I recently taught my students how to ask and answer, “what date is it?” in Hindi. That led to a short lesson on taareekh vs. tithi.
Taareekh is actually Urdu, whereas tithi is Hindi. But in everyday conversational Hindi most people use taareekh.
How To Pronounce Taareekh and Tithi
Tithi has a few meanings. It means “date” in the way that we think about it i.e. today is October 17th, 2024. But tithi also refers to a lunar day. Each month has 30 tithis which can range from 20-27 hours each. And tithi can also refer to the time between two phases of the moon.
The context for this article is again, the lesson on how to ask, “What Date Is It?” in Hindi. Let’s discuss that next.
How To Say, “What Date Is It?” in Hindi
There are a few ways to say this.
“Kyaa taareekh hain aaj?” which directly translates to, what date is today?
Kyaa = what
taareekh = date
hain = is
aaj = today?
Another way to say this is: “Aaj kyaa taareekh hain?” which translates to, Today what date is?
Aaj = today
kyaa = what
tareekh = date
hain = is?
And a 3rd way is: “Kyaa taareekh hain?” which translates to, what date is?
Kyaa = what
taareekh = date
hain = is?
In this 3rd way, “today” is implied.
So let’s recap. There are 3 ways to ask, “what date is it?”. All 3 are grammatically correct. But which one(s) are the best for conversational Hindi, 1, 2, or 3?
- Kyaa taareekh hain aaj?
- Aaj kyaa taareekh hain?
- Kyaa taareekh hain?
Number 2, Aaj kyaa taarekh hain? is the best. The structure of a Hindi sentence is:
Subject — Object — Verb
Number 2, has the verb, “is” (hain) at the end of the sentence. It also includes “aaj” (today) so it’s precise and doesn’t leave the question open to interpretation. After #2, then #3 is what you’ll probably hear most in conversational Hindi and #1 the least.
Still, there is a totally different way to ask, “what date is it?” in Hindi, which we will discuss now.
Kyaa vs. Kaun sa: Which Date Is It?
We just learned 3 ways to ask, “what date is it?” using the question word “kyaa” (what?). But we could replace “kyaa” (what) with “kaun sa” = which.
So now we are changing the question to, “which date is it?”. And we can do this because there are finite dates = 1-31.
There are 3 ways to say “which” in Hindi. In case you did not know, Hindi is one of the most inflectional languages in the world. Inflectional means that the ending of the word changes.
In Hindi, nouns, adjectives, and pronoun endings change based on:
- gender
- quantity
- age
The 3 ways to say “which” are:
Kaun sa (singular, masculine nouns)
Kaun si (singular + plural feminine nouns)
Kaun se (plural masculine nouns or mixed gender, plural nouns)
How To Say All 3
There are 3 inflections of “kaun sa” – each is determined by a noun. Now here’s the thing, “which” is not a noun. It inflects based on the noun that “which” refers to.
In other words “which” what? The what, and whether that’s a singular masculine noun, a singular or plural feminine noun or plural masculine or mixed gender nouns determines the correct “kaun sa” to use.
Here are the rules:
If the what is a singular masculine noun then use “kaun sa”.
If the what is a feminine noun (singular or plural) then use “kaun si”.
If the nouns are plural all-masculine or plural, mixed-gender, then use “kaun se”.
In Hindi, the noun-subject determines how to inflect the other words in the sentence. That’s why I always say that nouns are the naan of Hindi. To understand more about nouns in Hindi, watch the video.
Examples of When To Use Kaun Sa, Kaun Si, and Kaun Se
The way to say this in Hindi is…
Why is it “kaun sa”? Because the noun-subject of the sentence is ghar = home.
And “ghar” is a singular, masculine noun.
So, “Which one is your house?” is…
Let’s look at another example.
The way to say this in Hindi is….
Why is it “kaun si”? Because the noun-subject of the sentence is gaadi = car.
And “gaadi” is a singular, feminine noun.
So, “Which one is your car?” is…
Let’s look at another example.
The way to say this in Hindi is….
Why is it “kaun se”? Because the noun-subject of the sentence is joothay = shoes.
And “joothay” is a plural, masculine noun.
So, “which are your shoes?” is…
Let’s look at another example.
The way to say this in Hindi is…
Why is it “kaun si”? Because the noun-subject of the sentence is poshaakay = dresses.
And “poshaakay” is a plural, feminine noun.
So, “which are your dresses?” is…
Revisit, What Date Is It Today?
Now that we understand how to inflect “which” in Hindi, let’s revisit the original example: which date is it today?
The way to say this in Hindi is…
Why is it “kaun si”? Because the noun-subject of the sentence is taareekh = date.
And “taareekh” is a singular, feminine noun.
So, “which date is it today?” is…
How To Ask/Answer What Date Is It? in Hindi, Video
Here is a video version of this lesson on “what/which date is it today?”
What Date vs. Which Date
In this article we discussed that you can ask, what date is today? as well as which date is it today? Is there one that’s better? Nope. They are both used in conversational Hindi.
How To Say These In Hindi
What Date Is It Today? Aaj kyaa taareekh hain?
Which Date Is It Today? Aaj kaun si taareekh hain?
Summary and Take Aways
In taareekh vs. tithi we discussed that these two words are similar but have different uses. Taareekh is not a Hindi word – it’s Urdu. Tithi is a Hindi word and while it means, “date” as in today is October 17, 2024, it also refers to lunar time periods.
In everyday conversational Hindi, most people use the Urdu word, “taareekh”.
We also learned how to ask, “Which date is it today?” in Hindi. The word, “which” can get a little complicated as it inflects to: kaun sa, kaun si, and kaun se. In this article we explored how to know when to use each inflection and there are examples of each.
Since we published this article close to Diwali, this is a video you and your children might like. It includes an easy-to-understand explanation of Diwali as well as my version of kid-friendly Ramayan, illustrated, in English.
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About Samta Aunty
Growing up in Orange County, California, I learned Hindi and Indian culture from my parents and the community. At one point, in addition to understanding Hindi, I developed an interest in speaking, and my parents encouraged me.
Friday night was date-night with my mom. We would eat parathas and watch Hindi movies together. I asked lots of questions and switched to speaking in Hindi at home.
That day, in high school, when my Chachi in Delhi said, “Tumhari Hindi bahut achi hain” is one of my favorite memories.
I started Virtual PreSkool to pay it forward. It’s fulfilling when a student comes to class and excitedly shares that they successfully connected with grandparents/relatives or when they were in India and knew how to ask for directions.
After completing undergrad at UC Irvine, I did my MBA at the USC Marshall School of Business. I’ve been an entrepreneur my entire career.
When I’m not teaching and creating lessons, I’m usually exercising, cooking vegan meals, or traveling. I love writing about travel on my blog PassportPages.
Dhanyavaad!
