The compound postposition के पास ke pās first means “near/by”: स्टेशन के पास sṭeśan ke pās “near the station.” Hindi extends this location pattern to possession: मेरे पास टिकट है mere pās ṭikaṭ hai literally presents a ticket as existing “by me,” and naturally means “I have a ticket.”
This is one of Hindi's main equivalents of English have, but it is not a possession verb. The possessed item is the grammatical subject of होना, so its number controls है/हैं.
Physical proximity
With a place, person, or object, के पास locates something in the nearby area rather than inside it or directly on it.
हमारा होटल रेलवे स्टेशन के पास है।
hamārā hoṭal relve sṭeśan ke pās hai.
Our hotel is near the railway station.
कुर्सी खिड़की के पास रख दीजिए।
kursī khiṛkī ke pās rakh dījie.
Please put the chair near the window.
Compare खिड़की के पास “near the window,” खिड़की में “in the window,” and खिड़की पर “on/at the window.” English at may correspond to any of these depending on the actual spatial relation.
Noun complements are oblique
| Direct form | Before के पास |
|---|---|
| लड़का laṛkā | लड़के के पास laṛke ke pās |
| बच्चे bacce | बच्चों के पास baccoṃ ke pās |
| कमरा kamrā | कमरे के पास kamre ke pās |
| दुकानें dukāneṃ | दुकानों के पास dukānoṃ ke pās |
उस पुराने कमरे के पास एक छोटी बालकनी है।
us purāne kamre ke pās ek choṭī bālkanī hai.
There is a small balcony near that old room.
The entire complement उस पुराने कमरे is oblique. The के inside the compound postposition is fixed; it does not agree with a feminine landmark.
Possessive existence
To say that someone has an object, resource, opportunity, information, or time available, put the possessor in a के पास phrase and make the possessed item the subject of होना.
रीना के पास कार है, लेकिन आज उसके पास पेट्रोल नहीं है।
rīnā ke pās kār hai, lekin āj uske pās peṭrol nahīṃ hai.
Reena has a car, but today she doesn't have any petrol.
मेरे पास अभी सिर्फ़ दस मिनट हैं।
mere pās abhī sirf das minaṭ haiṃ.
I have only ten minutes right now.
The singular item कार takes है; plural दस मिनट takes हैं. The possessor does not control the copula.
क्या आपके पास इस सवाल का जवाब है?
kyā āpke pās is savāl kā javāb hai?
Do you have the answer to this question? (respectful)
This use covers possession, immediate access, and availability. It does not necessarily claim ownership: a borrowed key can still be मेरे पास while it is physically in my keeping.
Pronoun forms
Pronouns use possessive-shaped forms: मेरे पास, हमारे पास, तेरे पास (intimate), तुम्हारे पास (informal), आपके पास (respectful), इसके/उसके पास, and इनके/उनके पास.
उसके पास मेरा फ़ोन है; शाम को ले आना।
uske pās merā fon hai; śām ko le ānā.
He has my phone; bring it back this evening. (informal)
हमारे पास छाता नहीं है, इसलिए टैक्सी बुला लेते हैं।
hamāre pās chātā nahīṃ hai, islie ṭaiksī bulā lete haiṃ.
We don't have an umbrella, so let's call a taxi.
Neutral Standard Hindi does not use मैं के पास or मुझ के पास. Complete pronoun paradigms belong in the pronoun group; for this construction, learn the linked phrase as a unit.
के पास versus का/के/की
The two possession patterns answer different questions. रीना की कार identifies a car as Reena's; रीना के पास कार है asserts that a car is in Reena's possession or available to her.
यह रीना की कार है, मगर अभी उसके पास नहीं है।
yah rīnā kī kār hai, magar abhī uske pās nahīṃ hai.
This is Reena's car, but she doesn't have it with her right now.
Ownership and current custody separate cleanly here. The का versus के पास page develops this decision in detail.
Use का/के/की for inherent and relational possession such as kinship and body parts: मेरी बहन “my sister,” उसका हाथ “his/her hand.” मेरे पास बहन है can sound as though a sister were an item in one's possession and is not the neutral way to say “I have a sister.”
Agreement belongs to the thing possessed
Because the possessed expression is the grammatical subject, number and honorificity there determine the copula and other agreement.
मेरे पास एक अतिरिक्त टिकट है और दो कूपन हैं।
mere pās ek atirikt ṭikaṭ hai aur do kūpan haiṃ.
I have one extra ticket and two coupons.
डॉक्टर साहब के पास अभी कोई खाली समय नहीं है।
ḍokṭar sāhab ke pās abhī koī khālī samay nahīṃ hai.
The doctor has no free time right now. (respectful reference)
In the second sentence, कोई खाली समय is singular and controls है. The honorific possessor does not require हैं because it is inside a postpositional phrase, not the subject.
Going to a person or professional
With motion, किसी के पास जाना can mean “go to someone / go to someone's place,” often because the person is the relevant destination or professional.
दर्द बढ़े तो तुरंत डॉक्टर के पास जाना।
dard baṛhe to turant ḍokṭar ke pās jānā.
If the pain gets worse, go to the doctor immediately. (informal instruction)
This is a conventional extension of proximity: the endpoint is the doctor's presence or practice. It does not make के पास a universal translation of English to or at. “At the station” is normally स्टेशन पर, while “near the station” is स्टेशन के पास.
पास without a complement
When the landmark is understood, पास can stand as an adverb: पास आओ pās āo “come closer,” पास बैठो pās baiṭho “sit nearby.” With an explicit landmark, use the full phrase.
ज़रा पास आओ; मुझे तुमसे कुछ कहना है।
zarā pās āo; mujhe tumse kuch kahnā hai.
Come a little closer; I need to tell you something. (informal)
Productive meaning and lexical frames
Physical proximity is freely productive, and possessive existence is a grammaticalized extension. Individual predicates can add narrower meanings. किसी चीज़ को अपने पास रखना means “keep something with/on oneself,” whereas simple मेरे पास है only reports possession or availability.
अपना पासपोर्ट हमेशा अपने पास रखिए।
apnā pāsporṭ hameśā apne pās rakhie.
Always keep your passport with you.
English have also occurs in expressions that Hindi builds differently: “have a cold” is ज़ुकाम होना, and “have breakfast” is नाश्ता करना. Do not insert के पास merely because English uses have.
A natural exchange
क्या तुम्हारे पास चार्जर है? — हाँ, मेरे बैग में है; अभी देता हूँ।
kyā tumhāre pās cārjar hai? — hā̃, mere baig meṃ hai; abhī detā hū̃.
Do you have a charger? — Yes, it's in my bag; I'll give it to you now. (informal, male speaker)
The question asks about availability with तुम्हारे पास; the answer gives literal containment with बैग में.
Common Mistakes
1. Using a citation-form pronoun
❌ मैं के पास छुट्टे पैसे नहीं हैं।
Incorrect: use मेरे पास.
✅ मेरे पास छुट्टे पैसे नहीं हैं।
mere pās chuṭṭe paise nahīṃ haiṃ.
I don't have any change.
2. Leaving a masculine -आ noun direct
❌ लड़का के पास छाता है।
Incorrect: लड़का becomes oblique लड़के before के पास.
✅ लड़के के पास छाता है।
laṛke ke pās chātā hai.
The boy has an umbrella.
3. Making the copula agree with the possessor
❌ हमारे पास एक कमरा हैं।
Incorrect: singular possessed item कमरा controls है.
✅ हमारे पास एक कमरा है।
hamāre pās ek kamrā hai.
We have one room.
4. Using के पास for neutral kinship possession
❌ मेरे पास एक बड़ी बहन है जो कनाडा में रहती है।
Incorrect for a neutral kinship statement: के पास suggests current custody or availability, even though the sister lives elsewhere.
✅ मेरी एक बड़ी बहन है जो कनाडा में रहती है।
merī ek baṛī bahan hai jo kanāḍā meṃ rahtī hai.
I have an older sister who lives in Canada.
5. Translating every English “at” as के पास
❌ मैं अभी स्टेशन के पास हूँ।
Incorrect if the intended meaning is 'at the station'; this sentence means 'near the station.'
✅ मैं अभी स्टेशन पर हूँ।
maĩ abhī sṭeśan par hū̃.
I'm at the station now.
Key Takeaways
- Spatial के पास means “near/by,” not inside, on, or automatically “at.”
- Possessive के पास + होना presents an item or resource as available to a possessor.
- The possessed item controls है/हैं, not the possessor.
- Pronouns use मेरे पास, आपके पास, उसके पास, and related forms.
- का/के/की identifies ownership or relationship; के पास asserts possession, custody, or access.
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- का के की possession and agreementA1 — Choose का, के, or की by the gender, number, and case of the possessed expression while putting noun possessors in the oblique form.
- का versus के पास for possessionA2 — Distinguish identifying ownership and relationship with का from asserting custody, access, or availability with के पास.
- Existential होनाA1 — Express that something exists or is available with a location or domain, an existent noun phrase, and an agreeing form of होना.
- Locative and possessive होनाA1 — Use होना to locate entities and express possession through के पास or genitive relations, with agreement controlled by the located or possessed noun.
- The oblique in compound postpositional phrasesA2 — Build oblique noun phrases before compound Hindi postpositions such as के साथ, के लिए, के पास, and के बारे में.
- के सामने opposite and in frontB1 — Use के सामने for positions in front of or opposite a landmark, presence before a person, and abstract confrontation, while distinguishing आगे and सामना करना.