प्रश्नवाचकाः शब्दाः
How to Ask Questions in Sanskrit
Who, what, where, when, why, how — every Sanskrit question word, how to use it, and the sentence patterns for asking (and answering) simple questions in conversation.
Two ways to make a question
Sanskrit makes questions in two simple ways. You can use a question word — almost all of them start with k-, just as English ones start with wh-: किम् (what), कुत्र (where), कदा (when), कथम् (how). Or, for a yes/no question, keep the sentence as it is and add अपि at the start or वा at the end: अपि भवान् कुशली? or भवान् कुशली वा? — "Are you well?"
Word order hardly changes. "You are going" is भवान् गच्छति; "Where are you going?" is भवान् कुत्र गच्छति? — the question word simply slots in.
Sanskrit question words, with examples
| Sanskrit | Transliteration | Meaning | Example |
| किम् | kim | what? (also turns a sentence into a question) | एतत् किम्? — What is this? |
| कः / का / किम् | kaḥ / kā / kim | who? which? (masculine / feminine / neuter) | सः कः? — Who is he? · सा का? — Who is she? |
| कुत्र | kutra | where? | भवान् कुत्र गच्छति? — Where are you going? |
| कुतः | kutaḥ | from where? | भवान् कुतः आगच्छति? — Where are you coming from? |
| कदा | kadā | when? | भवान् कदा आगच्छति? — When are you coming? |
| कथम् | katham | how? | भवान् कथम् अस्ति? — How are you? |
| किमर्थम् | kimartham | why? for what purpose? | किमर्थं हससि? — Why are you laughing? |
| कति | kati | how many? | कति छात्राः सन्ति? — How many students are there? |
| कियत् | kiyat | how much? | कियत् जलम् अस्ति? — How much water is there? |
| कीदृशः / कीदृशी | kīdṛśaḥ / kīdṛśī | what kind of? | सः कीदृशः जनः? — What kind of person is he? |
| कस्मिन् | kasmin | in which? | कस्मिन् ग्रामे वसति? — In which village does he live? |
| अपि … ? | api …? | yes/no question (at the start) | अपि कुशलम्? — Is all well? |
"Who" and "which" change with the noun
Unlike English "who", the pronoun किम् takes the gender, number and case of the person or thing it asks about — the same way nouns do. Masculine, feminine and neuter forms (singular · dual · plural for the first two cases):
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
| प्रथमा | कः · कौ · के | का · के · काः | किम् · के · कानि |
| द्वितीया | कम् · कौ · कान् | काम् · के · काः | किम् · के · कानि |
| तृतीया | केन | कया | केन |
| चतुर्थी | कस्मै | कस्यै | कस्मै |
| पञ्चमी | कस्मात् | कस्याः | कस्मात् |
| षष्ठी | कस्य | कस्याः | कस्य |
| सप्तमी | कस्मिन् | कस्याम् | कस्मिन् |
A short conversation: questions and answers
| Question | Answer | In English |
| भवतः नाम किम्? | मम नाम अर्जुनः। | What is your name? — My name is Arjuna. |
| भवान् कुतः आगच्छति? | अहं दिल्लीतः आगच्छामि। | Where are you from? — I come from Delhi. |
| भवान् किं करोति? | अहं शिक्षकः अस्मि। | What do you do? — I am a teacher. |
| भवतः गृहे कति जनाः सन्ति? | मम गृहे चत्वारः जनाः सन्ति। | How many people are in your home? — Four. |
| भवान् कदा संस्कृतं पठति? | अहं प्रातः पठामि। | When do you study Sanskrit? — In the morning. |
| अपि भवान् चायं पिबति? | आम्, पिबामि। | Do you drink tea? — Yes, I do. |
| एषा का? | एषा मम भगिनी। | Who is this (woman)? — This is my sister. |
| पुस्तकं कुत्र अस्ति? | पुस्तकम् उत्पीठिकायाम् अस्ति। | Where is the book? — The book is on the table. |
Polite "you": भवान् and भवती
Notice that the questions above use भवान् (to a man) and भवती (to a woman) rather than त्वम्. These polite forms take a third-person verb — भवान् गच्छति, not गच्छसि — exactly like Hindi आप is followed by a plural verb. Use त्वम् only with close friends, children or in prayer.
Want to ask the time? See how to tell time in Sanskrit. Ready to test yourself? Try the Sanskrit quiz.
Frequently asked questions
What are question words called in Sanskrit?
प्रश्नवाचक शब्दाः (praśnavācaka śabdāḥ). Most begin with k-: किम्, कः, कुत्र, कदा, कथम्, कति.
How do you ask a yes/no question in Sanskrit?
Put अपि at the start of the sentence or वा at the end: अपि भवान् कुशली? or भवान् कुशली वा? — 'Are you well?'
How do you say 'Where are you going?' in Sanskrit?
भवान् कुत्र गच्छति? (to a man) or भवती कुत्र गच्छति? (to a woman).
What is the difference between कः, का and किम्?
All mean who/which/what, in masculine (कः), feminine (का) and neuter (किम्) — the form matches the gender of what is being asked about.