Hindi can refer respectfully to one third person with grammatically plural forms: ये/वे, इन/उन, इन्होंने/उन्होंने, इन्हें/उन्हें, plus plural-honorific agreement. Thus वे हमारी दादी हैं means “she is our grandmother,” although वे and हैं are morphologically plural.
This is the third-person counterpart of singular-respectful आप. It is not actual number, and it does not erase the near–far distinction.
The underlying deictic contrast is the same one described in the standard यह/वह/ये/वे system; honorific reference selects plural morphology for one socially respected referent.
Honorific singular paradigm
| Function | Near | Far/discourse |
|---|---|---|
| direct | ये ye | वे ve |
| oblique stem | इन in | उन un |
| को | इन्हें inheṃ | उन्हें unheṃ |
| ने | इन्होंने inhoṃne | उन्होंने unhoṃne |
| possessive | इनका/की/के | उनका/की/के |
The same paradigm also serves true plural reference. Context, a singular title or kin term, and discourse knowledge determine the reading.
Direct forms and agreement
ये हमारे नए विभागाध्यक्ष हैं।
ye hamāre nae vibhāgādhyakṣ haiṃ.
This is our new department head. (respectful singular, nearby introduction)
वे मेरी दादी हैं और अब हमारे साथ रहती हैं।
ve merī dādī haiṃ aur ab hamāre sāth rahtī haiṃ.
She is my grandmother and now lives with us. (respectful singular)
वे अभी बैठक में बोल रहे हैं।
ve abhī baiṭhak meṃ bol rahe haiṃ.
He is speaking in the meeting now. (respectful singular, male referent)
Gender remains available in lexical predicates: रहती हैं for a woman, बोल रहे हैं for a man. The auxiliary remains plural हैं.
Oblique and perfective forms
मैंने उनसे कल सलाह ली।
maĩne unse kal salāh lī.
I sought advice from him/her yesterday. (respectful singular)
उन्होंने मुझे यह किताब दी।
unhoṃne mujhe yah kitāb dī.
He/she gave me this book. (respectful singular)
कृपया इन्हें अंदर बुलाइए।
kripyā inheṃ andar bulāie.
Please invite this person inside. (respectful singular, nearby)
The respectful referent is one person, but singular उससे/उसने/उसे would lower the grammatical honorific level. Local relationships can license that lower level; the distinction is social, not a claim about moral worth.
Non-honorific and honorific minimal pair
वह मेरा नया सहकर्मी है; मैंने उससे बात की।
vah merā nayā sahkarmī hai; maĩne usse bāt kī.
He is my new coworker; I spoke with him. (non-honorific singular, careful style)
वे हमारे नए निदेशक हैं; मैंने उनसे बात की।
ve hamāre nae nirdeśak haiṃ; maĩne unse bāt kī.
He is our new director; I spoke with him. (respectful singular)
The choice changes direct pronoun, auxiliary, and oblique form together.
Names, titles, and जी
Respect can be established by a title or जी, after which plural agreement and वे/उन्होंने maintain it.
शर्मा जी आ गए हैं; वे आपके कमरे में इंतज़ार कर रहे हैं।
śarmā jī ā gae haiṃ; ve āpke kamre meṃ intazār kar rahe haiṃ.
Mr. Sharma has arrived; he is waiting in your room. (respectful)
जी is common but not mechanically required after every respected name. Professional title, kin term, relationship, region, and setting interact. This page describes agreement, not a complete etiquette rulebook.
Deixis still matters
Nearby introduction favors ये, while a more distant or previously mentioned person often takes वे. Colloquial speech may pronounce both singular and plural distal forms as वो, so agreement and oblique continuation become especially important.
ये डॉक्टर मेहरा हैं; इनसे आप पहले मिल चुके हैं।
ye ḍokṭar mehrā haiṃ; inse āp pahle mil cuke haiṃ.
This is Dr. Mehra; you have met him/her before. (respectful third-person reference; masculine or mixed/plural addressee)
Although direct ये is near, later respectful oblique reference commonly uses इनसे if the near perspective remains; speakers may shift to उनसे as the person becomes a discourse referent. Deixis is contextual, not a permanent property of the person.
A dialogue: respect and number
ये कौन हैं? — ये हमारी प्राचार्या हैं। और वे लोग? — वे नए अध्यापक हैं।
ye kaun haiṃ? — ye hamārī prācāryā haiṃ. aur ve log? — ve nae adhyāpak haiṃ.
Who is this? — She is our principal. And those people? — They are new teachers. (respectful singular, then true plural)
Reflexive reference
A respected singular subject still uses reflexive अपना for their own possession: उन्होंने अपनी किताब उठाई “he/she picked up their own book.” उनकी किताब can point to the respected person's book when another subject acts on it.
Common Mistakes
1. Mixing respectful direct and singular oblique forms
❌ वे हमारे गुरु हैं; मैंने उससे सीखा।
Incorrect in sustained respectful reference: वे requires उनसे.
✅ वे हमारे गुरु हैं; मैंने उनसे सीखा।
ve hamāre guru haiṃ; maĩne unse sīkhā.
He/she is our teacher; I learned from him/her. (respectful singular)
2. Using singular auxiliary
❌ वे हमारी दादी है।
Incorrect: honorific वे takes plural हैं.
✅ वे हमारी दादी हैं।
ve hamārī dādī haiṃ.
She is our grandmother. (respectful singular)
3. Confusing third-person वे with direct address
❌ वे कहाँ जा रहे हैं, डॉक्टर साहब?
Incorrect when speaking directly to the doctor: use आप.
✅ आप कहाँ जा रहे हैं, डॉक्टर साहब?
āp kahā̃ jā rahe haiṃ, ḍokṭar sāhab?
Where are you going, Doctor? (respectful)
4. Using an ordinary possessive for a reflexive owner
❌ उन्होंने उनकी फ़ाइल खोली।
Incorrect for “their own file”: उनकी normally points away from the subject.
✅ उन्होंने अपनी फ़ाइल खोली।
unhoṃne apnī fāil kholī.
He/she opened their own file. (respectful singular)
Key Takeaways
- One respected third person may take plural ये/वे, इन/उन, and plural agreement.
- Gender remains visible where predicates distinguish it.
- Direct, oblique, ergative, and possessive forms must maintain the same honorific level.
- वे is third person; direct respectful address uses आप.
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- 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.
- इस उस इन उन oblique demonstrativesA2 — Map direct यह वह ये वे to singular इस उस and plural इन उन before postpositions, including honorific third-person reference.
- Honorific plural for names and kin termsB2 — Use plural-honorific agreement with one respected person named by a proper name, title, जी-expression, or kin term, and continue with matching pronouns.
- Plural agreement with singular आपB2 — Track plural-honorific agreement with one आप across copulas, habituals, progressives, futures, perfectives, predicates, and imperatives.
- Social shifts and deliberate pronoun switchingC2 — Understand how shifts among तू, तुम, आप and third-person forms reframe relationships and require matching grammatical agreement.