There are 5 indefinite pronouns in Hindi.
कोई koii
The pronoun कोई koii inflects for case but not for number or gender. Its oblique form is किसी kisii.
This pronoun functions as:
a) an animate noun. It is translated as 'somebody, someone' or when enumerated as 'somebody… others…', 'some… some…'
Ex: मेरे ख़याल में कमरे में कोई है।
mere kh'ayaal meN kamre meN koii hai.
'In my opinion, there is somebody in the room.'
मुझे आशा है कि कमरे में कोई नहीं है।
mujhe aaśaa hai ki kamre meN koii nahiiN hai.
'I hope that there is nobody in the room.'
मेरे बहुत ज़्यादा रिश्तेदार हैं। कोई मज़दूर है, कोई अभिनेता है, कोई फ़ौजी है।
mere bahut zyaadaa riśtedaar haiN. koii mazduur hai*, koii abhinetaa hai*, koii faujii hai*.
'I have a lot of relatives. Some are workers, some are actors, some are military men.'
b) an adjective. It denotes the indefiniteness of the word it qualifies and is translated as 'some' or when enumerated as 'some… other…', 'some… some…'
Ex: मेरे ख़याल में कमरे में कोई अजनबी है।
mere kh'ayaal meN kamre meN koii ajnabii hai.
'In my opinion, there is a** stranger in the room.'
इस शहर में कोई सिनेमा नहीं है।
is śehar meN koii sinemaa nahiiN hai.
'There is no (not any) cinema in this town.'
मेरे बहुत ज़्यादा रिश्तेदार हैं। कोई रिश्तेदार अच्छा है, कोई रिश्तेदार बुरा है।
mere behut zyaadaa riśtedaar haiN. koii riśtedaar acchaa hai*, koii riśtedaar buraa hai*.
'I have a lot of relatives. Some relatives are good, other relatives are bad.'
* Notice that the predicate is put in singular form, when कोई koii is the subject of the sentence or the attribute of the subject, unlike in English.
** Sometimes this pronoun may function as an indefinite article.
कुछ kuch
The pronoun कुछ kuch does not inflect.
It functions as:
a) an animate noun. It is translated as 'something, anything'.
Ex: आओ ! मैं तुम्हें कुछ दिखा दूँगा।
aao! maiN tumheN kuch dikhaa duuNgaa.
'Come! I will show you something.'
आप ने कुछ अनोखा सुना?
aap ne kuch anokhaa sunaa?
'Did you hear anything unusual?'
When कुछ kuch functions as a noun, it is not used with postpositions. If it is necessary to say, for example, 'on something', the construction कोई चीज़ koii ciiz 'some thing' is used instead. This construction is declinable.
b) an adjective (the quantity marker). It is translated as 'some, any, a little, somewhat' and more often used with uncountable nouns.
Ex: मैं कुछ खाना खाऊँगा।
maiN kuch khaanaa khaauuNgaa.
'I will eat some food.'
कुछ कुरसियाँ टूटी हैं।
kuch kursiyaaN TuuTii haiN.
'Some chairs are broken.'
किंचित kicit, कई kaii, and चंद cand
The indefinite pronoun कई kaii 'several' is used only as an attribute and implies 'many'. It is indeclinable and always precedes a noun in the plural form.
Ex: कई मंदिर kaii mandir 'several (many) temples'
The indefinite pronoun चंद cand 'several' is used only as an attribute and implies 'few'. It is also indeclinable and always precedes a noun in the plural form.
Ex: चंद घोड़े cand ghoRe 'a few horses'
The indefinite pronoun किंचित kicit 'several' is used only as an attribute. It is neutral by the meaning. It is also indeclinable and always precedes a noun in the plural form.
Ex: किंचित थैले kicit thaile 'several bags'.
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