केही / कोही / सबै

Some, Someone and All

Level 2Sounds Like kēhī, kōhī ra sabai

On its own, कोही is for people and केही is for things. सबै is all.

How It Works

These three words answer questions about who and what.

WordMeaningExample
कोहीsomeone, anyoneघरमा कोही छ?
केहीsome, somethingमसँग केही पैसा छ।
सबैall, everyoneसबै जना आए।

These words stand where the noun would stand, and सबै can follow a noun: घरका सबै.

सबै can mean everything or everyone. To count people, add जना: सबै जना आए. For doers in the past, सबै takes ले and joins it: सबैले चिया पिए.

कोही is for one or more unnamed persons. केही is also a number word: केही पैसा means a little money, or some money. Before a noun, केही also means some people: केही मानिस आए (some people came).

Examples (5)

  1. घरमा कोही छ?

    Is anyone at home?

    कोही is for people.

  2. मसँग केही पैसा छ।

    I have some money.

    केही is for things.

  3. सबै जना आए।

    Everyone came.

    सबै जना means all the people.

  4. मलाई केही चाहिन्छ।

    I need something.

    केही can mean something.

  5. सबैले चिया पिए।

    Everyone drank tea.

    सबैले is the doer, and पिए agrees with a group.

Common Mistakes

  • Using केही when you mean a person.

    घरमा केही छ?
    घरमा कोही छ?

    घरमा केही छ? asks about a thing. To ask about a person, use कोही.

How It Connects

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केही / कोही / सबैLevel 2Some, Someone and All

Learn This First

Some, someone and all are made from question words.

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Patterns that build on this one.