hansı

Which Question Word

Level 1

Hansı is the Azerbaijani equivalent of 'which'. It is used to identify a specific item or person from a set of options.

How It Works

1. Usage as an Adjective
When hansı precedes a noun, it acts as an adjective. In this case, it does not take any suffixes, and the noun following it usually remains in the singular form.
Example: Hansı kitab? (Which book?)

2. Usage as a Pronoun
When it stands alone to mean 'which one', it functions as a pronoun. While it can stand alone in the nominative case (e.g., Hansı?), it typically takes case or possessive suffixes to clarify its role in the sentence. Because it ends in the back vowel ı, it follows vowel harmony using back-vowel variants (-a, -ı, -da, -dan).

  • Hansını? (Which one? - Accusative)
  • Hansında? (In which one? - Locative)
  • Hansılar? (Which ones? - Plural)

3. The 'Which of...' Construction
To ask 'which of [them/these]', Azerbaijani uses the third-person possessive suffix -(s)ı resulting in hansısı.
Example: Bunlardan hansısı? (Which of these?)

4. Relative Clauses with 'ki'
In modern Azerbaijani, hansı ki is frequently used as a relative pronoun to connect a main clause to a descriptive clause, similar to 'which' or 'that' in English.

5. Common Contexts
In Azerbaijani, hansı is used in many places where English might use 'what', such as asking for a color, a date, or a language.

Examples (5)

  1. Hansı avtobus mərkəzə gedir?

    Which bus goes to the center?

    Word by Word: Which bus center-to goes?

    Here 'hansı' acts as an adjective modifying 'avtobus'.

  2. Siz hansı dildə danışırsınız?

    Which language do you speak?

    Word by Word: You which language-in speak?

    Azerbaijani uses 'hansı' (which) for languages rather than 'nə' (what).

  3. Bu kitablardan hansını oxumusan?

    Which of these books have you read?

    Word by Word: These books-from which-one- (obj) read-have-you?

    Here 'hansı' takes the accusative case suffix '-nı' because it is the object of the verb.

  4. Hansılar sənin kitablarındır?

    Which ones are your books?

    Word by Word: Which-ones your books-are?

    When the speaker expects a plural answer, 'hansı' takes the plural suffix -lar.

  5. O kitab, hansı ki masadadır, mənimdir.

    That book, which is on the table, is mine.

    Word by Word: That book, which that table-on-is, mine-is.

    The construction 'hansı ki' is used to introduce relative clauses, similar to 'which' or 'that' in English.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'nə' (what) where you want to choose from a set, not just ask for a color.

    Different MeaningNə rəng sevirsən?
    Hansı rəngi sevirsən?

    Nə rəng sevirsən? is a good question that simply asks 'What color do you like?' When you ask someone to pick from a set of colors, days or languages, use hansı.

  • Using front-vowel suffixes with 'hansı'.

    Hansındə?
    Hansında?

    Because 'hansı' ends in 'ı' (a back vowel), all suffixes must follow back-vowel harmony.

How It Connects

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hansıLevel 1Which Question Word

Learn This First

To use 'hansı' (which) effectively, you should understand basic noun cases like the locative case to specify 'in which' something is located, and basic verb conjugations to form complete questions.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

hansıhansı