kim and yad

Also known as: interrogative and relative pronouns

The two pronouns kim and yad let us create different kinds of complex sentences. In this lesson, we will learn more about what kinds of endings these pronouns use.

kim

kim means “who?” or “what?” We use kim to ask questions:

• कस् त्वम्।
  kas tvam.
  Who are you?
  

• त्वं कस्मै फलं ददासि
  tvaṃ kasmai phalaṃ dadāsi
  To whom are you giving the fruit?
  

• कस्मात् रावणः सीताम् इच्छति।
  kasmāt rāvaṇaḥ sītām icchati.
  For what reason (from what) does Ravana want Sita?
  

kim uses the same endings as tad, but its neuter singular form in cases 1 and 2 is kim:

• किम् एतत्?
  kim etat?
  What is this?
  

Also, the masculine case 1 singular (kaḥ) uses normal sandhi rules. Compare the results below:

• कः योधः → को योधः
  kaḥ yodhaḥ → ko yodhaḥ
  Who is a warrior?
  

• सः योधः → स योधः
  saḥ yodhaḥ → sa yodhaḥ
  He is a warrior.
  

Just for reference, here are the forms of kim in the masculine gender:

the feminine gender:

and the neuter gender:

-cit and -cana

We can use the suffixes -cit and cana to create a word that means “someone” or “something”:

• कः पृच्छति → कश्चित् पृच्छति
  kaḥ pṛcchati → kaścit pṛcchati
  Who is asking? → Someone is asking.
  

• केन श्रुतम् → केनचन श्रुतम्
  kena śrutam → kenacana śrutam
  By whom was it heard? → By someone it was heard.
  

yad

yad means “who” or “what,” but not in the sense of asking a question. Rather, yad lets us join sentences together.

This idea is difficult to explain but easy to understand. In the examples below, the first two sentences are simple. Then we use yad to connect them.

• सा पृच्छति।
  sā pṛcchati.
  She asks.
  

• सा रामस्य पत्नी।
  sā rāmasya patnī.
  She is Rama's wife.
  

• या पृच्छति सा रामस्य पत्नी।
  yā pṛcchati sā rāmasya patnī.
  Who asks, she is Rama's wife. (literal translation)
  The person who asks is Rama's wife. (natural translation) (Note that we pair yad with another pronoun here.)

We can create more complex examples too:

• रामः तस्यै फलं ददाति।
  rāmaḥ tasyai phalaṃ dadāti.
  Rama gives a fruit to her.
  

• सा रामस्य पत्नी।
  sā rāmasya patnī.
  She is Rama's wife.
  

• यस्यै रामः फलं ददाति सा रामस्य पत्नी
  yasyai rāmaḥ phalaṃ dadāti sā rāmasya patnī
  To whom Rama gives a fruit, she is Rama's wife. (literal)
  The person to whom Rama gives a fruit is Rama's wife. (natural)

And even more complex examples:

• रामः तस्यै फलं ददाति।
  rāmaḥ tasyai phalaṃ dadāti.
  Rama gives a fruit to her.
  

• तस्याः पिता जनकः
  tasyāḥ pitā janakaḥ
  Her father is Janaka.
  

• यस्यै रामः फलं ददाति तस्याः पिता जनकः
  yasyai rāmaḥ phalaṃ dadāti tasyāḥ pitā janakaḥ
  To whom Rama gives a fruit, her father is Janaka. (literal)
  The father of the one to whom Rama gives a fruit is Janaka. (natural)

yad uses the same endings as tad, but it follows normal sandhi rules. Here are the forms of yad with masculine endings:

feminine endings:

and neuter endings:

Review

kim and yad can be used in complex and sophisticated ways. For details, see our Sentences topic.