किस (kis)
pronoun/adjective
The oblique form of कौन (kaun, 'who/which') used before postpositions -- appears in questions like किसने (kisne, 'who'), किसको (kisko, 'to whom'), and किस से (kis se, 'from whom/what').
Sense
1
:
interrogative pronoun (oblique 'who/what/which')
pronoun This is the oblique form of कौन (kaun); it never stands alone and is always followed by a postposition (को, से, में, पर, etc.) or, when modifying a noun directly, functions as an interrogative adjective (see next sense).
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will meet this constantly in everyday questions like किससे बात कर रहे हो? (kisse baat kar rahe ho, 'who are you talking to?') -- Hindi puts the postposition right after किस (kis) rather than stranding it at the end the way English does.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes try to use कौन (kaun) before a postposition -- but the oblique किस (kis) is required: किससे (kisse, 'from whom'), not कौनसे (kaunse) in that sense. 2) किसने (kisne) is the fused form for 'who' as an ने-marked subject -- learners sometimes write कौनने (kaunne), which is wrong.
Sample Sentences:
उसने किससे पैसे उधार लिए थे?
From whom had he borrowed money?
(usne kisse paise udhaar lie the?)
Listen: M85
किसको बुलाया जाए, यह अभी तय नहीं हुआ है।
Who should be called has not yet been decided.
(kisko bulaayaa jaae, yah abhii tay nahiin huaa hai।)
Listen: F85
किसके साथ जाना है, बताओ तो!
Tell me, who am I supposed to go with!
(kiske saath jaanaa hai, bataao to!)
Listen: M85
अगर वह किसी से पूछता, तो उसे सही रास्ता मिल जाता।
If he had asked someone, he would have found the right way.
(agar vah kisii se poochhtaa, to use sahii raastaa mil jaataa।)
Listen: M85
यह ज़िम्मेदारी किसे दी जाएगी?
Who will this responsibility be given to?
(yah zimmedaarii kise dii jaaegii?)
Listen: M85
मुझे समझ नहीं आया कि किससे शिकायत करूँ।
I couldn't figure out who I should complain to.
(mujhe samajh nahiin aayaa ki kisse shikaayat karoon।)
Listen: M85
किसके द्वारा यह निर्णय लिया गया, इसकी जानकारी नहीं दी गई।
By whom this decision was made -- that information was not provided.
(kiske dvaaraa yah nirnay liyaa gayaa, iskii jaankaarii nahiin dii gaii।)
Listen: F85
किसकी वजह से यह गड़बड़ हुई?
Because of whom did this mess happen?
(kiskii vajah se yah gadbad huii?)
Listen: M85
Sense
2
:
interrogative adjective ('which')
adjective Used directly before a noun to ask 'which' when the noun phrase itself takes a postposition, e.g. किस शहर में (kis shahar men, 'in which city'), किस लड़की को (kis ladkii ko, 'to which girl').
Synonyms: कौन सा (kaun saa, used when not immediately followed by a postposition)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Think of किस (kis) as the 'plain' oblique version of कौन सा (kaun saa) -- reach for it whenever a postposition is coming right after the noun, which is most of the time in real conversation.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often default to कौन सा (kaun saa) even when a postposition follows the noun -- native speakers prefer किस + noun + postposition, e.g. किस किताब में (kis kitaab men, 'in which book'), not कौन सी किताब में (kaun sii kitaab men).
Sample Sentences:
तुम किस स्कूल में पढ़ते हो?
Which school do you study in?
(tum kis skool men padhte ho?)
Listen: M85
यह पत्र किस आदमी ने भेजा था?
Which man had sent this letter?
(yah patr kis aadmii ne bhejaa thaa?)
Listen: M85
किस रास्ते से जाना ठीक रहेगा?
Which road will be good to take?
(kis raaste se jaanaa thiik rahegaa?)
Listen: F85
किस दुकान पर सामान सस्ता मिलता है, यह पता करो।
Find out at which shop the goods are cheap.
(kis dukaan par saamaan sastaa miltaa hai, yah pataa karo।)
Listen: F85
अगर मुझे पता होता कि किस ट्रेन से जाना है, तो मैं समय पर पहुँच जाता।
If I had known which train to take, I would have reached on time.
(agar mujhe pataa hotaa ki kis tren se jaanaa hai, to main samay par pahunch jaataa।)
Listen: F85
किस कारण से उसने नौकरी छोड़ दी, यह कोई नहीं जानता।
For what reason he left the job, no one knows.
(kis kaaran se usne naukrii chhod dii, yah koii nahiin jaantaa।)
Listen: M85
मुझे नहीं पता कि किस कंपनी में काम करना बेहतर होगा।
I don't know which company would be better to work in.
(mujhe nahiin pataa ki kis kampnii men kaam karnaa behtar hogaa।)
Listen: F85
महोदय, कृपया बताएं कि यह प्रस्ताव किस विभाग द्वारा भेजा गया है।
Sir, please tell me by which department this proposal has been sent.
(mahoday, kripyaa bataaen ki yah prastaav kis vibhaag dvaaraa bhejaa gayaa hai।)
Listen: F85
किस मुँह से मैं उससे माफी माँगूँ?
With what face should I ask forgiveness from him?
(kis munh se main usse maaphii maangoon?)
Listen: F85
किस दिन आना सही रहेगा, यह हमें अभी सोचना है।
We need to think right now about which day it would be right to come.
(kis din aanaa sahii rahegaa, yah hamen abhii sochnaa hai।)
Listen: F85
Morphology
Adjective (invariant)
invariant:
किस
(kis)