Questions & Answers about आप क्या लिख रही हैं?
What does each word in आप क्या लिख रही हैं? mean?
A simple breakdown is:
- आप = you (polite/formal)
- क्या = what
- लिख = write (from the verb लिखना, to write)
- रही = the continuous aspect marker here, showing an ongoing action, and agreeing with a feminine person
- हैं = are / is in this kind of sentence, used with आप
So the full sense is What are you writing?
Why is आप used instead of तुम or तू?
Hindi has different ways to say you depending on politeness and social distance:
- तू = very informal/intimate, and sometimes rude if used with the wrong person
- तुम = familiar/informal
- आप = polite/formal/respectful
So आप क्या लिख रही हैं? is the respectful way to ask What are you writing?
Why is क्या placed before लिख रही हैं?
In Hindi, क्या often comes right before the part being asked about. Here, the thing you want to know is what the person is writing, so क्या comes before the verb phrase:
- आप क्या लिख रही हैं? =