किस तरफ़ (kis taraf)
adverb
A question phrase meaning 'which direction/way' or 'towards which side' -- combines किस (kis, oblique of कौन) with तरफ़ (taraf, 'side/direction').
Sense
1
:
which direction, which way
adverb Functions as a directional question modifying the verb, asking about the path or direction of movement or orientation, e.g. 'which way did he go' or 'which side is it on.'
Synonyms: किस दिशा में (kis dishaa men, more formal), किधर (kidhar, one-word variant)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this constantly from auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers in Delhi asking किस तरफ़ जाना है (kis taraf jaanaa hai, 'which direction do you need to go')-- it is the everyday, casual way to ask for a heading, much more common in speech than किस दिशा में (kis dishaa men), which sounds a bit more bookish or formal.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes confuse this with किस तरह (kis tarah, 'in what manner'), which asks about method, not direction -- तरफ़ (taraf) is about physical or figurative direction, तरह (tarah) is about manner. 2) तरफ़ (taraf) is often used with की (kii) when it follows a noun ('घर की तरफ़' (ghar kii taraf, 'towards the house')), but as a standalone question phrase किस तरफ़ (kis taraf) does not take an extra की (kii).
Sample Sentences:
किस तरफ़ जाना है?
Which way do you need to go?
(kis taraf jaanaa hai?)
आपको किस तरफ़ जाना है, भाई साहब?
Which direction do you need to go, sir?
(aapko kis taraf jaanaa hai, bhaaii saahab?)
स्टेशन किस तरफ़ है?
Which way is the station?
(steshan kis taraf hai?)
मुझे नहीं पता था कि वो किस तरफ़ गया।
I didn't know which way he went.
(mujhe nahiin pataa thaa ki vo kis taraf gayaa।)
पहले ये तो बता कि तुझे किस तरफ़ जाना है, फिर आगे की सोचेंगे।
First tell me which way you need to go, then we'll think about the rest.
(pahle ye to bataa ki tujhe kis taraf jaanaa hai, phir aage kii sochenge।)
अगर पता चल जाए कि हवा किस तरफ़ बह रही है, तो पतंग उड़ाना आसान हो जाएगा।
If we can figure out which direction the wind is blowing, flying the kite will become easy.
(agar pataa chal jaae ki havaa kis taraf bah rahii hai, to patang udaanaa aasaan ho jaaegaa।)
क्या आप बता सकते हैं कि यह रास्ता किस तरफ़ जाता है?
Could you tell me which direction this road goes in?
(kyaa aap bataa sakte hain ki yah raastaa kis taraf jaataa hai?)
अगर मुझे मालूम होता कि गाड़ी किस तरफ़ जाएगी, तो मैं वहीं खड़ा रहता।
If I had known which direction the train would go, I would have stood right there.
(agar mujhe maaloom hotaa ki gaadii kis taraf jaaegii, to main vahiin khadaa rahtaa।)
अंधेरे में कुछ समझ नहीं आ रहा था कि किस तरफ़ बढ़ें।
In the darkness, it wasn't clear which way to move forward.
(andhere men kuchh samajh nahiin aa rahaa thaa ki kis taraf badhen।)
मंज़िल किस तरफ़ है, यह तो हमें भी नहीं मालूम।
Even we don't know which direction our destination lies in.
(manzil kis taraf hai, yah to hamen bhii nahiin maaloom।)
यह तय नहीं हो पाया कि जुलूस किस तरफ़ ले जाया जाएगा।
It couldn't be decided which direction the procession would be taken in.
(yah tay nahiin ho paayaa ki juloos kis taraf le jaayaa jaaegaa।)