आफ्नो

One's Own

Level 2Sounds Like āphnō

आफ्नो means own. It points to the person doing the action.

How It Works

आफ्नो means one's own. It refers back to the person who does the action. In ऊ आफ्नो घर जान्छ, the घर belongs to ऊ. If you say ऊ उसको घर जान्छ, the घर belongs to somebody else.

आफ्नो also fits when the owner takes लाई: मलाई आफ्नो घर मन पर्छ (I like my own home).

It works for every person: म आफ्नो काम गर्छु (I do my own work), हामी आफ्नो घर जान्छौँ (we go to our own home), तपाईं आफ्नो किताब लिनुहोस् (take your own book).

आफ्नो agrees with the thing owned, like मेरो. The usual forms are:

Thing ownedFormExample
one thingआफ्नोआफ्नो घर
many thingsआफ्नाआफ्ना साथीहरू
a woman or girlआफ्नीआफ्नी आमा

The feminine form आफ्नी is standard in writing and optional in speech. It is only for a female person, such as आमा or दिदी. One thing like a book takes आफ्नो, and several take आफ्ना: आफ्ना किताबहरू.

Examples (4)

  1. ऊ आफ्नो घर जान्छ।

    He goes to his own home.

    आफ्नो points back to ऊ.

  2. उनी आफ्नी आमासँग बस्छिन्।

    She lives with her own mother.

    आफ्नी agrees with आमा, a woman.

  3. म आफ्नो काम गर्छु।

    I do my own work.

    आफ्नो works with म too.

  4. हामी आफ्ना साथीहरूलाई बोलाउँछौँ।

    We call our own friends.

    आफ्ना agrees with the plural साथीहरू.

Common Mistakes

  • Learners use उसको when the owner is the subject.

    ऊ उसको घर जान्छ।
    ऊ आफ्नो घर जान्छ।

    The first sentence means he goes to another person’s home. आफ्नो means his own.

How It Connects

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

आफ्नोLevel 2One's Own

Learn This First

आफ्नो means one's own and relates to the other possessives.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.