کیا

Urdu

Etymology 1

Inherited from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀓𑀺𑀁 (kiṃ), 𑀓𑀺 (ki), from Sanskrit किम् (kim, “what, which”), probably influenced by the alternative nominative form का (kā). Doublet of کہ (ke, ki). Compare Punjabi ਕੀ (kī)/کی (kī), Gujarati કિયું (kiyũ), Marathi की (kī), Bengali কি (ki), Assamese কি (ki), Kashmiri کیاہ (kyah).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /kjɑː/

Particle

کْیا • (kyā) (Hindi spelling क्या)

1. initial interrogative particle

   کْیا آپ یَہاں رہتے ہَیں؟

   kyā āp yahā̃ rehte ha͠i?

   Do you live here?

   (literally, “ you here living are?”)

Usage notes

• In this usage, it simply turns the sentence into a yes-or-no question. It can be equated with Arabic هَلْ (hal).
• In casual use, the "yes or no" question marker (in the sense of "is it that") is usually dropped as intonation is usually sufficient. Compare with the dropping of Persian's yes-no question marker آیا.

Pronoun

کْیا • (kyā) (Hindi spelling क्या)

1. subjective interrogative pronoun used to refer to inanimate objects or abstract entities, also often used to refer to animals: what

   آم کا دام کْیا ہَے؟

   ām kā dām kyā hai?

   What is the price of mangoes?

Declension

Singular:

Plural (formal):

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /kɪ.jɑː/

Verb

کِیا • (kiyā) (Hindi spelling किया)

1. inflection of کرنا (karnā):
   1. masculine singular perfective participle
   2. masculine singular perfect indicative

References

• McGregor, R.S, ed. The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press. 1993
• Platts, John Thompson. A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi, and English London: W. H. Allen & Co., 1884.