A particle is an uninflected part of speech, widely used to express negation, affirmation, degrees of confidence, and certain other shades of meaning.
The main Hindi particles are:
हाँ haaN 'yes'
नहीं nahiiN 'no, not'
न na, मत mat 'not'
भी bhii 'also, too; even'
ही hii 'just; only'
तो to 'at least'
केवल keval 'only'
हाँ, नहीं
These particles are used as affirmative and negative answers. नहीं nahiiN is also used in negative sentences. Mind that, unlike in English, Hindi does not allow short answers like 'yes, I am' or 'no, he doesn't'.
Ex: - आप चालक हैं?
aap caalak haiN?
'Are you a driver?'
नहीं, न, मत
These are negative particles used with imperative forms.
Ex: मत बैठो!
mat baiTho!
'Don't sit!'
न पीजिए!
na piijie!
'Don't drink!'
खाओ नहीं।
khaao nahiiN.
'Don't eat.'
भी
This particle is used when to show the resemblance between two situations. Usually, it is translated as 'too, also'. However, if the content of the sentence is somehow unexpected, this particle can be translated as 'even'.
Ex: वह डाक्टर है।
vo DaakTar hai.
'He is a doctor.'
मैं भी डाक्टर हूँ।
maiN bhii DaakTar huuN.
'I am a doctor too.'
हमारे पड़ोसी अच्छे लोग हैं।
hamaare paRosii acche log haiN.
'Our neighbors are good people.'
आप के पड़ोसी भी अच्छे हैं।
aap ke paRosii bhii acche haiN.
'Your neighbors are also good.'
भारत में जनवरी में भी गरमी है।
bhaarat meN janvarii meN bhii garmii hai.
'It's hot in India even in January.'
ही, केवल
The particle ही hii (as well as भी bhii) shows the logical connection between parts of a text. However, unlike भी bhii (which indicates inclusive relations between the parts of the text), ही hii indicates exclusive relations. This particle does not have any counterpart in English, and is often difficult to translate. The closest English construction is 'it is… that (who)…' Other times, this particle can be translated as 'only', or may have no translation at all.
Ex: - आप चालक हैं?
aap caalak haiN?
'Are you a driver?'
- नहीं, मैं चालक नहीं हूँ, रकेश ही चालक है।
nahiiN, maiN caalak nahiiN huuN, rakeś hii caalak hai.
'No, I am not a driver. Rakesh is a driver.' (= it is Rakesh who is a driver, not me)
- उस के माता-पिता हैं?
us ke maataa-pitaa haiN?
'Does he have parents?'
- उस की माता ही है।
us kii maataa hii hai.
'He has only a mother.'
The pronouns वह vo, यह yeh, their oblique variants उस us, इस is, the oblique variants of ये ye, वे ve - इन in, उन un, and some pronominal adverbs have special forms when they are used with the particle ही hii. See the table below.
|
The word itself |
The word + ही hii |
|
वह vo |
वही vahii |
|
यह yeh |
यही yahii |
|
उस us |
उसी usii |
|
इस is |
इसी isii |
|
इन in |
इन्ही inhii |
|
उन un |
उन्ही unhii |
|
यहाँ yahaaN |
यहीं yahiiN |
|
वहाँ vahaaN |
वहीं vahiiN |
Ex: मैं यहीं पर आप का इंतिज़ार करूँगा।
maiN yahiiN par aap kaa intizaar karuuNgaa.
'I will wait for you right here (not somewhere else).'
Sometimes this particle is used with the limiting particle केवल keval 'only'.
Ex: मैं केवल यही किताब ख़रीदना चाहता हूँ।
maiN keval yahii kitaab kh'ariidnaa caahtaa huuN.
'I want to buy only this (particular) book.'
केवल keval is also used independently.
तो
This particle is used when to segregate a word or construction. When the speaker uses the word (X) with a particle तो to (X to), he means to say that he can assert something about X, but not about Y, Z etc. It can be translated as 'at least', 'as for', or 'as far as…is concerned'.
Ex: उस के भाई के पास तो गाड़ी है। उस की बहिन के बारे में मुझे मालूम नहीं।
us ke bhaaii ke paas to gaaRii hai. us kii behin ke baare meN mujhe maaluum nahiiN.
'His brother has a car. I don't know about his sister.' (= I know for sure that his brother has a car, I don't know if his sister has a car)
उस फ़्लेट में फ़ोन तो है?
us fleT meN fon to hai?
'Is there at least a phone in that flat?'
मुझे तो भूख है।
mujhe to bhuukh hai.
'As for me, I am hungry.'
Thus, भी bhii is the marker of inclusion, ही hii is the marker of exclusion, and तो to is the marker of segregation.
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