style questions when the noun is plural and followed by a postposition.
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Think of किन (kin) as what happens to कौन (kaun) when it has to 'bend' (go oblique) for a plural noun and a postposition -- the same shift you already know from log (log) becoming logon (logon). Hearing किन लोगों ने (kin logon ne, 'which people') in a question is a good signal that oblique plural marking is at play.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often default to कौन से (kaun se) even when a postposition follows a plural noun -- but किन (kin) is required there, e.g. किन किताबों में (kin kitaabon men, 'in which books'), not कौन से किताबों में. 2) किन (kin) is only for plural/oblique contexts; for a singular noun before a postposition, कौन से (kaun se) or कौन सी (kaun sii) is still used, not किन (kin).
Sample Sentences:
किन लोगों ने यह शिकायत की?
Which people filed this complaint?
(kin logon ne yah shikaayat kii?)
तुम किन किताबों के बारे में बात कर रहे हो?
Which books are you talking about?
(tum kin kitaabon ke baare men baat kar rahe ho?)
यह फैसला किन कारणों से लिया गया?
For which reasons was this decision taken?
(yah phaislaa kin kaarnon se liyaa gayaa?)
किन शर्तों पर यह समझौता होगा?
Under which conditions will this agreement happen?
(kin sharton par yah samjhautaa hogaa?)
मुझे नहीं पता कि वह किन स्कूलों में पढ़ाती थी।
I don't know which schools she used to teach at.
(mujhe nahiin pataa ki vah kin skoolon men padhaatii thii।)
किन दुकानों से सामान मंगवाना चाहिए, यह सोचो।
Think about which shops we should order the goods from.
(kin dukaanon se saamaan mangvaanaa chaahie, yah socho।)
अगर हमें पता होता कि किन रास्तों पर जाम है, तो हम समय पर पहुँच जाते।
If we had known which roads had jams, we would have arrived on time.
(agar hamen pataa hotaa ki kin raaston par jaam hai, to ham samay par pahunch jaate।)
किन गाँवों में बिजली अभी तक नहीं पहुँची है, इसकी सूची बनाई जाए।
A list should be made of which villages electricity still hasn't reached.
(kin gaanvon men bijlii abhii tak nahiin pahunchii hai, iskii soochii banaaii jaae।)
किन परिस्थितियों में मनुष्य अपने मूल स्वभाव को त्याग देता है, यह विचारणीय है।
Under which circumstances a person abandons their true nature is worth pondering.
(kin paristhitiyon men manushy apne mool svabhaav ko tyaag detaa hai, yah vichaarniiy hai।)
किन उम्मीदवारों को नौकरी मिली, कंपनी ने अभी नहीं बताया।
The company hasn't yet said which candidates got the job.
(kin ummiidvaaron ko naukrii milii, kampnii ne abhii nahiin bataayaa।)
Sense
2
:
whom (plural, oblique, before a postposition)
pronoun Used without an accompanying noun when the referents are understood, e.g. किनसे बात की? (kinse baat kii, 'whom did you talk to?').
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This pronoun use of किन (kin) pairs with कौन (kaun) the way मुझे (mujhe) pairs with मैं (main) -- a case-shifted relative you'll recognize once you know the base word.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes try किसको (kisko) or किसे (kise) (singular oblique) when asking about multiple people -- the plural context calls for किन्हें (kinhen) or किनको (kinko), both built on this same किन (kin) base.
Sample Sentences:
यह तस्वीर किनकी है?
Whose picture is this (referring to a group of people)?
(yah tasviir kinkii hai?)
तुम किनसे मिलने गए थे?
Whom (which people) had you gone to meet?
(tum kinse milne gae the?)
आप किनके लिए यह उपहार खरीद रहे हैं?
For whom (which people) are you buying this gift?
(aap kinke lie yah upahaar khariid rahe hain?)
किनको बुलाया जाए, यह अभी तय नहीं हुआ है।
Whom to invite has not yet been decided.
(kinko bulaayaa jaae, yah abhii tay nahiin huaa hai।)
किनके साथ बैठकर बात करनी है, मुझे बता दो।
Tell me with whom (which people) I'm supposed to sit and talk.
(kinke saath baithkar baat karnii hai, mujhe bataa do।)
अगर तुम्हें पता होता कि यह पैसा किनके नाम भेजा गया था, तो तुम चौंक जाते।
If you had known in whose names this money had been sent, you would have been shocked.
(agar tumhen pataa hotaa ki yah paisaa kinke naam bhejaa gayaa thaa, to tum chaunk jaate।)
किनकी सिफ़ारिश पर उसे यह नौकरी मिली, कोई नहीं जानता।
On whose (which people's) recommendation he got this job, nobody knows.
(kinkii sifaarish par use yah naukrii milii, koii nahiin jaantaa।)
मंत्री जी से पूछा गया कि ये आरोप किनके ख़िलाफ़ लगाए गए हैं।
The minister was asked against whom (which people) these allegations have been made.
(mantrii jii se poochhaa gayaa ki ye aarop kinke khilaaf lagaae gae hain।)
किनसे डरकर तुम यह रास्ता छोड़ आए?
Fearing whom (which people) did you leave this path behind?
(kinse darkar tum yah raastaa chhod aae?)
Morphology
Adjective (invariant)
invariant:
किन
(kin)