तुम्हारा tumhārā and आपका āpkā both mean “your,” but they preserve the address level of their underlying pronouns. तुम्हारा belongs to familiar तुम; आपका belongs to respectful आप. Their endings do not describe the addressee. They agree with the noun possessed: तुम्हारा कमरा, तुम्हारी चाबी, तुम्हारे दोस्त.
English your is unchanged before every noun. Hindi possessives behave like declinable -आ adjectives, so gender, number, and case inside the possessed noun phrase determine their shape.
The agreement paradigm
| Address level | Masculine singular direct | Feminine | Masculine plural or oblique |
|---|---|---|---|
| familiar तुम | तुम्हारा tumhārā | तुम्हारी tumhārī | तुम्हारे tumhāre |
| respectful आप | आपका āpkā | आपकी āpkī | आपके āpke |
तुम्हारा फ़ोन मेज़ पर है और तुम्हारी चाबियाँ दरवाज़े के पास हैं।
tumhārā fon mez par hai aur tumhārī cābiyā̃ darvāze ke pās haiṃ.
Your phone is on the table, and your keys are by the door. (familiar)
आपके दोनों सुझाव बहुत उपयोगी हैं।
āpke donoṃ sujhāv bahut upyogī haiṃ.
Both of your suggestions are very useful. (respectful)
फ़ोन is masculine singular, चाबियाँ is feminine plural, and सुझाव is masculine plural. Those nouns select -आ, -ई, and -ए respectively. Whether तुम or आप denotes one person or several does not change that agreement.
Case changes the whole noun phrase
A masculine singular direct phrase uses -आ: आपका नया दफ़्तर. Before a postposition, that noun phrase becomes oblique, and visible modifiers change to -ए: आपके नए दफ़्तर में. Feminine forms remain -ई across direct and oblique case.
मैं तुम्हारे पुराने पते पर पार्सल भेज दूँगी।
maĩ tumhāre purāne pate par pārsal bhej dū̃gī.
I'll send the parcel to your old address. (familiar, female speaker)
आपकी नई किताब के बारे में कल चर्चा होगी।
āpkī naī kitāb ke bāre meṃ kal carcā hogī.
Your new book will be discussed tomorrow. (respectful)
In the first example, masculine singular पता is oblique before पर, giving तुम्हारे पुराने पते. In the second, feminine आपकी नई किताब keeps feminine -ई, although the phrase is followed by compound postposition के बारे में.
Possession versus compound postpositions
Forms such as तुम्हारे साथ, आपके लिए, and आपके पास resemble masculine possessives, but the -के is part of a relational postpositional construction. There need not be an unspoken masculine object that is literally owned.
हमारे पास आपके लिए दो टिकट हैं।
hamāre pās āpke lie do ṭikaṭ haiṃ.
We have two tickets for you. (respectful)
मैं तुम्हारे साथ चल सकता हूँ, पर तुम्हारे बाद लौटूँगा।
maĩ tumhāre sāth cal saktā hū̃, par tumhāre bād lauṭū̃gā.
I can go with you, but I'll return after you. (familiar, male speaker)
These तुम्हारे/आपके forms are selected by साथ, लिए, बाद, and similar relational elements. This use belongs to the system of तुम and आप oblique forms, not ordinary noun ownership.
Predicative “yours”
Hindi has no separate invariant pair corresponding to English your versus yours. The same agreeing possessive can stand without an overt noun when the missing noun is recoverable.
खिड़की वाली सीट आपकी है; बीच वाली सीट तुम्हारी है।
khiṛkī vālī sīṭ āpkī hai; bīc vālī sīṭ tumhārī hai.
The window seat is yours; the middle seat is yours. (respectful, then familiar)
Both forms are feminine because the understood noun is सीट. If the omitted noun were बैग, the forms would be आपका and तुम्हारा.
The social contrast also changes the verb
Possessive choice reflects the relationship, but honorificity becomes grammatical across the clause. Singular आप takes plural/honorific agreement, while familiar तुम takes तुम agreement.
क्या तुम्हारा भाई आज खाली है?
kyā tumhārā bhāī āj khālī hai?
Is your brother free today? (familiar)
क्या आपका भाई आज खाली है?
kyā āpkā bhāī āj khālī hai?
Is your brother free today? (respectful)
This minimal pair changes only the relationship to the addressee. The verb is singular है because its subject is भाई, not तुम or आप. Contrast a clause whose subject is the addressee:
आप अपने भाई के साथ आए हैं, लेकिन तुम अकेले आए हो।
āp apne bhāī ke sāth āe haiṃ, lekin tum akele āe ho.
You have come with your brother, but you have come alone. (respectful addressee, then familiar male addressee)
Now आप controls honorific आए हैं, and तुम controls familiar आए हो. Honorificity is grammatical as well as social.
Personal possessive versus reflexive अपना
When the addressee is also the clause subject and owns the item, neutral Hindi normally uses reflexive अपना rather than तुम्हारा/आपका.
तुम अपना पहचान-पत्र साथ रखना।
tum apnā pahcān-patr sāth rakhnā.
Keep your identity card with you. (familiar)
कृपया आप अपना नाम यहाँ लिखिए।
kripyā āp apnā nām yahā̃ likhie.
Please write your name here. (formal/respectful)
अपना points back to the subject in both sentences and still agrees with masculine पहचान-पत्र/नाम. Use तुम्हारा/आपका when identifying or contrasting the owner, or when the owner is not the relevant clause subject: मैंने आपका नाम सूची में देखा “I saw your name on the list.”
English yourself also cannot be translated by adding a personal case form. For emphasis use ख़ुद xud; for same-subject possession use अपना. These are different grammatical jobs.
A dialogue: relationship and number
नील: क्या ये तुम्हारी फ़ाइलें हैं? सारा: हाँ, दोनों मेरी हैं। मैडम, क्या वह नीला फ़ोल्डर आपका है? मैडम: जी हाँ, वह मेरा है।
nīl: kyā ye tumhārī fāileṃ haiṃ? sārā: hā̃, donoṃ merī haiṃ. maiḍam, kyā vah nīlā folḍar āpkā hai? maiḍam: jī hā̃, vah merā hai.
Neel: Are these your files? Sara: Yes, both are mine. Ma'am, is that blue folder yours? Ma'am: Yes, it is mine. (familiar peer address, then respectful address)
ये... फ़ाइलें is plural, so तुम्हारी is feminine and हैं plural. The singular masculine फ़ोल्डर selects आपका and है. Respect toward its owner does not alter the folder's grammatical number.
Third-person possession uses इसका/उसका/इनका/उनका, not तुम्हारा/आपका. Keep direct demonstratives यह/वह/ये/वे separate from the oblique stems used inside those possessives.
Common Mistakes
Agreeing with the owner instead of the possessed noun
❌ आपकी बेटा बाहर इंतज़ार कर रहा है।
Incorrect — masculine बेटा requires आपका.
✅ आपका बेटा बाहर इंतज़ार कर रहा है।
āpkā beṭā bāhar intazār kar rahā hai.
Your son is waiting outside. (respectful)
Missing oblique agreement
❌ बैठक तुम्हारा नया दफ़्तर में होगी।
Incorrect — the masculine phrase is oblique before में.
✅ बैठक तुम्हारे नए दफ़्तर में होगी।
baiṭhak tumhāre nae daftar meṃ hogī.
The meeting will be in your new office. (familiar)
Giving singular agreement to subject आप
❌ आप अपनी रिपोर्ट लेकर आया है।
Incorrect — आप requires plural/honorific agreement.
✅ आप अपनी रिपोर्ट लेकर आए हैं।
āp apnī riporṭ lekar āe haiṃ.
You have brought your report. (respectful, to a man)
Replacing reflexive अपना mechanically
❌ तुम तुम्हारा कमरा साफ़ करो।
Incorrect in the neutral same-subject reading — possession should return to subject तुम through अपना.
✅ तुम अपना कमरा साफ़ करो।
tum apnā kamrā sāf karo.
Clean your room. (familiar)
Key Takeaways
- Choose तुम्हार- for familiar address and आपक- for respectful address.
- The possessed noun controls -आ/-ई/-ए agreement.
- Masculine singular direct -आ becomes oblique -ए before a postposition.
- A singular person addressed as आप still controls plural/honorific verb agreement.
- Use अपना for neutral same-subject possession, not as a simple synonym of तुम्हारा/आपका.
Now practice Hindi
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- तुम familiar youA1 — Use familiar तुम for one or more addressees with its characteristic agreement, case forms, commands, and social range.
- आप respectful youA1 — Use आप for respectful singular and ordinary plural address, with plural agreement, postpositional forms, and socially appropriate contrasts with तुम.
- 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.
- Possessive मेरा तेरा हमाराA2 — Make मेरा, तेरा, and हमारा agree with the possessed noun while distinguishing intimate ownership, plural हमारा, and reflexive अपना.
- Reflexive possessive अपनाB1 — Use अपना for possession that returns to a clause's subject while making it agree with the possessed noun.
- Plural agreement with singular आपB2 — Track plural-honorific agreement with one आप across copulas, habituals, progressives, futures, perfectives, predicates, and imperatives.