कहँ / महँ / सन

Old Postpositions

Level 6Sounds Like kaham̐, maham̐ a'ura sana

Old texts use कहँ for to, महँ for in and सन for with.

How It Works

Three small words do the job of everyday postpositions in older verse.

OldSpeechMeaning
कहँकाto, for
महँमाin
सनसेwith

Like the modern forms, they follow the noun: गाँव महँ, सखी सन. The chandrabindu in कहँ and महँ is part of the spelling.

Here is a new line in the old style, मोहि कहँ बुलावहु, where the pronoun and the postposition sit together. Read it as "call me" and the sense comes at once.

Do not use कहँ or महँ in conversation. A friend will hear it as reading aloud from a poem.

Examples (4)

  1. मोहि कहँ पानी देहु।

    Give water to me.

    कहँ marks the one who receives.

  2. गाँव महँ सब सुखी रहे।

    Everyone in the village was happy.

    महँ means in.

  3. सखी सन बतियात।

    She is chatting with a friend.

    सन means with.

  4. ओहि घर महँ दीप जरत रहा।

    A lamp was burning in that house.

    महँ is the old मा.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

कहँ / महँ / सनLevel 6Old Postpositions

Learn This First

These are the old forms of का, मा and से.

Words in This Pattern

कहँमहँ