Hindi personal pronouns identify speaker, addressee, and other people or things, but they do more than English pronouns do. Their forms change before case markers and postpositions, and the choice among तू tū, तुम tum, and आप āp also controls verb agreement. Pronoun choice is therefore both social and grammatical.
This page gives the system as a map. Later pages develop each form and its case patterns in detail. Broader questions about politeness strategies, requests, and etiquette belong to pragmatics; here the focus is the grammar carried by the pronouns themselves.
Direct forms: the basic inventory
Use a direct form when no case marker or postposition requires an oblique form. A direct pronoun commonly appears as the subject of a present-tense clause.
| Person | Direct form | Core reference | Present copula |
|---|---|---|---|
| first singular | मैं maĩ | I | हूँ hū̃ |
| first plural | हम ham | we | हैं haiṃ |
| second, intimate singular | तू tū | you | है hai |
| second, familiar | तुम tum | you, one or more | हो ho |
| second, respectful | आप āp | you, one or more | हैं haiṃ |
| proximal third person | यह yah / ये ye | this person/thing; these | है hai / हैं haiṃ |
| distal third person | वह vah / वे ve | that person/thing; those | है hai / हैं haiṃ |
मैं आज घर पर हूँ, लेकिन हम कल दफ़्तर में होंगे।
maĩ āj ghar par hū̃, lekin ham kal daftar meṃ hoṅge.
I am at home today, but we will be at the office tomorrow.
यह मेरी चाबी है और वे तुम्हारी किताबें हैं।
yah merī cābī hai aur ve tumhārī kitābeṃ haiṃ.
This is my key, and those are your books.
Hindi third-person forms are also demonstratives: यह/ये point to something relatively near, and वह/वे to something relatively distant or already established in discourse. In much contemporary conversation, ये ye and वो vo frequently refer to one person too (informal). Careful writing still makes the direct singular/plural contrast available. See यह, वह, ये, and वे for the full pattern.
Three ways to say “you”
English largely uses one pronoun, you, for every addressee. Hindi requires a choice:
- तू tū is grammatically singular and intimate. Depending on relationship and tone, it can convey deep closeness, address a young child or pet, appear in devotional language, or express contempt. It is not automatically rude, but initiating it with an unfamiliar adult is normally unsafe.
- तुम tum is familiar and can address one person or several. It is common among friends, siblings, partners, and peers, but what counts as an appropriate relationship varies by family, region, workplace, generation, and speaker community.
- आप āp is respectful and can also address one person or several. It is the reliable default with unfamiliar adults and in formal interaction. Even for one addressee, it takes plural/honorific agreement.
तुम कहाँ रहते हो?
tum kahā̃ rahte ho?
Where do you live? (informal, to a familiar man or a familiar mixed group)
आप कहाँ रहते हैं?
āp kahā̃ rahte haiṃ?
Where do you live? (respectful, to a man or a mixed group)
This minimal pair differs not only in social stance. तुम requires हो, whereas आप requires हैं. With a feminine addressee, the gender-sensitive participle is रहती:
आप कहाँ रहती हैं?
āp kahā̃ rahtī haiṃ?
Where do you live? (respectful, to a woman)
Honorificity controls agreement
The social contrast becomes visible in auxiliaries, participles, adjectives, futures, and commands. Compare masculine singular reference:
| Pronoun | Habitual | State | Command |
|---|---|---|---|
| तू tū | तू जाता है tū jātā hai | तू तैयार है tū taiyār hai | जा jā |
| तुम tum | तुम जाते हो tum jāte ho | तुम तैयार हो tum taiyār ho | जाओ jāo |
| आप āp | आप जाते हैं āp jāte haiṃ | आप तैयार हैं āp taiyār haiṃ | जाइए jāie |
The plural morphology with आप is honorific when the addressee is one person. It does not mean the speaker has mistaken one person for several. Respectful third-person reference can work similarly: वे आ गए हैं ve ā gae haiṃ may respectfully refer to one man.
सर, आप तैयार हैं? — जी, मैं तैयार हूँ।
sar, āp taiyār haiṃ? — jī, maĩ taiyār hū̃.
Sir, are you ready? — Yes, I am ready. (formal dialogue)
Notice that the addressee is आप... हैं, but he answers about himself with ordinary first-person singular मैं... हूँ. Honorific agreement belongs to how the other participant addresses him; speakers do not normally honor themselves grammatically.
क्या तुम दोनों तैयार हो? — हाँ, हम तैयार हैं।
kyā tum donoṃ taiyār ho? — hā̃, ham taiyār haiṃ.
Are you two ready? — Yes, we're ready. (informal dialogue)
Here तुम is genuinely plural, clarified by दोनों. The answer changes person from second-person हो to first-person plural हैं.
Direct and oblique stems
English pronouns have a small contrast such as I/me. Hindi case forms are more extensive. A pronoun before ने, को, or a postposition may have a special stem or fused form.
| Direct | Oblique base or common case form | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| मैं maĩ | मुझ- mujh-, मुझे mujhe | मुझसे mujhse, मैंने maĩne |
| हम ham | हम- ham-, हमें hameṃ | हमसे hamse, हमने hamne |
| तू tū | तुझ- tujh-, तुझे tujhe | तुझसे tujhse, तूने tūne |
| तुम tum | तुम- tum-, तुम्हें tumheṃ | तुमसे tumse, तुमने tumne |
| आप āp | आप- āp-, आपको āpko | आपसे āpse, आपने āpne |
| यह/वह yah/vah | इस-/उस- is-/us- | इसे ise, उससे usse |
| ये/वे ye/ve | इन-/उन- in-/un- | इन्हें inheṃ, उनसे unse |
उसने मुझे बुलाया, इसलिए मैं उससे मिलने गया।
usne mujhe bulāyā, islie maĩ usse milne gayā.
He called me, so I went to meet him.
The same referent appears as direct वह elsewhere, but here case requires उसने and उससे. Do not build these forms by mechanically adding a postposition to the citation form. Learn the direct-to-oblique relationship as part of each pronoun.
Pronouns, possession, and “self”
Possessive forms agree with the possessed noun: मेरा कमरा merā kamrā, मेरी किताब merī kitāb, मेरे दोस्त mere dost. When the possessor is the clause's own subject, Hindi often uses reflexive possessive अपना apnā, not the ordinary personal possessive.
English -self also has several Hindi equivalents rather than one automatic form. खुद khud is common in speech, स्वयं svayaṃ is formal, and अपने आप apne āp can mean “by oneself” or “automatically,” according to context.
मैं यह काम खुद करूँगी और रीना अपना काम खुद करेगी।
maĩ yah kām khud karū̃gī aur rīnā apnā kām khud karegī.
I will do this work myself, and Reena will do her own work herself.
The first खुद intensifies मैं; अपना refers back to Reena as subject. Translating myself/herself with an oblique personal form such as मुझे or उसे would express a different case relation, not reflexivity.
Common Mistakes
Using तू as a universal translation of “you”
❌ तू कहाँ रहता है?
Grammatically formed but socially inappropriate when first addressing an unfamiliar adult.
✅ आप कहाँ रहते हैं?
āp kahā̃ rahte haiṃ?
Where do you live? (respectful default to an unfamiliar man)
Giving singular agreement to आप
❌ आप तैयार है।
Incorrect — आप requires plural/honorific agreement even for one person.
✅ आप तैयार हैं।
āp taiyār haiṃ.
You are ready. (respectful)
Copying a direct pronoun before a postposition
❌ मैं से पूछिए।
Incorrect — मैं has the oblique stem मुझ- before से.
✅ मुझसे पूछिए।
mujhse pūchie.
Ask me. (respectful command)
Translating English “self” with an object pronoun
❌ मैं मुझे यह काम करूँगा।
Incorrect for “I will do this work myself”; मुझे marks an object or experiencer.
✅ मैं यह काम खुद करूँगा।
maĩ yah kām khud karū̃gā.
I will do this work myself.
Mixing singular and plural demonstrative forms
❌ यह मेरे दोस्त हैं।
Incorrect in careful standard usage for several friends — singular यह conflicts with plural हैं.
✅ ये मेरे दोस्त हैं।
ye mere dost haiṃ.
These are my friends.
Key Takeaways
- मैं/हम mark first person; तू/तुम/आप encode both second person and social stance.
- आप always takes plural/honorific agreement, even for one addressee.
- Pronouns develop special forms before case markers and postpositions.
- यह/वह and ये/वे are both demonstratives and third-person pronouns.
- Hindi reflexive meaning uses खुद, स्वयं, अपने आप, and अपना according to function; it is not simply an English -self translated word for word.
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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.
- Choosing तू तुम or आपA1 — Choose among intimate तू, familiar तुम, and respectful or plural आप while matching agreement, postpositional forms, and relationship-sensitive social meaning.
- आप respectful youA1 — Use आप for respectful singular and ordinary plural address, with plural agreement, postpositional forms, and socially appropriate contrasts with तुम.
- यह वह ये वे demonstratives and pronounsA2 — Use the standard near–far and singular–plural demonstrative system यह, वह, ये, वे as determiners and pronouns, including oblique and honorific forms.
- Oblique stems मुझ तुझ and हमA2 — Build first-person and intimate second-person postpositional forms from मुझ, तुझ, and हम while distinguishing को, ने, possessive, and reflexive forms.
- Present copula हूँ हो है हैंA1 — Choose हूँ, हो, है, or हैं by person, number, and honorificity, and use the present copula as both a main verb and an auxiliary.