कहाँको

Saying Where You Are from

Level 1Sounds Like kahām̐kō

To say where you are from, add को to the place.

How It Works

कहाँ means where, and को adds of, so कहाँको means of what place. The pattern is place + को + हो.

WhoPatternExample
a man or unknown-कोम पोखराको हुँ
a woman-कीउहाँ जनकपुरकी हुनुहुन्छ
several-काहामी इलामका हौँ

To ask, use तपाईं कहाँको हुनुहुन्छ? with a stranger and तिमी कहाँको हौ? with a friend. Answer with the place and को: म काठमाडौंको हुँ.

Do not mix this with where someone is now. तपाईं कहाँ हुनुहुन्छ? asks where you are right now, and तपाईं कहाँको हुनुहुन्छ? asks where you are from. The ending को is the only difference.

If a place name ends in a vowel such as पोखरा, add को directly. After काठमाडौं, the dot on the last letter stays as it is.

Examples (5)

  1. म पोखराको हुँ।

    I am from Pokhara.

    को is added to the place, and हुँ agrees with म.

  2. तपाईं कहाँको हुनुहुन्छ?

    Where are you from?

    The polite question uses हुनुहुन्छ.

  3. उहाँ जनकपुरकी हुनुहुन्छ।

    She is from Janakpur.

    -की fits a woman.

  4. हामी इलामका हौँ।

    We are from Ilam.

    -का fits several people.

  5. तिमी कहाँको हौ?

    Where are you from?

    The friendly question uses हौ.

Common Mistakes

  • Asking where from with कहाँ only.

    तपाईं कहाँ हुनुहुन्छ?
    तपाईं कहाँको हुनुहुन्छ?

    कहाँ asks where you are now. To ask where you are from, add को.

How It Connects

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

कहाँकोLevel 1Saying Where You Are from

Learn This First

Saying where you are from adds the possessive ending to the question word कहाँ.