A reported statement can preserve someone's exact words as a direct quotation, or present their message from the current narrator's viewpoint as indirect speech. Direct speech uses quotation marks; neutral indirect speech normally uses कि and adjusts person words such as मैं when the speaker changes.
Hindi does not require the automatic tense backshift taught in many English grammar exercises. The embedded verb describes the reported situation from the viewpoint the narrator intends: still true, finished in the past, completed earlier, or expected later.
Direct words and indirect content
Direct quotation reproduces the original wording:
पूजा ने कहा, “मैं आज घर पर हूँ।”
pūjā ne kahā, “maĩ āj ghar par hū̃.”
Pooja said, ‘I am at home today.’
An indirect report turns Pooja into a third-person subject:
पूजा ने कहा कि वह आज घर पर है।
pūjā ne kahā ki vah āj ghar par hai.
Pooja said that she is at home today.
This version is natural when the report is repeated on the same day. If the narrator speaks later, आज may become उस दिन. The change follows the new time of speaking; it is not a fixed substitution required by कहा.
कहना and बताना use different recipient frames
Without an expressed listener, both verbs can introduce content:
रवि ने कहा कि बैठक तीन बजे शुरू होगी।
ravi ne kahā ki baiṭhak tīn baje śurū hogī.
Ravi said that the meeting would begin at three.
When the listener is named, neutral Standard Hindi commonly uses:
- किसी से कहना — say to someone
- किसी को बताना — tell/inform someone
रवि ने मुझसे कहा कि बैठक का कमरा बदल गया है।
ravi ne mujhse kahā ki baiṭhak kā kamrā badal gayā hai.
Ravi said to me that the meeting room had changed.
रवि ने मुझे बताया कि बैठक ऊपर वाले कमरे में होगी।
ravi ne mujhe batāyā ki baiṭhak ūpar vāle kamre meṃ hogī.
Ravi told me that the meeting would be in the upstairs room.
मुझे कहा occurs in regional and colloquial usage, but learners aiming at broadly accepted neutral prose should use मुझसे कहा or choose मुझे बताया, according to the meaning.
A simple report can carry expanded content
A short report may contain one state:
नीला ने बताया कि रास्ता साफ़ है।
nīlā ne batāyā ki rāstā sāf hai.
Neela said that the road was clear.
An expanded statement keeps all of its own time, place, participants, and agreement:
नीला ने फ़ोन पर बताया कि पहाड़ी रास्ता अब साफ़ है और सुबह से रुकी हुई बसें धीरे-धीरे आगे बढ़ रही हैं।
nīlā ne fon par batāyā ki pahāṛī rāstā ab sāf hai aur subah se rukī huī baseṃ dhīre-dhīre āge baṛh rahī haiṃ.
Neela reported by phone that the mountain road was now clear and the buses held up since morning were slowly moving forward.
One कि introduces the coordinated report. Masculine रास्ता belongs with साफ़ है, while feminine plural बसें controls बढ़ रही हैं. Reporting does not flatten the internal agreement of the message.
Person and possession must stay clear
Quoted first person normally changes when the current narrator is someone else:
फ़राह ने कहा, “मैं अपनी चाबी नहीं ढूँढ़ पा रही हूँ।”
farāh ne kahā, “maĩ apnī cābī nahīṃ ḍhū̃ṛh pā rahī hū̃.”
Farah said, ‘I can't find my key.’
फ़राह ने कहा कि वह अपनी चाबी नहीं ढूँढ़ पा रही है।
farāh ne kahā ki vah apnī cābī nahīṃ ḍhū̃ṛh pā rahī hai.
Farah said that she couldn't find her key.
Inside the indirect clause, अपनी refers to its subject वह, that is, Farah. If another person becomes the embedded subject, अपना will normally refer to that person instead. Repeat a name when two third-person pronouns would be ambiguous.
When the original and current speaker are the same, first person may remain first person:
मैंने पहले ही कहा था कि मैं शुक्रवार को उपलब्ध नहीं रहूँगी।
maĩne pahle hī kahā thā ki maĩ śukravār ko uplabdh nahīṃ rahū̃gī.
I had already said that I would not be available on Friday. (female speaker)
There is no rule that indirect speech must always use वह. Reference depends on who is reporting whom.
Do not backshift automatically
Past कहा/बताया does not force every embedded form into the past:
अमन ने बताया कि उसके पिता जयपुर में रहते हैं।
aman ne batāyā ki uske pitā jaypur meṃ rahte haiṃ.
Aman said that his father lives in Jaipur. (respectful reference)
Present habitual रहते हैं presents the residence as current. If his father no longer lives there, use रहते थे. A future event likewise stays future when it was later than the reported viewpoint:
सबा ने कहा कि वह अगले सप्ताह आवेदन भेजेगी।
sabā ne kahā ki vah agle saptāh āvedan bhejegī.
Saba said that she would send the application the following week.
English would send corresponds here to Hindi future भेजेगी, not to a conditional form. For the full time system, see reported speech without backshift.
Finite report or compact nominal report
A finite कि clause presents a proposition with its own subject and TAM:
सचिव ने बताया कि अतिथि शाम को पहुँचेंगे।
saciv ne batāyā ki atithi śām ko pahũceṅge.
The secretary said that the guests would arrive in the evening.
Formal writing can package similar information as a noun phrase:
सचिव ने अतिथियों के शाम को पहुँचने की सूचना दी।
saciv ne atithiyoṃ ke śām ko pahũcne kī sūcnā dī.
The secretary gave notice of the guests' arrival in the evening. (formal)
The second is not direct reported speech: पहुँचने की सूचना names an event as information and leaves tense to context. Use the finite version when the viewpoint, subject, or exact temporal claim matters.
Punctuation and register
Direct quotation takes quotation marks and normally a comma or colon after the reporting expression. Indirect speech takes कि, no quotation marks, and usually no comma before कि in a short sentence.
Everyday speech relies heavily on कहा कि and बताया कि. (formal) reports may choose घोषणा की कि “announced,” पुष्टि की कि “confirmed,” or दावा किया कि “claimed,” because these verbs show the source's stance.
नगर प्रशासन ने घोषणा की कि मरम्मत के दौरान पुल पर भारी वाहनों का प्रवेश बंद रहेगा।
nagar praśāsan ne ghoṣṇā kī ki marammat ke daurān pul par bhārī vāhanoṃ kā praveś band rahegā.
The municipal administration announced that heavy vehicles would be barred from the bridge during repairs. (formal)
Clause boundary: [नगर प्रशासन ने घोषणा की] [कि मरम्मत के दौरान पुल पर भारी वाहनों का प्रवेश बंद रहेगा].
A spoken exchange
मीरा: कबीर ने क्या कहा? रोहन: उसने कहा कि वह दस मिनट में नीचे आ जाएगा।
mīrā: kabīr ne kyā kahā? rohan: usne kahā ki vah das minaṭ meṃ nīce ā jāegā.
Mira: What did Kabir say? Rohan: He said that he would come downstairs in ten minutes. (informal)
वह refers to Kabir because the question establishes him as the reported speaker. In a conversation with several men, repeating कबीर would be clearer.
Common Mistakes
1. Omitting कि in neutral indirect speech
❌ अंजलि ने बताया ट्रेन रद्द हो गई है।
Incorrect in neutral careful Hindi — the finite reported content needs कि.
✅ अंजलि ने बताया कि सुबह की ट्रेन रद्द हो गई है।
añjali ne batāyā ki subah kī ṭren radd ho gaī hai.
Anjali said that the morning train had been canceled.
2. Mixing the recipient frames
❌ रोहन ने मुझसे नई तारीख़ बताई।
Nonstandard for the intended neutral frame — बताना normally marks the informed person with को.
✅ रोहन ने मुझे नई तारीख़ बताई।
rohan ne mujhe naī tārīx batāī.
Rohan told me the new date.
3. Leaving first person with the wrong speaker
❌ लीला ने कहा कि मैं बहुत थकी है।
Incorrect — मैं would refer to the current narrator and also conflicts with है.
✅ लीला ने कहा कि वह बहुत थकी है।
līlā ne kahā ki vah bahut thakī hai.
Leela said that she was very tired.
4. Backshifting a continuing fact
❌ करण ने बताया कि उसकी दुकान स्टेशन के पास थी।
Wrong if the shop is still there — थी presents the location as past.
✅ करण ने बताया कि उसकी दुकान स्टेशन के पास है।
karaṇ ne batāyā ki uskī dukān sṭeśan ke pās hai.
Karan said that his shop is near the station.
Key Takeaways
- Direct speech preserves exact words in quotation marks; indirect speech normally introduces content with कि.
- Neutral recipient frames are किसी से कहना and किसी को बताना.
- Recalculate person, possession, time, and place from the current reporting viewpoint.
- Do not backshift tense mechanically; choose embedded TAM according to the reported situation.
- A finite report preserves a proposition, while a nominalized report packages an event more compactly, often in formal writing.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- कि complement clausesA2 — Use कि to place a complete finite proposition after verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, and wanting while keeping both clause structures clear.
- Reported questionsA2 — Report Hindi wh- and yes-or-no questions with पूछना and कि while preserving embedded word order, clear participant reference, and meaningful tense choices.
- Reported commands and requestsA2 — Report instructions and requests with a subjunctive कि clause or an oblique infinitive while keeping the addressee, politeness, negation, and desired outcome clear.
- Reported speech without backshiftC1 — Report Hindi statements faithfully without importing English automatic tense backshift, while adjusting viewpoint and deixis when meaning requires it.
- Pronouns in reported speechC1 — Track speaker, addressee, third-person reference, deixis, reflexives, and honorific agreement when Hindi speech is reported.
- Complement clauses with किB2 — Use कि to embed a finite proposition as the content of speech, thought, knowledge, perception, evaluation, or desire while preserving local syntax.