The direct pronouns मैं maĩ “I” and तू tū “you” do not normally stand unchanged before a postposition. Many postpositions use the oblique stems मुझ mujh and तुझ tujh: मुझसे “from/with/than me,” तुझ पर “on you,” मुझ तक “as far as me.” First-person plural हम ham usually keeps the visible stem हम: हमसे, हममें, हम पर.
These productive stems are only one part of the paradigm. को, ने, possessives, and compound postpositions use conventional forms that cannot be derived by blindly adding a postposition.
Core paradigm
| Function | मैं | तू | हम |
|---|---|---|---|
| direct | मैं maĩ | तू tū | हम ham |
| productive oblique stem | मुझ mujh | तुझ tujh | हम ham |
| को form | मुझे mujhe | तुझे tujhe | हमें hameṃ |
| ने form | मैंने maĩne | तूने tūne | हमने hamne |
| possessive | मेरा/मेरी/मेरे merā/merī/mere | तेरा/तेरी/तेरे terā/terī/tere | हमारा/हमारी/हमारे hamārā/hamārī/hamāre |
Productive forms with simple postpositions
The stems combine transparently with से, पर, में, तक, and several other simple postpositions.
मुझसे धीरे से बात करो; बाकी लोग सो रहे हैं।
mujhse dhīre se bāt karo; bākī log so rahe haiṃ.
Talk quietly to me; everyone else is sleeping. (familiar)
यह बात तुझ पर निर्भर है।
yah bāt tujh par nirbhar hai.
This depends on you. (intimate singular)
यह ख़बर अभी हम तक नहीं पहुँची थी।
yah xabar abhī ham tak nahīṃ pahũcī thī.
This news had not reached us yet.
हममें इतना धैर्य नहीं था।
hammeṃ itnā dhairya nahīṃ thā.
We did not have that much patience in us.
मुझसे/तुझसे are written together, as are हमसे/हममें. With पर and तक, spacing follows the ordinary postposition: मुझ पर, हम तक.
को forms are special
Standard Hindi uses मुझे, तुझे, हमें, not transparent मुझ को, तुझ को, हम को as its most neutral forms. Expanded मुझको, तुझको, हमको also occur and are grammatical, with regional and discourse preferences; see the fuller pronouns with को paradigm.
मुझे अभी घर जाना है।
mujhe abhī ghar jānā hai.
I need to go home now.
तुझे कौन-सी किताब चाहिए?
tujhe kaun-sī kitāb cāhie?
Which book do you want? (intimate singular)
हमें स्टेशन पर आधे घंटे इंतज़ार करना पड़ा।
hameṃ sṭeśan par ādhe ghaṇṭe intazār karnā paṛā.
We had to wait at the station for half an hour.
तुझे inherits the strong intimacy of तू. It is not a neutral way to address an unfamiliar adult.
Compound postpositions use possessive-like forms
Before relational compounds such as के लिए, के साथ, के पास, use मेरे, तेरे, हमारे, not मुझ/तुझ/हम + के.
मेरे लिए चाय मत बनाना; मैं अभी निकल रहा हूँ।
mere lie cāy mat banānā; maĩ abhī nikal rahā hū̃.
Don't make tea for me; I'm leaving now. (male speaker, familiar)
हमारे पास अभी पर्याप्त समय है।
hamāre pās abhī paryāpt samay hai.
We still have enough time.
Thus मुझसे is productive stem plus से, but मेरे लिए belongs to the possessive-like compound-postposition pattern. मुझ के लिए is not neutral standard Hindi.
Formal and informal minimal pair
The oblique form preserves the honorific level of the direct pronoun.
मैं तुझसे कल मिलूँगा।
maĩ tujhse kal milū̃gā.
I'll meet you tomorrow. (intimate singular, male speaker)
मैं आपसे कल मिलूँगा।
maĩ āpse kal milū̃gā.
I'll meet you tomorrow. (respectful, male speaker)
The verb agrees with first-person मैं, so only तुझसे/आपसे displays the relationship contrast. Do not assume that a postpositional form erases honorificity.
Reflexive ownership and emphatic self
English for myself has two possible structures. मेरे लिए means “for me”; अपने लिए means “for myself/for one's own benefit” when its owner is the clause subject.
मैंने अपने लिए एक दिन की छुट्टी रखी है।
maĩne apne lie ek din kī chuṭṭī rakhī hai.
I have kept one day off for myself.
Using मेरे लिए would present “me” as an ordinary beneficiary and can imply that someone else is acting. Emphatic “I did it myself” uses खुद: मैंने खुद किया, not an oblique form of मैं.
Demonstratives have a different stem system
Do not model third-person forms on मुझ/तुझ. Singular यह/वह become इस/उस before postpositions; plural ये/वे become इन/उन. Likewise, direct आप stays आप- in आपसे/आपमें, while familiar तुम uses तुम- or conventional तुम्हें.
A dialogue: relationship and number
तुझे मेरे साथ आना है? — नहीं, हमें अलग-अलग जगह जाना है।
tujhe mere sāth ānā hai? — nahīṃ, hameṃ alag-alag jagah jānā hai.
Do you have to come with me? — No, we have to go to different places. (intimate question; plural reply)
The first speaker addresses one intimate person with तुझे. The reply uses plural हमें, whose direct form would be हम.
Common Mistakes
1. Putting a postposition after direct मैं
❌ वह मैं से लंबा है।
Incorrect: मैं has the oblique stem मुझ before से.
✅ वह मुझसे लंबा है।
vah mujhse lambā hai.
He is taller than me.
2. Using intimate तुझ with an unfamiliar adult
❌ क्या मैं तुझसे एक सवाल पूछ सकता हूँ, सर?
Inappropriate default: तुझ retains intimate तू-level address.
✅ क्या मैं आपसे एक सवाल पूछ सकता हूँ, सर?
kyā maĩ āpse ek savāl pūch saktā hū̃, sar?
May I ask you a question, sir? (male speaker)
3. Building a compound postposition from मुझ
❌ यह उपहार मुझ के लिए है।
Incorrect: के लिए uses possessive-like मेरे.
✅ यह उपहार मेरे लिए है।
yah uphār mere lie hai.
This gift is for me.
4. Using an ordinary pronoun where reflexive अपना is required
❌ मैंने मेरे लिए खाना बनाया।
Incorrect in the neutral reflexive reading: the subject made food for themself, so use अपने लिए.
✅ मैंने अपने लिए खाना बनाया।
maĩne apne lie khānā banāyā.
I made food for myself.
Key Takeaways
- मैं → मुझ and तू → तुझ before many simple postpositions; हम stays visibly हम.
- Memorize special मुझे/तुझे/हमें, मैंने/तूने/हमने, and possessive forms separately.
- Compound postpositions use मेरे/तेरे/हमारे, not मुझ के/तुझ के.
- तुझ preserves intimate social meaning; अपने and खुद express different kinds of reflexivity.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- मैं and हम direct formsA1 — Use first-person मैं and हम with the right agreement, case forms, number readings, and reflexive expressions.
- तू intimate singular youA1 — Use singular तू with its intimate agreement, oblique forms, commands, and relationship-dependent social meanings.
- तुम्ह and आप oblique formsA2 — Build familiar तुम and respectful आप forms before simple and compound postpositions, distinguishing productive stems from तुम्हें, तुम्हारा, आपको, and आपका.
- Pronouns with कोA2 — Use the conventional को-series मुझे, तुझे, तुम्हें, आपको, इसे, उसे, इन्हें, and उन्हें for objects, recipients, and experiencers.
- Pronouns with से and मेंA2 — Form मुझसे, उससे, हममें, उनमें and related fused forms while preserving person, number, deixis, and honorific reference.
- Reflexive possessive अपनाB1 — Use अपना for possession that returns to a clause's subject while making it agree with the possessed noun.