Questions

In this lesson, we will learn about the different ways we can ask questions in Sanskrit.

kim

The most straightforward way we can ask a question is to use the pronoun kim. kim means “who?” or “what?” and its specific meaning is usually clear from context. We can use kim to precisely ask about different parts of a sentence.

For example, suppose someone says the following:

• राहुलो कौतूहलाद् वानराय फलं ददाति।
  rāhulo kautūhalād vānarāya phalaṃ dadāti.
  Rahula gives the monkey a fruit out of curiosity (“from curiosity”).
  

We can use kim to ask a question like this:

• को वानराय फलम् ददाति।
  ko vānarāya phalam dadāti.
  Who gives a fruit to the monkey?
  

Usually, someone would answer like this:

• राहुलः।
  rāhulaḥ.
  Rahula.
  

Likewise, we can ask other questions and give other answers:

• राहुलः कस्मै फलं ददाति।
  rāhulaḥ kasmai phalaṃ dadāti.
  To whom does Rahula give a fruit?
  

• वानराय।
  vānarāya.
  To the monkey.
  

• राहुलो वानराय किं ददाति?
  rāhulo vānarāya kiṃ dadāti?
  What does Rahula give the monkey?
  

• फलम्।
  phalam.
  A fruit.
  

• राहुलः कस्माद् वानराय फलं ददाति।
  rāhulaḥ kasmād vānarāya phalaṃ dadāti.
  From what (cause) does Rahula give a fruit to the monkey?
  

• कौतूहलात्।
  kautūhalāt.
  From curiosity.
  

In many styles of Sanskrit, the word kim can also mean “why.” This usage is very common in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata:

• किं मां हन्तुम् इच्छसि।
  kiṃ māṃ hantum icchasi.
  Why do you want to kill me?
  

Yes-no questions

Yes-no questions are questions whose answers are usually “yes” or “no.”

In Sanskrit, we can ask yes-no questions in many different ways. One common way is to put the word api at the beginning of the sentence:

• अपि त्वं सुखी।
  api tvaṃ sukhī.
  Are you happy?
  

Another style is to put the word kim at the beginning or end of the sentence. If you know Hindi, this is similar to how we use the Hindi word क्या:

• किं त्वं सुखी।
  kiṃ tvaṃ sukhī.
  Are you happy?
  

• त्वं सुखी किम्।
  tvaṃ sukhī kim.
  Are you happy?
  

One other style is to use the word kaccit. When we use this word, we hope or expect that the answer is “yes”:

• कच्चित् त्वं सुखी।
  kaccit tvaṃ sukhī.
  Are you happy? (I hope you are.)
  

We can answer these questions in a few different ways. Usually, we repeat part of the question:

• अहं सुखी।
  ahaṃ sukhī.
  I am happy.
  

• अहं न सुखी।
  ahaṃ na sukhī.
  I am not happy.
  

Or in informal settings, we can use the words ām (“yes”) or na (“no”):

• आम्, अहं सुखी।
  ām, ahaṃ sukhī.
  Yes, I am happy.
  

kutra, kadā, and others

There are various other words that we can use to ask questions. Here are some common uninflected words:

Note that kutra and kva have the same meaning. kutra is moer common in older Sanskrit.

Finally, here are some common adjectives: