तुम tum is the familiar second-person pronoun “you.” It can address one person or more than one, and it selects its own agreement: तुम हो tum ho, तुम जाते हो tum jāte ho, तुम जाओगे tum jāoge. Socially it usually signals familiarity without the extreme intimacy or possible sharpness of तू tū, and without the respectful distance of आप āp.
That description is a starting point, not a universal social ranking. Friends, siblings, partners, classmates, and colleagues may use तुम reciprocally (informal), but practices differ across families, regions, generations, workplaces, and individual relationships. With an unfamiliar adult or in a clearly formal interaction, respectful आप is the safer initial choice.
One form for familiar singular and plural
Unlike तू, which is singular, तुम can refer to one familiar person or a familiar group. Its verb agreement is the same in both uses; context or an expression such as तुम दोनों tum donoṃ, तुम लोग tum log, or तुम सब tum sab clarifies number.
| Construction | Masculine or mixed | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| present state | तुम तैयार हो tum taiyār ho | तुम तैयार हो tum taiyār ho |
| habitual | तुम जाते हो tum jāte ho | तुम जाती हो tum jātī ho |
| progressive | तुम जा रहे हो tum jā rahe ho | तुम जा रही हो tum jā rahī ho |
| future | तुम जाओगे tum jāoge | तुम जाओगी tum jāogī |
| imperative | जाओ jāo | |
तुम आज बहुत चुप हो; सब ठीक है?
tum āj bahut cup ho; sab ṭhīk hai?
You're very quiet today; is everything all right? (informal)
तुम अगले साल भी यहीं पढ़ोगी?
tum agle sāl bhī yahīṃ paṛhogī?
Will you study here next year too? (informal, to one woman or girl)
तुम दोनों रविवार को हमारे घर आओगे?
tum donoṃ ravivār ko hamāre ghar āoge?
Will both of you come to our house on Sunday? (informal, masculine or mixed pair)
The third sentence makes plural reference explicit with दोनों, but तुम and आओगे have the same shape they can have for one familiar male addressee. Hindi does not require a special familiar-plural pronoun.
The तुम command
The ordinary तुम imperative often ends in -ओ: आओ āo “come,” बैठो baiṭho “sit,” सुनो suno “listen,” करो karo “do.” Negative commands place मत mat before the imperative. These commands are normal within an established familiar relationship; in service encounters or formal settings, the आप imperative is generally more appropriate.
आराम से बैठो और पहले पूरी बात सुनो।
ārām se baiṭho aur pahle pūrī bāt suno.
Sit comfortably and first listen to the whole story. (informal)
आज देर मत करना; फ़िल्म ठीक आठ बजे शुरू होगी।
āj der mat karnā; film ṭhīk āṭh baje śurū hogī.
Don't be late today; the film will start at exactly eight. (informal)
In everyday Hindi, a negative familiar instruction frequently uses मत + infinitive, as in मत करना, alongside forms such as मत करो. The infinitive-shaped negative can sound less abrupt in many contexts, but tone and relationship remain important.
Compare the command series कर kar with तू, करो karo with तुम, and कीजिए kījie with आप. Changing only the pronoun while leaving the command unchanged produces a mixed paradigm.
Oblique, case-marked, and possessive forms
Some markers attach directly to तुम, while others use तुम्ह- or a possessive-shaped form.
| Function | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| direct | तुम tum | you |
| with ने | तुमने tumne | you, ergative |
| with को | तुम्हें tumheṃ / तुमको tumko | you, to you |
| with से | तुमसे tumse | from/with/by you |
| with में | तुममें tummeṃ | in you |
| possessive | तुम्हारा/तुम्हारी/तुम्हारे tumhārā/tumhārī/tumhāre | your |
| compound postposition | तुम्हारे साथ tumhāre sāth | with you |
तुम्हें and तुमको are both standard. The shorter fused form is very frequent, but their distribution varies by construction, focus, and speaker. Do not declare one universally more correct.
तुमने मुझे कल जो संदेश भेजा था, उसका जवाब मैंने अभी दिया है।
tumne mujhe kal jo sandeś bhejā thā, uskā javāb maĩne abhī diyā hai.
I've just replied to the message you sent me yesterday. (informal)
मैं तुम्हारे साथ चलूँगी, पर लौटते समय तुमको अकेले आना पड़ेगा।
maĩ tumhāre sāth calū̃gī, par lauṭte samay tumko akele ānā paṛegā.
I'll go with you, but you'll have to come back alone. (informal, female speaker)
The possessive तुम्हारा agrees with what is possessed: तुम्हारा कमरा tumhārā kamrā, तुम्हारी सीट tumhārī sīṭ, तुम्हारे दोस्त tumhāre dost. Before a compound postposition beginning in के, Hindi uses the corresponding तुम्हारे form: तुम्हारे लिए, तुम्हारे बारे में, तुम्हारे साथ.
Familiar versus respectful address
The difference between तुम and आप appears throughout the predicate, not just in the pronoun.
तुम कब वापस आ रहे हो?
tum kab vāpas ā rahe ho?
When are you coming back? (informal, to a man)
आप कब वापस आ रहे हैं?
āp kab vāpas ā rahe haiṃ?
When are you coming back? (respectful, to a man)
The participle आ रहे fits masculine familiar or honorific agreement in both examples, but the auxiliary changes हो → हैं. To one woman, both use आ रही, with हो for तुम and हैं for आप.
Using तुम does not necessarily show disrespect. It can affirm solidarity and friendship when reciprocal. Conversely, moving suddenly from established आप to तुम may communicate warmth, condescension, anger, or an unwanted claim of closeness. Only the participants and context resolve that meaning.
Dialogue: relationship, gender, and number
कबीर: मीरा, क्या तुम अकेली आओगी? मीरा: नहीं, हम दोनों बहनें आएँगी। कबीर: ठीक है, तुम दोनों मुझे पहुँचकर फ़ोन करना।
kabīr: mīrā, kyā tum akelī āogī? mīrā: nahīṃ, ham donoṃ bahneṃ āẽgī. kabīr: ṭhīk hai, tum donoṃ mujhe pahũckar fon karnā.
Kabir: Meera, will you come alone? Meera: No, my sister and I will both come. Kabir: All right, you two call me when you arrive. (informal dialogue)
Kabir first addresses one woman: तुम... अकेली आओगी. Meera answers for an all-female pair with हम दोनों बहनें आएँगी. Kabir then keeps familiar तुम but adds दोनों so that the request clearly addresses both sisters. Familiarity remains stable while grammatical number changes in the referent.
Reflexives and third-person forms stay separate
English yourself does not correspond to one special form of तुम. Use खुद khud for emphasis, अपने आप apne āp for “by yourself/automatically,” and reflexive possessive अपना apnā when the possessor is the subject.
तुम अपना टिकट खुद खरीदो; मैं अपना टिकट बाद में लूँगा।
tum apnā ṭikaṭ khud kharīdo; maĩ apnā ṭikaṭ bād meṃ lū̃gā.
Buy your own ticket yourself; I'll get mine later. (informal)
Here अपना refers back first to तुम, then to मैं. तुम्हारा टिकट would be possible when merely identifying “your ticket,” but same-subject अपना टिकट foregrounds each person's own ticket.
Third-person यह/वह and ये/वे express proximity, discourse status, and number; they do not substitute for direct-address तुम. Conversational ये/वो can have singular reference (informal), so agreement and context must be read together.
Common Mistakes
Using singular है with तुम
❌ तुम आज बहुत थका है।
Incorrect — familiar तुम requires हो and masculine -e agreement.
✅ तुम आज बहुत थके हो।
tum āj bahut thake ho.
You're very tired today. (informal, to a man)
Using singular masculine habitual agreement
❌ तुम रोज़ यहाँ आता हो।
Incorrect — masculine agreement with तुम is आते.
✅ तुम रोज़ यहाँ आते हो।
tum roz yahā̃ āte ho.
You come here every day. (informal, masculine or mixed reference)
Copying तुम before a compound postposition
❌ मैं तुम के साथ बैठूँगी।
Incorrect in standard spelling and morphology — use तुम्हारे before साथ.
✅ मैं तुम्हारे साथ बैठूँगी।
maĩ tumhāre sāth baiṭhū̃gī.
I'll sit with you. (informal, female speaker)
Choosing familiar or respectful address
✅ तुम किस विभाग में काम करते हो?
tum kis vibhāg meṃ kām karte ho?
Which department do you work in? (grammatical familiar address; use where that relationship is established)
✅ आप किस विभाग में काम करते हैं?
āp kis vibhāg meṃ kām karte haiṃ?
Which department do you work in? (respectful)
Using an object pronoun for “yourself”
❌ तुम तुम्हें यह कर सकते हो।
Incorrect for “you can do this yourself”; तुम्हें is a case form, not a reflexive intensifier.
✅ तुम यह खुद कर सकते हो।
tum yah khud kar sakte ho.
You can do this yourself. (informal, masculine or mixed reference)
Key Takeaways
- तुम can address one familiar person or a familiar group.
- It selects हो, -ते/-ती agreement, future -ओगे/-ओगी, and the -ओ imperative.
- Case and postpositions produce तुमने, तुम्हें/तुमको, तुमसे, and forms such as तुम्हारे साथ.
- Its social value depends on an established relationship and local norms; आप is the respectful initial choice with unfamiliar adults.
- Use दोनों, सब, or लोग when the number of addressees needs to be explicit.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- Personal pronouns overviewA1 — Map Hindi personal pronouns across person, number, case, agreement, and the three socially meaningful levels of second-person address.
- तू intimate singular youA1 — Use singular तू with its intimate agreement, oblique forms, commands, and relationship-dependent social meanings.
- आप respectful youA1 — Use आप for respectful singular and ordinary plural address, with plural agreement, postpositional forms, and socially appropriate contrasts with तुम.
- 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.
- 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 तुम्हारा and आपकाA2 — Use familiar तुम्हारा and respectful आपका with agreement controlled by the possessed noun, not by the owner.