কিবা / কোনোবা
Something and Someone
কিবা stands for an unnamed thing, as in কিবা কওক! “say something!”. কোনোবা stands for an unnamed person, as in ঘৰৰ ভিতৰত কোনোবা আছে “somebody is inside the house”.
How It Works
Both words begin like a question word and end in -বা: কি “what” and কিবা “something”, কোন “who” and কোনোবা “someone”.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| কিবা | something, a thing | তাত কিবা আছে। “There is something there.” |
| কোনোবা | someone, a person | ঘৰৰ ভিতৰত কোনোবা আছে। “Somebody is inside the house.” |
| কোনোবাই | someone, as the doer | এইটো কোনোবাই কৰিছে। “Someone did this.” |
A describing word can follow কিবা: কিবা মিঠা “something sweet”. Add এটা to mean one thing: কিবা এটা “something”.
The same words work in offers: কিবা খাবা নেকি? “would you like to have something?”. The speaker does not name the food or drink, and খা covers both eating and drinking.
Examples (5)
- কিবা কওক!
Say something!
কওক is the polite request, and কিবা is the thing to say.
- তাত কিবা আছে।
There is something there.
কিবা আছে means “there is something”.
- কিবা খাবা নেকি?
Would you like to have something?
খাবা is the তুমি form of “eat or drink”, and নেকি makes it a yes or no question.
- ঘৰৰ ভিতৰত কোনোবা আছে।
Somebody is inside the house.
কোনোবা stands for a person without a name.
- এইটো কোনোবাই কৰিছে।
Someone did this.
As the doer, কোনোবা takes -ই.
How It Connects
Learn This First
কিবা “something” and কোনোবা “someone” are built on কি and কোন, so learners need কোন first.