कि ... या नहीं

Asking Whether

Level 3Sounds Like ki ... yā nahīṁ

कि ... या नहीं puts a yes or no question inside another sentence. English uses whether.

How It Works

Many sentences contain a question that is not asked directly: I don't know whether..., She asked whether.... In Hindi the outer phrase comes first, then कि, then the inner question: मुझे नहीं पता कि वह आएगा या नहीं। (I don't know whether he'll come.)

The inner question has three common shapes:

  • A statement plus या नहीं: ... कि ट्रेन समय पर है या नहीं (whether or not the train is on time).
  • Two choices joined by या: ... कि रीना घर पर है या दफ़्तर में.
  • क्या at the start: उसने पूछा कि क्या मैं हिंदी बोलती हूँ.

The word order inside stays ordinary, just as in any Hindi question.

Keep the tense of the original question. If someone asked क्या आप हिंदी बोलती हैं?, you report उसने पूछा कि क्या मैं हिंदी बोलती हूँ. English shifts this to spoke; Hindi keeps the present. बोलती थी would mean used to speak.

Common outer phrases are मुझे नहीं पता, पता नहीं, मैंने पूछा, बताइए and पता कीजिए. The full sentence ends with a danda unless the outer part is itself a question.

Examples (5)

  1. मुझे नहीं पता कि वह आज आएगा या नहीं।

    I don't know whether he'll come today.

    या नहीं at the end gives whether or not.

  2. पता कीजिए कि ट्रेन समय पर है या नहीं।

    Please find out whether the train is on time.

    The outer part is a polite request.

  3. उसने पूछा कि क्या मैं हिंदी बोलती हूँ।

    She asked whether I spoke Hindi.

    क्या starts the inner question, and the present tense stays.

  4. मुझे नहीं पता कि रीना घर पर है या दफ़्तर में।

    I don't know whether Reena is at home or at the office.

    या joins the two possible places.

  5. बताइए कि आपको चाय चाहिए या कॉफ़ी।

    Tell me whether you'd like tea or coffee.

    The two choices sit inside a polite request.

Common Mistakes

  • Shifting the tense back, as English does.

    उसने पूछा कि क्या मैं हिंदी बोलती थी।
    उसने पूछा कि क्या मैं हिंदी बोलती हूँ।

    Hindi keeps the tense of the original question. बोलती थी would mean she asked whether I used to speak Hindi.

How It Connects

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

कि ... या नहींLevel 3Asking Whether

Learn This First

Asking whether puts a yes or no question after कि and ends it with या नहीं.

Words in This Pattern

किया