The postposition को ko marks a recipient or addressee—the animate or institutional endpoint of transfer or communication: रीना को किताब दी rīnā ko kitāb dī “gave Reena a book,” माँ को संदेश भेजा mā̃ ko sandeś bhejā “sent Mother a message.” It follows its complement, and that complement is oblique.
English usually puts to before a recipient. Hindi builds [recipient in oblique form] + को. The same form also appears in several experiencer and scheduling constructions, but those uses belong to particular predicates and must not be reduced to a single English translation.
Recipient and addressee
Transfer verbs such as देना denā “give,” भेजना bhejnā “send,” and दिखाना dikhānā “show” commonly mark the receiver with को.
मैंने लड़के को चाबी दे दी।
maĩne laṛke ko cābī de dī.
I gave the boy the key.
कृपया यह संदेश सभी कर्मचारियों को भेज दीजिए।
kripyā yah sandeś sabhī karmacāriyoṃ ko bhej dījie.
Please send this message to all the employees.
Masculine लड़का becomes singular oblique लड़के; plural कर्मचारी becomes कर्मचारियों. को supplies the recipient relation after the noun has taken its case form.
| Direct form | Before को |
|---|---|
| लड़का laṛkā | लड़के को laṛke ko |
| बच्चे bacce | बच्चों को baccoṃ ko |
| लड़की laṛkī | लड़की को laṛkī ko |
| किताबें kitābeṃ | किताबों को kitāboṃ ko |
Human addressees and the object-marking overlap
With acts of transfer, teaching, or showing, को often identifies the person toward whom the action or communication is directed. With verbs such as भेजना, the same marker can instead mark a specific animate object: the person being sent is a caused mover, not the destination.
अध्यापिका ने बच्चों को कहानी सुनाई।
adhyāpikā ne baccoṃ ko kahānī sunāī.
The teacher told the children a story.
डॉक्टर ने मरीज़ को घर भेज दिया।
ḍokṭar ne marīz ko ghar bhej diyā.
The doctor sent the patient home.
Do not infer that को is a general marker for every physical destination. Everyday Hindi normally says दिल्ली जाना dillī jānā “go to Delhi,” with no को, and दिल्ली के लिए निकलना dillī ke lie nikalnā “leave for Delhi.” In बच्चे को घर भेजना, बच्चे को is the caused mover and marked animate object, while unmarked घर is the destination. The broader object-marking pattern is treated on the page for differential object को.
Pronouns have special को forms
Personal and demonstrative pronouns do not normally combine as citation form plus a separate को. They have conventional fused or linked forms.
| Pronoun | को form |
|---|---|
| मैं maĩ | मुझे mujhe |
| हम ham | हमें hameṃ |
| तुम tum | तुम्हें tumheṃ |
| आप āp | आपको āpko |
| यह/वह yah/vah | इसे/उसे ise/use |
| ये/वे ye/ve | इन्हें/उन्हें inheṃ/unheṃ |
मुझे फ़ाइल भेज दो और उन्हें भी एक प्रति दे दो।
mujhe fāil bhej do aur unheṃ bhī ek prati de do.
Send me the file and give them a copy too. (informal)
Forms such as मेरे को mere ko occur regionally and colloquially (regional/informal), but मुझे is the neutral standard form. Full pronoun paradigms appear on the pronouns with को page.
को versus के लिए
को marks the actual receiver; के लिए ke lie marks an intended beneficiary or purpose. Buying something for someone does not entail that it has reached them.
मैंने रीना के लिए किताब ख़रीदी और शाम को उसे दे दी।
maĩne rīnā ke lie kitāb xarīdī aur śām ko use de dī.
I bought a book for Reena and gave it to her in the evening.
The book is intended for Reena in the first clause; she becomes its recipient only with उसे दे दी. English for and to overlap differently, so translate the relationship rather than the isolated preposition.
Experiencers selected by predicates
Many common Hindi predicates place the experiencer in a को form: मुझे ठंड लग रही है “I feel cold,” उसे हिंदी आती है “she knows Hindi,” हमें चाय चाहिए “we need/want tea.” This person is not literally receiving an object.
मुझे आज बहुत नींद आ रही है।
mujhe āj bahut nīnd ā rahī hai.
I'm very sleepy today.
उसे यह गाना बहुत पसंद है।
use yah gānā bahut pasand hai.
She really likes this song.
These are grammaticalized predicate frames. Learn पसंद होना, नींद आना, ठंड लगना, and चाहिए with their experiencer marking. को remains productive for recipients, but lexical government determines which feelings, knowledge states, and necessities select it.
Time points
को also marks calendar days and bounded occasions: सोमवार को somvār ko “on Monday,” रात को rāt ko “at night.” This is a conventional temporal extension, not a recipient.
बैठक सोमवार को दो बजे होगी।
baiṭhak somvār ko do baje hogī.
The meeting will be on Monday at two o'clock.
Not every English at or on becomes को. Clock time uses बजे, and many locative at meanings use पर or में.
A natural exchange
यह पार्सल किसको देना है? — सामने वाले कमरे में जो मैडम हैं, उनको दे दीजिए।
yah pārsal kisko denā hai? — sāmne vāle kamre meṃ jo maiḍam haiṃ, unko de dījie.
Who should this parcel be given to? — Please give it to the lady in the room opposite. (respectful)
Conversational किसको/उनको are transparent pronoun-plus-को forms; किसे/उन्हें are also standard.
Common Mistakes
1. Using English preposition-first order
❌ को रीना किताब दो।
Incorrect: को follows its complement.
✅ रीना को किताब दो।
rīnā ko kitāb do.
Give Reena the book. (informal)
2. Keeping a masculine -ā noun direct
❌ लड़का को चाबी दो।
Incorrect: लड़का becomes oblique लड़के before को.
✅ लड़के को चाबी दो।
laṛke ko cābī do.
Give the boy the key. (informal)
3. Omitting the recipient marker
❌ मैंने रीना किताब दी।
Incorrect in the neutral transfer construction: mark the recipient with को.
✅ मैंने रीना को किताब दी।
maĩne rīnā ko kitāb dī.
I gave Reena a book.
4. Translating every English “for” with को
❌ मैंने रीना को उपहार ख़रीदा।
Incorrect for an intended beneficiary: use रीना के लिए.
✅ मैंने रीना के लिए उपहार ख़रीदा।
maĩne rīnā ke lie uphār xarīdā.
I bought a gift for Reena.
Key Takeaways
- को follows an oblique recipient or addressee, whether a person, animal, or institution.
- Pronouns use forms such as मुझे, उसे, हमें, and उन्हें.
- को marks an actual receiver; के लिए marks a beneficiary or purpose.
- Experiencer uses are selected by particular predicates and must be learned with them.
- Temporal को marks days and occasions, not every English at, on, or for.
Related Topics
- Postpositions and oblique complementsA1 — Build Hindi relational phrases by placing a postposition after an oblique noun or special pronoun form instead of translating English prepositions word for word.
- को as differential object markerA2 — Understand how animacy, specificity, definiteness, affectedness, and verb meaning condition को on direct objects and reshape perfective agreement.
- के लिए purpose and beneficiaryA2 — Use के लिए for intended beneficiaries, purposes, suitability, viewpoints, and bounded temporary periods, with correct noun and pronoun forms.
- The oblique before simple postpositionsA2 — Apply oblique case consistently to complete noun phrases before simple Hindi postpositions such as को, ने, से, में, पर, and तक.
- Pronouns with कोA2 — Use the conventional को-series मुझे, तुझे, तुम्हें, आपको, इसे, उसे, इन्हें, and उन्हें for objects, recipients, and experiencers.
- Dative experiencer subjectsB1 — Analyze Hindi experiencer clauses with को-marked participants, local agreement, lexical case frames, and clear scope across clause boundaries.