एक-दूसरे ek-dūsre means “each other” or “one another.” It expresses a mutual relation among two or more participants: A acts toward B and B acts toward A. The expression normally appears with the postposition required by the verb: एक-दूसरे को, एक-दूसरे से, एक-दूसरे पर, एक-दूसरे के लिए.
English uses one fixed reciprocal form. Hindi makes the grammatical role explicit through the following postposition. The ordinary postpositional inventory is reviewed in pronouns with से and में.
Core paradigm
| Role | Hindi | Typical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| object/recipient | एक-दूसरे को | each other |
| source/interlocutor/comparison | एक-दूसरे से | from/with/than each other |
| location/domain | एक-दूसरे में | in each other |
| relation/benefit | एक-दूसरे के लिए | for each other |
| possession | एक-दूसरे का/की/के | each other's |
दोनों दोस्त एक-दूसरे को अच्छी तरह समझते हैं।
donoṃ dost ek-dūsre ko acchī tarah samajhte haiṃ.
The two friends understand each other well.
हम अक्सर एक-दूसरे से सलाह लेते हैं।
ham aksar ek-dūsre se salāh lete haiṃ.
We often seek advice from each other.
उन्होंने एक-दूसरे के लिए खाना बनाया।
unhoṃne ek-dūsre ke lie khānā banāyā.
They cooked for each other.
Agreement belongs to the clause
एक-दूसरे does not control the main verb when it is an object or postpositional phrase. The plural subject controls agreement.
रीना और सीमा एक-दूसरे से नाराज़ हैं।
rīnā aur sīmā ek-dūsre se nārāz haiṃ.
Reena and Seema are upset with each other.
दोनों भाइयों ने एक-दूसरे को बुलाया।
donoṃ bhāiyoṃ ne ek-dūsre ko bulāyā.
The two brothers called each other.
In the perfective ने clause, reciprocal को blocks object agreement, so बुलाया is default masculine singular. The semantic plurality of “each other” does not produce plural बुलाए.
Possessive reciprocal
The possessive ending agrees with the possessed noun.
उन्होंने एक-दूसरे की तस्वीरें देखीं।
unhoṃne ek-dūsre kī tasvīreṃ dekhīṃ.
They looked at each other's photographs.
बच्चे एक-दूसरे के खिलौने बाँट रहे थे।
bacce ek-dūsre ke khilaune bā̃ṭ rahe the.
The children were sharing one another's toys.
Feminine तस्वीरें selects की; masculine plural खिलौने selects के.
Reciprocal is not reflexive
ख़ुद/अपने आप को means that each participant acts on themself. एक-दूसरे को means that participants act across the group.
उन्होंने ख़ुद को आईने में देखा।
unhoṃne xud ko āīne meṃ dekhā.
They looked at themselves in the mirror.
उन्होंने एक-दूसरे को देखा और मुस्कुराए।
unhoṃne ek-dūsre ko dekhā aur muskurāe.
They looked at each other and smiled.
Formal and informal minimal pair
तुम दोनों एक-दूसरे की मदद करो।
tum donoṃ ek-dūsre kī madad karo.
You two help each other. (familiar)
आप दोनों एक-दूसरे की मदद कीजिए।
āp donoṃ ek-dūsre kī madad kījie.
Please help each other. (respectful/plural)
The reciprocal stays constant; तुम/करो versus आप/कीजिए carries honorificity.
A natural dialogue
आप लोग एक-दूसरे को कब से जानते हैं? — हम कॉलेज के समय से दोस्त हैं।
āp log ek-dūsre ko kab se jānte haiṃ? — ham kolej ke samay se dost haiṃ.
How long have you known each other? — We've been friends since college. (respectful/plural)
Common Mistakes
1. Omitting the required को
❌ वे एक-दूसरे समझते हैं।
Incorrect: समझना marks this reciprocal object with को.
✅ वे एक-दूसरे को समझते हैं।
ve ek-dūsre ko samajhte haiṃ.
They understand each other.
2. Using a reflexive for mutual action
❌ दोनों दोस्तों ने ख़ुद को फ़ोन किया।
Incorrect for calling each other: ख़ुद को means each called themself.
✅ दोनों दोस्तों ने एक-दूसरे को फ़ोन किया।
donoṃ dostoṃ ne ek-dūsre ko fon kiyā.
The two friends called each other.
3. Making reciprocal agreement plural after को
❌ उन्होंने एक-दूसरे को बुलाए।
Incorrect: को blocks object agreement; use default बुलाया.
✅ उन्होंने एक-दूसरे को बुलाया।
unhoṃne ek-dūsre ko bulāyā.
They called each other.
4. Using intimate agreement with आप
❌ आप दोनों एक-दूसरे से बात कर।
Incorrect: आप requires a plural-honorific imperative.
✅ आप दोनों एक-दूसरे से बात कीजिए।
āp donoṃ ek-dūsre se bāt kījie.
Please talk to each other.
Larger groups and lexical selection
With more than two participants, reciprocity need not mean that every possible pair interacted. सम्मेलन में प्रतिनिधि एक-दूसरे से मिले can describe a network of meetings. Context decides how exhaustive the relation is.
टीम के सदस्य एक-दूसरे पर भरोसा करते हैं।
ṭīm ke sadasya ek-dūsre par bharosā karte haiṃ.
The team members trust one another.
सम्मेलन में अलग-अलग देशों के प्रतिनिधि एक-दूसरे से मिले।
sammelan meṃ alag-alag deśoṃ ke pratinidhi ek-dūsre se mile.
Representatives from different countries met one another at the conference. (formal)
The verb supplies the case frame: भरोसा करना selects पर, while मिलना selects से. Learners cannot translate English each other first and add one universal Hindi marker afterward.
Focus also matters. वे सिर्फ़ एक-दूसरे से सच बोलते हैं means that each other are the only people to whom they tell the truth. Moving सिर्फ़ may shift what is restricted.
Key Takeaways
Reciprocity also requires a genuinely plural semantic subject. A sentence with one participant cannot use एक-दूसरे unless another participant is understood from context. Accordingly, उन्होंने एक-दूसरे को देखा forces उन्होंने to denote two or more people: one respected person cannot license a reciprocal merely because honorific grammar uses plural morphology. Collective nouns such as टीम may license the reciprocal because their members supply the plural relation, even when the noun itself is morphologically singular.
- एक-दूसरे expresses mutual relations and normally takes the postposition selected by the verb.
- को blocks perfective object agreement even when the reciprocal is semantically plural.
- Possessive का/की/के agrees with the possessed noun.
- Keep reciprocal एक-दूसरे distinct from reflexive ख़ुद/अपने आप.
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- Reflexive possessive अपनाB1 — Use अपना for possession that returns to a clause's subject while making it agree with the possessed noun.
- Negative indefinites कोई नहीं and कुछ नहींB1 — Express nobody, nothing, and not any with कोई नहीं, कुछ नहीं, किसी…नहीं, while controlling scope, case, agreement, and emphatic भी.
- 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.
- 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.