Tag questions with है न and ना | Hindi Grammar

Hindi tag questions often end in है न? “isn't that so?” or the shorter conversational particle ना? They invite confirmation of a proposition the speaker already considers likely: रास्ता यहीं से है, है न? “The way is from here, right?” Unlike English tags, Hindi does not normally calculate an inverted auxiliary and pronoun such as isn't it?, didn't she?, or won't they?

The spelling न represents the negative particle inside the fuller tag है न?; ना is a conventional long-vowel discourse particle in its own right. Their sounds and pragmatic ranges overlap, but they are not mechanically interchangeable in every sentence.

Full है न? after a proposition

Place है न? after a complete assertion when seeking the hearer's agreement. It is especially natural with a present-state proposition.

यह रास्ता स्टेशन तक जाता है, है न?

yah rāstā sṭeśan tak jātā hai, hai na?

This road goes to the station, doesn't it?

कमरा काफ़ी शांत है, है न?

kamrā kāfī śānt hai, hai na?

The room is quite quiet, isn't it?

आप भी इस समिति की सदस्य हैं, है न?

āp bhī is samiti kī sadasya haiṃ, hai na?

You're also a member of this committee, aren't you? (honorific, addressed to a woman)

The first clause has its own finite verb. The following है न is a largely fixed confirmation formula, so speakers commonly use it even when the subject of the assertion is plural or honorific. It does not agree like an ordinary predicate with आप. In careful speech, a tense-matched tag is also available when the time contrast is salient.

आप उस दिन बैठक में थीं, थीं न?

āp us din baiṭhak meṃ thīṃ, thīṃ na?

You were at the meeting that day, weren't you? (honorific, addressed to a woman)

रवि ने चाबी लौटा दी थी, दी थी न?

ravi ne cābī lauṭā dī thī, dī thī na?

Ravi had returned the key, hadn't he?

Repeating the relevant predicate can foreground exactly what is being checked. The invariant conversational है न? would still be heard after past and future propositions, but a matched repetition is clearer when the tense or event itself is at issue.

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Do not translate an English tag word by word. First state the Hindi proposition normally; then add the fixed confirmation formula है न?, or repeat the focused predicate plus न? when precise matching matters.

Short ना? as a conversational tag

Clause-final ना? is extremely common (informal). It can seek agreement, check shared knowledge, or encourage the hearer to align with a suggestion.

तुम कल आ रहे हो ना?

tum kal ā rahe ho nā?

You're coming tomorrow, right? (familiar)

यह वाली बस सीधे हवाई अड्डे जाती है ना?

yah vālī bas sīdhe havāī aḍḍe jātī hai nā?

This bus goes straight to the airport, right?

तुमने फ़ाइल भेज दी ना?

tumne fāil bhej dī nā?

You sent the file, right? (familiar)

Spelling varies informally online, but in edited prose ना is a useful way to distinguish this lengthened particle from the negative न. Its interpretation depends on tone. It may sound warmly inclusive, anxious, persuasive, or—if repeated sharply—impatient.

The shortened tag can also attach to a focused constituent rather than a fully repeated clause:

बैठक तीन बजे है ना, चार बजे नहीं?

baiṭhak tīn baje hai nā, cār baje nahīṃ?

The meeting is at three, right, not four?

Here the second phrase makes the expected contrast explicit. This is a biased check, not a neutral question between equally open possibilities.

Tags reveal an expectation

A neutral polar question asks whether a proposition is true. A tag normally presents that proposition as the speaker's expectation and asks the hearer to ratify or correct it.

क्या दुकान अभी खुली है?

kyā dukān abhī khulī hai?

Is the shop open now? (neutral polar question)

दुकान अभी खुली है, है न?

dukān abhī khulī hai, hai na?

The shop is open now, isn't it? (confirmation expected)

दुकान अभी खुली है ना?

dukān abhī khulī hai nā?

The shop is open now, right? (conversational confirmation)

Initial क्या signals a whole-clause yes–no question. The tags है न/ना signal speaker commitment or expectation. Combining them—क्या दुकान खुली है, है न?—is possible only in marked repair or self-correction and is poor as a neutral question.

For the open, noncommittal counterpart, compare yes–no questions with clause-initial क्या.

Tag contours vary. A questioning rise may convey genuine uncertainty; a narrower or settling contour can sound like an appeal for agreement. Hindi wh-questions and tag questions do not obey a universal “questions always rise” rule. Region, politeness, insistence, and focus all matter.

Negative statements and the scope of न

The न in है न? is part of the confirmation formula. It does not simply negate the preceding proposition. A negative assertion can itself take the tag.

आज बैंक बंद नहीं है, है न?

āj baiṅk band nahīṃ hai, hai na?

The bank isn't closed today, is it?

तुम उससे नाराज़ नहीं हो ना?

tum usse nārāz nahīṃ ho nā?

You're not angry with them, are you? (familiar)

Both present a negative proposition for confirmation. Hindi does not require English-style polarity reversal in the tag. Whether the expected answer हाँ confirms the wording or the real-world positive state can become pragmatically confusing, just as negative questions can in English. A full answer is safest: नहीं, मैं नाराज़ नहीं हूँ “No, I'm not angry” or हाँ, मैं नाराज़ हूँ “Yes, I am angry.”

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With negative tags, answer with a short clause when misunderstanding would matter. Hindi हाँ/नहीं may align with the proposition or with the real-world correction depending on speaker habits and context.

ना in requests, reminders, and appeals

The particle ना also follows imperatives and requests. Here it does not form a factual tag; it appeals for cooperation and often softens or urges the request (informal).

दरवाज़ा बंद कर देना ना।

darvāzā band kar denā nā.

Please close the door, okay? (familiar, coaxing reminder)

ज़रा मेरी बात सुनिए ना।

zarā merī bāt sunie nā.

Please listen to me for a moment. (polite but conversational appeal)

मेरे साथ चलो ना!

mere sāth calo nā!

Come with me, please! (familiar, coaxing)

This ना can soften a request through solidarity, but it is not automatically polite. With a superior or stranger, persistent ना may sound overly familiar or pressuring. Formal requests favor कृपया, respectful imperatives, or modal wording.

कृपया इस रसीद पर हस्ताक्षर कर दीजिए।

kripyā is rasīd par hastākṣar kar dījie.

Please sign this receipt. (formal/honorific)

The formal sentence does not need a tag. Register is determined by the whole utterance, not by translating English please as one fixed Hindi particle.

Interaction with wh-questions

Information questions normally use an interrogative phrase in its ordinary focused position: आप किससे मिली थीं? “Whom had you met?” Adding ना changes the discourse function. It can remind the hearer of a question they were expected to answer or make an appeal, and may sound impatient.

तुमने चाबी कहाँ रखी थी, बताओ ना।

tumne cābī kahā̃ rakhī thī, batāo nā.

Tell me where you put the key, please. (familiar appeal)

The particle attaches to बताओ, not to कहाँ as an interrogative suffix. Likewise, if a personal wh-form precedes a postposition, it must still be oblique.

तुम किसके साथ जा रहे हो, बताओ ना।

tum kiske sāth jā rahe ho, batāo nā.

Tell me who you're going with, please. (familiar; potentially insistent)

Direct कौन के साथ remains ungrammatical in the intended standard construction; the tag cannot repair incorrect case marking.

Formal and informal exchanges

आप कल तक मसौदा भेज देंगी, है न? — जी, कल दोपहर तक।

āp kal tak masaudā bhej deṅgī, hai na? — jī, kal dopahar tak.

You'll send the draft by tomorrow, won't you? — Yes, by tomorrow afternoon. (formal/honorific, addressed to a woman)

तू मैच देखने आएगा ना? — हाँ, टिकट मिल गया तो।

tū maic dekhne āegā nā? — hā̃, ṭikaṭ mil gayā to.

You'll come watch the match, right? — Yes, if I get a ticket. (intimate)

The first can function as confirmation but may also exert institutional pressure: the deadline is treated as agreed. The second sounds affiliative among close speakers. तू can be insulting outside intimacy.

An echo tag can check surprising information:

तुम सच में अकेले हिमालय जा रहे हो, है न?

tum sac meṃ akele himālay jā rahe ho, hai na?

You really are going to the Himalayas alone, aren't you? (familiar, surprised confirmation)

Common Mistakes

Building an English-style inverted tag

❌ तुम तैयार हो, नहीं हो तुम?

Incorrect as a neutral Hindi equivalent of ‘aren't you?’—the copied inversion is unnatural.

✅ तुम तैयार हो, है न?

tum taiyār ho, hai na?

You're ready, aren't you? (familiar)

Using both an initial polar marker and a routine tag

❌ क्या तुम कल आओगे, है न?

Incorrect as a neutral question—क्या asks openly while है न seeks expected confirmation.

✅ तुम कल आओगे, है न?

tum kal āoge, hai na?

You'll come tomorrow, won't you? (familiar)

Forgetting oblique case before a postposition

❌ तुम कौन के साथ गए थे, बताओ ना।

Incorrect—use oblique किस before के साथ.

✅ तुम किसके साथ गए थे, बताओ ना।

tum kiske sāth gae the, batāo nā.

Tell me who you went with, please. (familiar)

Assuming ना guarantees politeness

❌ अधिकारी से बोलो: जल्दी करो ना!

Pragmatically inappropriate as a formal request—ना plus an abrupt imperative can sound overfamiliar or demanding.

✅ अधिकारी से कहिए: कृपया इसे आज देख लीजिए।

adhikārī se kahie: kripyā ise āj dekh lījie.

Say to the official: Please take a look at this today. (formal/honorific)

Key Takeaways

है न? is a common, largely fixed confirmation formula; ना? is shorter and more conversational.
Tags usually convey an expected answer, unlike a neutral initial-क्या polar question.
Hindi does not construct tags through English-style auxiliary inversion or obligatory polarity reversal.
ना after an imperative is an appeal for cooperation, not a factual tag, and its politeness depends on context.
Question intonation varies; focus and stance matter more than a rigid final-rise rule.

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