जो / कर

Commands to Close Friends

Level 2Sounds Like jō ā kara

Close friends and children get the verb ending in -ह, or just the bare stem.

How It Works

Verb	Polite (अहाँ)	Friendly (तोँ)	Very close
जाएब	जाउ	जाह	जो
आएब	आउ	आबह	आ
खाएब	खाउ	खाह	खा
करब	करू	करह	कर
पढ़ब	पढ़ू	पढ़ह	पढ़
देखब	देखू	देखह	देख

For देब and लेब, the very close commands are दे and ले. The friendly -ह forms are rare, so speakers use the close command or the polite one.

Parents say these to small children, and friends say them to each other. The tone is warm, never rude, between people who are close. To the same person you can add a name, as in बउआ, भात खा.

Examples (5)

जो, घर जो।
Go, go home.
जो is the close form of जाउ.
आ, भात खा।
Come, eat your rice.
आ and खा are bare stems.
तोँ पढ़ह।
You read.
पढ़ह is the friendly form.
जो, पानि लऽ आ।
Go and bring water.
This command joins two bare forms.
ले, ई तोहर किताब अछि।
Here, this is your book.
ले is the close command of लेब.

Common Mistakes

Using the close command with an elder.
बाबूजी, आ।
बाबूजी, आउ।
Use the polite form with an elder.

How It Connects

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

जो / करLevel 2Commands to Close Friends

Learn This First

These close commands are the plain partners of the polite ones.

जाउ / करूPolite Commands
Know जाउ and करू, because जो and कर are what you say instead to someone you call तोँ.
Level 1

Practice जो / कर in Bubblegum

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